Republican David Pautsch says he won’t be deterred from seeking the GOP nomination in the 2026 race for southeastern Iowa’s 1st Congressional District after President Donald Trump endorsed incumbent Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks’ reelection bid.
The self-proclaimed “MAGA Republican” who unsuccessfully tried to oust Miller-Meeks in 2024 had contemplated dropping out of the race after Trump’s endorsement, but Pautsch said Wednesday, Nov. 12, in Iowa City he is staying the course.
“No matter what happens with the election, it is secondary to the opportunity to engage people and discuss and talk about these things,” Pautsch said. “I am not here to condemn them. I’m not here to make them feel inferior or be condescending. … Why would I give up this privilege, this honor, this platform and quit the race?”
David Pautsch, who’s running for Iowa’s first congressional district, spoke to the University of Iowa College Republicans Nov. 12, 2025 at the Iowa Memorial Union in Iowa City, Iowa.
Pautsch visited the University of Iowa campus Wednesday night to speak to the UI College Republicans about affordability, faith and family values and a broad array of issues.
National Republicans said they won’t embrace Pautsch’s congressional bid.
Miller-Meeks and Republican U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn, who represents Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District that encompases Des Moines, received endorsements Wednesday from GOP U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson.
The growing slate of high-profile endorsements signals national Republicans’ efforts to coalesce support behind the two Iowa congressional incumbents while national Democrats have placed them among their top targets as they look to grab control of Congress in the 2026 midterms.
“Politicians do goofy things because they want to line up the Republicans in their camp,” Pautsch said, downplaying the endorsements.
Miller-Meeks survived a recount to win her 2024 race by less than 800 votes over Democrat Christina Bohannan, who is hoping to face-off again in 2026.
Pautsch faces an uphill battle to secure the nomination over Miller-Meeks, who raised $806,731 in the third quarter of 2025 that ended Sept. 30 and has $2.6 million in cash on hand. That’s a significant lead over Pautsch, who reported $8,825 in cash on hand.
More: Democrat Christina Bohannan leads Iowa’s 2026 US House candidates, raising $1M this summer
Bohannan led all of Iowa’s 2026 U.S. House candidates in fundraising this summer with $1.06 million raised in the third quarter, though she has $1 million less overall than Miller-Meeks.
Bohannan is locked in an increasingly competitive Democratic primary. Her opponent Taylor Wettach, a first-time candidate and Muscatine attorney, brought in $429,099 and ended the quarter with $347,043. Travis Terrell, a University of Iowa Health Care worker from Tiffin, raised $12,940 and has $6,143 in cash on hand.
The 20-county 1st District encompasses the cities of Davenport, Iowa City, Keokuk and Indianola.
David Pautsch, who’s running for Iowa’s first congressional district, spoke to the University of Iowa College Republicans Nov. 12, 2025 at the Iowa Memorial Union in Iowa City, Iowa.
No endorsement, no problem for Pautsch’s MAGA brand
Pautsch continues to pitch himself as the Trump-aligned MAGA candidate despite the president’s endorsement of his opponent.
He touted his early support of Trump in 2016 and in the 2024 Iowa Caucuses. Miller-Meeks backed Trump’s 2024 campaign after the caucuses.
Pautsch, a businessman and founder of the Quad Cities Prayer Breakfast, came within 12 percentage points of Miller-Meeks in the 2024 primary race despite raising less than $40,000 and relatively low name recognition.
Pautsch his success in 2024 proves candidates don’t need a lot of money to win a race. He feels GOP voters deserve a true Christian constitutional conservative candidate.
He said he sees opportunity because there is “widespread discontent with what she (Miller-Meeks) has done.”
David Pautsch, who’s running for Iowa’s first congressional district, spoke to the University of Iowa College Republicans Nov. 12, 2025 at the Iowa Memorial Union in Iowa City, Iowa.
Pautsch touched on Miller-Meeks’ raucous town hall in Keosauqua on Nov. 10, where she was jeered, shouted over and later booed as she exited the stage, just “icing on the cake.”
“When people get an opportunity to talk to her, they lay into her — not just Democrats but Republicans as well,” Pautsch said. “She hightails it out of there like a heat-seeking missile. She’s gone. She doesn’t want to take questions, she doesn’t like it and she has no defense for some of the very poor judgment she’s displayed in her voting. So it’s no surprise that she’s disliked in the district. This is like a campaign handed to me on a silver platter.”
More: US Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks fields tough questions in long-awaited fiery town hall
Miller-Meeks’ campaign manager Peter Owens said in a statement the third-term congresswoman “is proud to serve the people of Iowa’s 1st District and continues delivering results for Iowa families, farmers and workers.”
“Iowans have elected her three times because of her proven conservative record, and with President Trump’s complete and total endorsement, she’s ready to win again and keep fighting for Iowa,” Owens said.
Pautsch calls to shut down the Affordable Care Act
Pautsch’s UI campus visit came as House lawmakers were casting votes to fund the federal government and end a record-breaking shutdown, the longest in U.S. history at 43 days. Lawmakers were at a stalemate over the impending lapse of Obamacare subsidies that kept health insurance at a lower rate.
Democrats wanted any funding bill to reverse Medicaid cuts Republicans passed earlier this year and extend enhanced Affordable Care Act premium tax credits that are slated to expire at the end of 2025 without congressional action.
The Senate committed to holding a stand-alone vote on the subsidies, but Johnson hasn’t made the same commitment in the House.
David Pautsch, who’s running for Iowa’s first congressional district, spoke to the University of Iowa College Republicans Nov. 12, 2025 at the Iowa Memorial Union in Iowa City, Iowa.
Pautsch called for the Affordable Care Act to be shut down and said the money should be returned to the American people so they can buy medical insurance on the open market.
“There are many truly affordable health care programs out there, but the ACA is just abominable,” Pautsch said. “The whole thing ought to be shut down and let the free market drive this sort of thing.”
Abolishing income tax and supporting tariffs
Pautsch said Wednesday he wants to abolish federal income taxes and allow citizens to “keep every dollar you earn.” The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office projected the federal government would take in $2.6 trillion in revenue from federal income taxes for fiscal year 2025, which ended Sept. 30. The federal government operates on an approximately $7 trillion budget.
“To make up that $2.6 trillion, if you just kept that money in the economy, the government would automatically get another trillion dollars back, [from] normal withholding because of increased productivity,” Pautsch said. “If you wind up taking some of this tariff money and putting that back into the economy, we’re talking right now that probably next year, we don’t do much, be about $600 billion so you look over half trillion dollars there. You get rid of all the waste, fraud, and abuse [across] the whole government as a whole, and you’re looking at another trillion, maybe more.”
Pautsch said revenue from Trump’s sweeping global tariffs could make up the difference. The U.S. Supreme Court is currently weighing the constitutionality of Trump’s tariffs.
“I separately support tariffs. Tariffs are a great tool for a president to have,” Pautsch said. “Every other country puts tariffs on us, and we’re supposed to run around without any ability to protect ourselves. That’s insane. We need tariffs, but tariffs alone won’t get the job done today.”
Marissa Payne covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Des Moines Register. Reach her by email at mjpayne@registermedia.com.
Jessica Rish is an entertainment, dining and education reporter for the Iowa City Press-Citizen. She can be reached at JRish@press-citizen.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @rishjessica_
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Miller-Meeks’ challenger undeterred by Trump endorsing incumbent
