How to watch Kim Reynolds and Deidre DeJear in their only Iowa governor’s race debate
Reynolds #Reynolds
Incumbent Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds will face challenger Deidre DeJear in an hourlong debate Monday on Iowa PBS.
The matchup is the only head-to-head debate scheduled between the two major-party candidates in the race.
The debate will begin 7 p.m. Monday and will air live on Iowa PBS statewide. It will also stream at iowapbs.org, YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.
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Reynolds, a Republican, is seeking her second full term as Iowa’s governor. She first became governor in 2017 when she succeeded then-Gov. Terry Branstad following his resignation to become U.S. ambassador to China. She then won reelection in 2018 against Democrat Fred Hubbell.
DeJear, a Democrat, is running for governor after an unsuccessful 2018 campaign for Iowa Secretary of State. DeJear is a small business owner and activist. If elected, she would become the first Black female governor in Iowa and in the U.S.
Reynolds has held significant leads in fundraising and polling throughout the race. As of mid-July, the most recent finance reporting deadline, Reynolds had more than 10 times the amount of cash on hand that DeJear did.
Both candidates have ads on the Iowa television airwaves. Reynolds has released three ads since early September, including an attack ad against DeJear. DeJear released her first ad Tuesday, going after Reynolds on education, abortion and other issues.
Reynolds’ campaign has aimed much of its criticism at President Joe Biden and Democrats at large, contrasting their actions with the policies Iowa’s Republican-led Legislature has passed, including a sweeping tax cut package and Reynolds’ COVID-19 response.
On the trail, DeJear has heavily emphasized the need to bolster Iowa’s education system after what she says are years of underfunding, support for abortion rights, increased access to health care and expanded mental health services so that Iowans, including children, don’t have to wait long periods for care.
More coverage of the Iowa governor’s race:
“Iowa Press” host Kay Henderson will moderate the debate alongside reporters Dave Price of WHO-TV and Erin Murphy of the Cedar Rapids Gazette.
The debate will not feature Libertarian candidate Rick Stewart, who did not meet the Iowa PBS criteria to participate.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: How to watch Kim Reynolds and Deidre DeJear in their only Iowa governor’s race debate