‘I’ll keep showing up’
U.S. House candidate Lindsay James brings Crowded Table Town Hall Tour to Tama Library
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TAMA -- With a small group of attendees packed inside a meeting room at the Louise and Lucile Hink Tama Public Library on Monday afternoon, current State Rep. Lindsay James (D-Dubuque), the Democratic nominee for the 2nd District seat in the U.S. House, made her case as to why voters should support her in the upcoming November election and send her to Washington, D.C. come January.
A chaplain, ordained Presbyterian pastor, mother and self-described "feisty redhead," James has spent the last years serving in the Iowa House and is facing off against Republican Joe Mitchell, Independent Dave Bushaw and Libertarian Rick Stewart. Current 2nd District U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa) is running for a seat in the U.S. Senate, so whoever takes the seat next year will be a new face.
James explained that she didn't come into politics through a boardroom or lobbying but a seminary, and she reflected on the horror of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, which became even more personal after she learned that a friend had died when Flight 93 crashed near Pittsburgh.
"I knew in that moment that I wanted to study theology and become a chaplain because what chaplains do is they show up for people in their hardest moments when people are in a place of deep need, and you learn a lot about people when you show up for them as their pastor," she said. "You learn about the struggles in their lives, how they've failed and the things that they wish they would've done differently, but you also learn about human resilience in a profound way, people who are overcoming incredibly challenging circumstances in this life, and you learn a lot about hope. That has truly shaped a lot of how I see the importance of showing up for my neighbor in this moment."
From there, she described the "impossible choices" too many Iowans are facing on a day-to-day basis in the world's wealthiest country: paying utilities or buying children a winter coat and paying rent or putting food on the table, just to name a few. James also said she had been "profoundly shaped" by the parable of the Good Samaritan and argued that those currently in power are "turning a blind eye" to the suffering of ordinary people.
She referenced Iowa's low economic rankings, jobs being shipped to places like Mexico, farmers struggling with tariffs, challenges in rural health care -- "the Big, Beautiful is only beautiful for billionaires," she said -- and the well-known cancer rates in the state. James shared an example of her willingness to fight by recounting one of the first speeches she ever gave as a State Representative criticizing Amerigroup for denying a constituent's coverage after Medicaid was privatized.
James was quickly summoned to speak to the company's lobbyist and was told she had lacked decorum in her remarks. Her response?
"I don't care what the norms of the Iowa Legislature are. I care that my neighbor gets the healthcare that he needs," she said.
The next day, her neighbor's services were restored, but she felt that it highlighted a larger point on the "deep" level of corruption in Washington, D.C. and a political system run by ultra wealthy special interests at the expense of everyday, hardworking families.
For the next 25 minutes or so, James fielded questions and comments from the group of about 10 attendees on a range of topics from the national debt to tariffs to funding cuts for agencies like USAID and the USDA to rural health care, vaccine changes to the CDC under Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and a lack of mental health services.
"Congress is supposed to be holding the executive branch accountable, and right now, there's no accountability there. They're free to do whatever they want with ICE, with cuts to programs that were approved by Congress, but yet Congress did not approve to dissolve some of these," Tama farmer Aaron Strellner said. "Because there's a Republican majority, and they don't have the cojones to stand up to (Trump)."
In response, James told Strellner that it highlighted the need for leaders with the courage of their convictions and a strong moral compass, and Strellner and fellow farmer Pete Wobeter lamented President' Trump's lifting of beef tariffs in an attempt to lower prices because of the negative impact it could have on American producers. James hoped to land a seat on the House Agriculture Committee once elected and promised to call farmers like Strellner frequently when she gets there.
As she wrapped up, James cited the "groundswell" of support building around her campaign and the race being listed among the most competitive House races in the country with 70 days until the election.
"We are going to put our head down and do the work and show up everywhere we can, but we could use your help," she said. "We've got a lot of work to do ahead of us, but I am incredibly grateful you would be as honest and open with me about some of the challenges you're facing and seeing in our communities. Please keep reaching out, and I'll keep showing up. And we're gonna make some very real change."
James stuck around to take a few questions from reporters at the conclusion of the event, reiterating her focus on "impossible choices," the cost of living crisis and her courage of conviction and moral compass. She also described Mitchell, a former State Rep. turned lobbyist who held two positions within the Trump administration, as "the epitome of corruption in this race." She accused Mitchell of "helping himself" to tax credits to enrich his businesses and later addressed criticisms he has leveled against her religious bona fides -- describing James as a "PINO" or pastor in name only.
"I don't take his attacks very seriously. I know who I am, and I know about my deeply held faith commitments. But I will tell you it is offensive not only to me as a pastor and a chaplain who has done everything I can to show up for folks in their hardest moments, but it insults all Christians and pastors who are leading communities in our state as well," she said. "So it's deeply disappointing."
Contact Robert Maharry at (641) 753-6611 ext. 255 or rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.