Democratic congressional candidate Christina Bohannan scrubbed her old campaign site—which called voter ID laws "a threat to democratic governance" and endorsed taxpayer-funded sex change surgeries—in an effort to bolster her moderate pitch to Iowa voters.
Bohannan, a state legislator, announced on Tuesday her bid to unseat Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R.), saying she decided to run "because she believes we need less bickering in Washington, and more working together." Prior to the announcement, she removed all policy positions from her 2020 campaign site—including sections that condemned Iowa's voter ID law and backed taxpayer funding for "gender confirmation surgery for transgender individuals."
The revelation threatens to undermine Bohannan's attempt to position herself as a moderate and to complicate Democrats' ability to flip a district that former president Donald Trump won in November by 4 points. Nearly 70 percent of Iowa voters, for example, expressed support for voter ID requirements after Republicans introduced their "Election Integrity Act" in 2017. According to Bohannan, however, the law is one of the "numerous threats to democracy in our state" and should be repealed.
In addition to her anti-voter ID stance, Bohannan's "health care" policy section endorsed the use of "Medicaid funding to pay for gender confirmation surgery" and called the matter "both a medical issue and a human rights issue."
Bohannan did not return a request for comment on whether she stands by her past positions. While her 2020 campaign site is still live, the Democrat replaced its content with a redirect link that sends visitors to her congressional campaign page, which does not include detailed policy positions.
Bohannan in 2020 ran to the left of fellow Democrat Vicki Lensing, who for eight years represented the deep-blue 85th district in the Iowa House of Representatives. After Bohannan argued for a "more progressive and less defensive attitude in the Iowa House," she defeated Lensing in the primary by 32 points. She did not face a Republican challenger in the general election.
One veteran Iowa political operative cast doubt on Bohannan's chances to unseat Miller-Meeks.
"It's entertaining to watch Iowa Democrats continue to use the same failed playbook, running radical left candidates and desperately trying to rebrand them as folksy moderates," the operative said. "It didn't work with [failed Senate candidate] Theresa Greenfield, and it won't work with Christina Bohannan."