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State Representative Andy McKean of Anamosa is leaving the Republican Party and joining the Democrats in the final days of the Iowa legislative session.
That narrows the party split in the chamber to 53 Republicans and 47 Democrats.
McKean says the statehouse has become much more partisan and he was uncomfortable with Iowa Republicans moving further to the right. And he doesn’t like what he’s seeing at the national level, especially with the 2020 presidential election coming up.
0423mckean1: 10 “ I feel as a Republican that I need to be able to support the standard bearer of our party. Unfortunately, that is something I’m unable to do.”
He says he believes the Republican Party will “soon pay a heavy price” for President Trump’s policies.
McKean was the longest-serving Republican in the Iowa Legislature, first elected in 1978.
Governor Kim Reynolds is not saying much about her views on legalized sports betting.
Last night, the Iowa House approved a bill that would let the state’s casinos take bets on professional and college sports — either at the casinos or elsewhere via a smart-phone app.
At her regular weekly news conference today, Reynolds said she and her policy team would sit down and review the legislation and then make a decision. The formal copy of the bill has not reached the governor’s office yet. If she receives it while the legislature is in session, she’ll have three days to sign or veto it. After the legislature adjourns, which could be within a few days, the governor will have much longer — 30 days to decide the fate of bills