Republican attorney general candidate Brenna Bird targets Biden

The best way for Iowans to stop overreach by President Joe Biden’s administration is to elect a conservative attorney general, Republican Brenna Bird told fairgoers Saturday.

Bird faces Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller in this year’s election. Miller has served as the state attorney general since 1978, and Bird told listeners at the Des Moines Register political soapbox it’s time for a change.

There’s another reason for Iowa to elect a Republican attorney general this year, she said. Regardless of midterm results come November, Biden will remain the president for two more years, she said. Even if Republicans win big, Biden can still implement policy through executive order, she said. State attorneys general have the best chance of challenging Biden in court, she said.

Bird criticized Miller for bringing lawsuits during President Donald Trump’s administration, but not against Biden.

“It looks like our attorney general is Biden’s attorney general,” Bird said. “When I’m attorney general, I’m going to be Iowa’s attorney general.”

She also criticized Miller for not defending some Iowa laws, supported by Gov. Kim Reynolds and the GOP-controlled state Legislature. Miller has refused to defend state laws like the so-called “fetal heartbeat” abortion law in court.

“Don’t you want somebody who’s pulling in the right direction for a chance, who’s not lazy, who’s not liberal?” Bird asked Saturday. “Somebody who will support the policies, for example, of Governor Reynolds?”