Kim Reynolds

On May 24, 2017, Reynolds became governor of Iowa upon the resignation of Governor Terry Branstad, who stepped down to become the new United States Ambassador to China. Reynolds is the first female governor of Iowa.[18]

Reynolds's elevation to the governorship created a vacancy in the office of the lieutenant governor, and reports indicated that her selection of a lieutenant governor could be challenged in the Iowa Supreme Court.[19] An opinion from the Iowa attorney general indicated that "an individual promoted from lieutenant governor to governor, as was Reynolds, [did] not have the authority to appoint a new lieutenant governor."[20] On May 25, 2017, Reynolds announced that Iowa Public Defender Adam Gregg would serve as acting lieutenant governor; to avoid litigation, the Reynolds administration stated that Gregg "[would] not hold the official position of lieutenant governor" and would not succeed Reynolds in the event of her inability to serve as governor.[21]

Reynolds has been open to raising the legal tobacco age to 21.[22] Reynolds has supported making large cuts to the Medicaid program which cares for eligible low-income adults, children, pregnant women, elderly adults and people with disabilities. [23]

In 2018, following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Obergefell v. Hodges (2015), Reynolds described same-sex marriage as a "settled" issue and said that she did not consider herself obligated to follow the Iowa Republican Party platform provision against same-sex marriage.[24][25]

Reynolds acknowledged that Trump's trade and tariff policies were hurting farmers, but then claimed that farmers would benefit from them in the end.[26][27][28]

In May 2018, Reynolds signed a bill to revamp Iowa's energy efficiency policies.[29] Also in May 2018, Reynolds signed a fetal heartbeat bill that the Des Moines Register referred to as "the most restrictive abortion ban in the nation".[30] In January 2019, the law was struck down by an Iowa state judge, who said it was unconstitutional.[31]

Reynolds began her first full term on January 18, 2019. On March 27, 2019, Reynolds signed a bill into law requiring public universities to protect all speech on campus.[32][33] Through her judicial appointments, Reynolds shifted the Iowa Supreme Court in a conservative direction.[34]

On June 30, 2020, the Iowa State Patrol received significant media coverage when a vehicle carrying Reynolds hit a Black Lives Matter protester; officials claim the protester intentionally stepped in front of the vehicle's path.[35]

In August 2020, Reynolds signed an executive order permitting felons to vote in Iowa elections upon completing their sentence. Iowa was the final state to end a lifetime ban on felons voting.[36][37]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Reynolds defied public health guidance and scientific recommendations in dealing with the virus.[38] Reynolds signed a Proclamation of Disaster Emergency on March 9, 2020.[39] That same month she ordered the closure of some recreational businesses and school closure.[40][41] She ordered a halt to what she described as "non-essential" surgeries, which included surgical abortions.[42] During the pandemic, Reynolds did not implement a stay-at-home order.[40] She defied the advice of Iowa health officials,[43] and resisted implementation of face mask mandate until after the November 2020 election when she made face masks at large gatherings mandatory.[44][40] She did not follow the advice of Iowa health officials.[43] In June, recreational businesses such as bars and restaurants were fully reopened, leading to surges in coronavirus case numbers.[40] In July 2020, she argued that face mask mandates implemented by localities in Iowa were "not appropriate" and not lawful,[38] and blocked them. She said that the science on the effectiveness of face masks in halting the coronavirus pandemic was not settled; the World Health Organization, the Center for Disease Control, and Iowa's own department of health all recommended that people wear face masks in public to halt the spread of the virus.[45]

In April 2020, following a tip from Ashton Kutcher, Reynolds, signed a contract with Utah startup Nomi Health to develop a COVID-19 testing program called TestIowa.[46][47][48]

In July of that year, Reynolds said she would invalidate plans implemented by some districts to limit in-person classes to one day a week for most students, with online learning on other days, overriding local school districts and requiring students to spend at least half of their schooling in classrooms.[49] This action prompted public school teachers from Iowa to begin sending their obituaries to Reynolds.[50] Reynolds had the lowest COVID-19 approval rating of any governor in the nation at 28%.[51]

Two months later in September, the Reynolds administration broke with the CDC's quarantine guidelines, as the administration issued guidelines no longer requiring individuals who had been close to someone who had been diagnosed with the coronavirus to undergo quarantine.[52] In October 2020, she appeared at an indoor fundraiser for the Republican Party, and a large rally in an airport hangar for President Donald Trump; individuals did not wear masks or socially distance at the events.[38]

And in November, Reynolds issued a statewide mask mandate, ordering anyone over age 2 to wear a mask in indoor public spaces; this reversed her previous claim that face masks are merely a "feel good" measure. She said, "No one wants to do this. I don't want to do this," adding "If Iowans don't buy into this, we'll lose. Businesses will close once again, more schools will be forced to go online, and our health care system will fail."[53]

In February 2021, while the pandemic was still going on, Reynolds rolled back requirements on face masks in indoor public places, as well as rolled back restrictions on indoor dining.[54]

In June 2017, Reynolds stated that she would seek a full term as Governor of Iowa in the 2018 election.[59]

Reynolds' decision to have Rep. Steve King co-chair her campaign stirred controversy, as King has a history of remarks that have been described as racist.[60] The Des Moines Register editorial board wrote, "Gov. Kim Reynolds has kept him on as her campaign co-chairman, while muttering increasingly thin-lipped denials that she agrees with his ideological extremism."[61] Reynolds had previously praised King, saying he was "a strong defender of freedom and our conservative values".[62] After Election Day, Reynolds criticized King and said that he needed to change his approach.[63]

Reynolds won the Republican nomination for Governor and defeated Democrat Fred Hubbell and Libertarian Jake Porter in the general election on November 6, 2018.[64] Reynolds made history as the first woman elected Governor of Iowa.[65] While polls showed that she was trailing Hubbell,[66] she defeated him, 50.3%–47.5%. She won primarily by sweeping nearly the entire state west of Des Moines.[67] In particular, she dominated the state's 4th congressional district, which she carried with almost 61 percent of the vote.[68]