Public polling before the primary showed Democrat Christina Bohannan with an edge over Mariannette Miller-Meeks, within the margin of error. In her first match up with the Iowa City Democrat, Miller-Meeks won easily, 162,947 to 142,173. Erosion of her margin in polling indicates her growing unpopularity. Five Thirty Eight shows a June 30-July 4 poll of 375 likely voters, sponsored by the Bohannan campaign, with Miller-Meeks +1. While one shouldn’t make too much of a single poll, Bohannan appears to be closing the gap from the 2022 election.

What is going on? Miller-Meeks and her ill-advised takes on important issues are not that popular with both Republicans and No Party voters. She has to do something about that, and re-engineering her public-facing presence to appear less crazy may be it.

The main evidence of Miller-Meeks’ unpopularity was the June 4 Republican primary election. She defeated challenger David Pautsch 16,529 to 12,981 yet lost five counties, including Scott, the largest in the district. The other losses were in Clinton, Des Moines, Jones, and Washington Counties. This was not a good showing for an incumbent elected twice previously to office. Pautsch’s messaging was voters were “ticked off” with the Congress. “Principle is more important than power,” Pautsch said. By that he means right wing conservative principles. He got some traction among Republicans with that, painting Miller-Meeks as not right-wing enough.

Beginning June 25, Miller-Meeks began a new series of emails from a different official U.S. House address. I’ve been receiving her weekly newsletter from another address since October 2021, the year she was sworn in. Something different is going on. Why a new newsletter? I call it “normalization of the crazy.” Instead of presenting as the Trump-loving enthusiast she is, Miller-Meeks is posing as a “normal Congresswoman.” In her last new email, she wrote, “If you ever need assistance or have concerns that need addressing, please don’t hesitate to reach out to my office. My team and I are here to help!” Everyone who believes that, stand on your head. Seldom has she responded to my notes to her office.

The first of the new emails was an invitation to a telephone town hall. The second promoted HR2, the Republican Secure the Border Act, and the SAVE Act “that requires states to obtain proof of citizenship – in person – when registering an individual to vote in a federal election.” The third was a brief summary of some of her main issues and an invitation to subscribe to her regular newsletter and connect on social media. All three messages promoted her regular newsletter. While these messages seem innocuous, and a Democrat holding her office might send something similar with different issues, her need for a more professional image is evident. She is trying too hard.

Miller-Meeks’ main issues, that recur in the messages I receive, are related to the U.S. border with Mexico and gas and oil production and pricing. She aligns with the top of the Republican ticket on these. Border control is bad, other countries are releasing Hannibal Lector-type mental illness patients into the U.S. Gasoline prices are too high and the solution is more exploration of oil and natural gas within the U.S. Trump seems crazy when he talks about these issues and Miller-Meeks is closely aligned with his policy. That may not get her reelected, hence the new image.

Instead of accepting the charade, help Christina Bohannan and Democrats defeat Miller-Meeks. Here is a link to Bohannan’s website.