2nd District Democrat Sarah Corkery brings lived experience to policy at Iowa State Fair

Iowa's 2nd Congressional District Democratic candidate, Sarah Corkery, was the final speaker at The Des Moines Register Political Soapbox this year at the Iowa State Fair. Corkery has built a platform around healthcare, education and abortion rights, based primarily on her lived experience.

"The first part of my story is: I’ve had breast cancer,” the Cedar Falls native said as she opened her speech. "Not once, but twice.”

Corkery is a mother and small-business owner in the 2nd District, which includes the cities of Dubuque, Waterloo and Cedar Rapids in eastern Iowa and goes as far south as Grinnell.

Through her treatment and recovery, Corker said she’s seen firsthand how high medical expenses can be, and how untenable that can be for ordinary Iowans. She has proposed an alternative — increased acceptance of nontraditional medicine.

"A single chemotherapy treatment was $20,000. A single surgery was upwards of $100,000. We need to find ways to compliment science with other things — like marijuana — that can relieve people’s pain, and that giant corporations aren’t making a lot of money off. But that needs to happen here in Iowa, too.”

Corkery is running against incumbent Rep. Ashley Hinson, who will have completed her second term in the House next year. Hinson, a Republican from Marion, declined the invitation to speak at the Soapbox.

Raising awareness for breast cancer

The Democratic challenger said Tuesday that Hinson simply isn’t doing enough to help Iowans, particularly those with breast cancer.

Recently, Corkery helped lobby Iowa politicians in Washington for their support of the Metastatic Breast Cancer Access to Care Act, which would reduce the waiting period to get on Medicare for breast cancer patients under 65.

"All of the other Republicans said yes,” Corkery said. "We even got Joni Ernst to be the co-sponsor of the bill. But we asked Ashley Hinson four times, and she said no. She said if she agreed to help people with breast cancer, it would open the door and she’d have to help other people with cancer, and she didn’t want to do that.”

Corkery added that Hinson had been unwilling to cap insulin prices at $35. She also spoke out against Iowa’s recently enacted six-week abortion ban , which prohibits abortions after cardiac activity is detected.

"We need to codify Roe v. Wade , first of all,” Corkery said. "I truly believe all medical decisions should be between a person and a doctor — with no government involvement at all. So, we’ve got a long way to go from a six-week ban to making sure it’s just a protected health situation.”

Calling for more public school funding

The Democrat from Cedar Falls is also pushing for increased funding for the state’s public school system, going against the private school voucher program passed in 2023.

Corkery said it was her own experience as a parent of a legally blind and epileptic child that led to her stance.

"I have a kid who’s disabled,” she said. "Private schools are well-intended, lovely places, but they don’t have to accommodate kids with disabilities. They can just say, 'We can’t afford it.’ That’s not parent-choice for me.”

Her father was a Lutheran minister, but Corkery also raised concerns about the exclusivity and religious leanings of many private schools in the state, saying that 42 of Iowa’s 99 counties don’t have a private school, and that 95% of those schools are some type of Christian denomination.

"We know what’s happening,” Corkery said, "We’re Christianizing the next generation, and it’s not right. We should all be able to have our own beliefs and our own thoughts.”

The race ahead

Corkery was also one of the first Iowa Democrats to outwardly call for President Joe Biden to withdraw his re-election bid, which has caused a surge in Democratic support and fundraising. On Tuesday, Corkery called for voters to maintain that momentum in a district that has recently voted staunchly Republican.

“We need to have more voters turn out this fall. The Democratic Party says about 90,000 registered Democrats didn’t vote last cycle. Our research says it’s closer to 250,000 overall, not just cycle-to-cycle. If you’re mad about education, and mad about women’s rights, you’ve got to show up and vote here in Iowa to get anything done.”

Hinson won her most recent re-election bid by 8 points, and prior to that, she unseated Democrat Abby Finkenauer in the 1st District in 2020.

Corkery concluded by saying that despite claims that the race won’t be competitive, voter composition might suggest otherwise.

"This district is 1⁄3 Republican, 1⁄3 Democrat and 1⁄3 Independent. If we get the vote out, this seat can flip," she said. "It also has not been kind to those who don’t get work done, and that has been Ashley Hinson. I’m not in this for money or power, I want to get out there and represent you.”