HD29 race gets ugly

Some voters in Jasper County have supposedly been contacted by callers making what Rep. Wes Breckenridge, D-Newton, says are “untrue and misleading statements” about him, particularly regarding his views on law enforcement. Breckenridge believes these calls are the result of a “push poll” designed to manipulate voters.

In a July 28 Facebook post, Breckenridge, who is running for re-election to maintain his Iowa House District 29 seat, expressed his disappointment in the “campaign tactic” he alleged was used by Republican opponent Jon Dunwell, who has subsequently denied this claim.

One such survey poll Breckenridge drew attention to in his post suggested the Democratic incumbent — and retired police officer — supports defunding law enforcement. Breckenridge, who also has family members in law enforcement, took offense to the claim and said he would “never support this.”

Michelle Smith, chairperson of the Jasper County Democratic Party, said she and her mother received similar calls. Smith described it as “a push poll full of lies.” Breckenridge ended his Facebook post calling upon Dunwell “to publicly condemn these polls.”

Breckenridge added, “There is no room for the national mud slinging at the local level. We are better than this.”

As of Sunday, Aug. 2, Dunwell has not publicly addressed the polls on his social media pages. However, Jasper County Republican Party Chairperson Thad Nearmyer replied with his own post on the party’s Facebook page. Nearmyer said Dunwell “is a man of integrity” and denied his candidate’s involvement.

“It’s sad to see his opponent making false claims that Jon is involved in a push poll that is being performed in District 29,” Nearmyer said on Facebook seven hours after Breckenridge’s initial post. “Jon has no knowledge of who is behind the poll and did not approve of it in any way.”

Dunwell told Newton News in a phone interview on Friday, July 31, that he had first learned about the push poll after speaking to Jasper County Auditor Dennis Parrott, who he claimed had received some phone calls about a poll being conducted. Dunwell said he questioned people to find more information.

What was the poll like? Do you know who it came from? Do you know who conducted the poll? What were the specific questions? These were the kinds of questions Dunwell asked. But no one could give him that information, he said. A few hours later, Breckenridge uploaded statement addressing the survey calls.

Most of what Dunwell knows about the questions asked in the poll came from Breckenridge’s Facebook post. The Republican candidate said he had to stop reading it “because, obviously, it’s never fun to watch people make hard statements about you.”

Dunwell said the only thing he’s aware of about the questions asked in the poll is one “has something to do with police and my opponent.” However, Dunwell said he doesn’t know if “defunding the police” is a phrase people have used to describe one of these poll questions.

“All you’re doing is you’re reading what other people say,” Dunwell said. “I don’t have Republican friends that have ever been asked a (poll) question that I’m aware of. Nobody in my inner circle, so to speak, has been polled. So I don’t know, other than what I read.”

He added, “… It just shows you how competitive this race really is.”

Smith told Newton News the caller who contacted her and her mother had an accent and pronounced some words incorrectly, like “Des Moines.” The caller who phoned Smith had a female voice and had also asked questions regarding Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds’ response to COVID-19 before pivoting to Breckenridge.

Dunwell has decided to not comment on the push poll, and would rather focus on the election and the issues facing Jasper County. Still, he has come to terms that “people are going to say hard things” about him or “misrepresent” him. It’s part of being in a competitive race, he said.

As for publicly condemning these polls, Dunwell said he needs to have more information, noting he doesn’t know what the poll is, doesn’t know where it came from and doesn’t know the questions. For now, Dunwell has chosen to remain silent and said he doesn’t “want to get in the muck.”

Still, he denied his campaign’s connection to the push poll.

“I’m not asking Wes to condemn the comments on his Facebook page about who I am,” Dunwell said. “That’s just not helpful. What we want to do is focus on what matters. I wish I could know what the questions were. I wish I could see what the poll was. I don’t even know what it is.”

Breckenridge also claimed Dunwell “has either signed off on or relinquished control of his campaign to state/national players allowing these types of tactics.” Dunwell said he is “absolutely not” receiving state or national support, and is upset his name is being used without his control or consent.

“My campaign is me and my volunteers in my office,” Dunwell said. “You can look at my expenditures … I have absolutely never had a conversation, a dialogue — nothing — about a poll happening … You ask anyone who saw me on Tuesday (July 28). It just bothered me.”

Contact Christopher Braunschweig at 641-792-3121 ext. 6560 or cbraunschweig@newtondailynews.com