Hunter
10/09/25
Congressional candidates’ decision not to hold in-person town hall meetings has become an issue as campaigns begin to ramp up for the midterms.
Many Republicans have heeded the advice of GOP leaders against the town halls following the passing of President Donald Trump’s controversial budget bill.
Iowa’s House District 1 is expected to be one of the most competitive House races in the country, as Republican incumbent Mariannette Miller-Meeks faces a group of Democrats vying to unseat her.
Questioned about holding in-person town halls, she said that she’s been attending meetings and county fairs where people can ask questions, but also added that she will have in-person town halls as she’s done every year.
However, CBS2 reports in a video of an August Johnson County Republican meeting that came to the spotlight this week in a CNN report, she’s criticized the events and claimed Democrats are turning them into a spectacle.
The full video has been taken down from YouTube, but Democratic opponent Christina Bohannan sent out a press release with a shorter clip of Miller-Meeks talking about town halls, where she says she’ll hold one “when hell freezes over.”
Katie Smith, a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spokesperson said Miller-Meeks refuses to face Iowans because she can’t defend her record of ripping away health care and raising costs to give billionaires another payout.
Miller-Meeks has pushed back and pointed out that Bohannan hasn’t held a town hall either.
In a statement to Iowa’s News Now, Miller-Meeks said she meets with Iowa families, farmers, small business owners, and community leaders year-round to answer their questions and share the results she’s delivering for Southeast Iowa in Washington.