“Squad” member Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) praised vulnerable Democrat Rep. Cindy Axne (D-IA) during a virtual town hall Thursday night with the Polk County Democratic Party, urging the attendees to “decisively” return her to office in the midterms next year.

“I hope that you will never take her leadership for granted and that we decisively return her, because she is sorely needed, and we’re all better for her advocacy,” Pressley said at the event, according to the Des Moines Register.

The “Squad” member also praised Axne as a “steadfast voice” on specific issues, such as “economic justice for our workers, expanding access to educational and job training opportunities, advancing racial justice, standing up for the rights of women, veterans (and) the LGBTQ community.”

Rep. Cindy Axne (D-IA) speaks during a news conference discussing the “Shutdown to End All Shutdowns (SEAS) Act” on January 29, 2019, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Zach Gibson/Getty Images).

The virtual town hall with Pressley comes as Axne prepares for another brutal election cycle. Republicans are calling her district a must-win seat for the House majority, as Axne herself acknowledged that there is a very slim Democrat majority currently in the House. National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) chairman Tom Emmer (R-MN) told Breitbart News in July that Axne is one of the campaign arm’s top targets, declaring she is “not coming back” from the midterms.

Axne acknowledged the vulnerability of her seat during the event. “When I win, it means we hold the House,” Axne said. “It’s almost an unbelievable place for us to always be, here at the epicenter of all of it in Iowa.”

“They’re gunning for us. They’re gunning for me,” Axne also said. “We have a four-vote majority in the House. You all know what’s at stake when we lose the House and we don’t intend on doing that.”

The Congressional Leadership Fund press secretary Cally Perkins said that Axne “isn’t fooling anyone” in Iowa. “She campaigns as a moderate in Iowa, but she stands hand in hand with the Squad in Washington,” Perkins said.

Breitbart News reported before the event that the Republican Party of Iowa chairman Jeff Kaufmann slammed Axne for aligning herself with Pressley:

Cindy Axne is finally showing her true colors and campaigning with radical Squad member Ayanna Pressley, a leader in the national Defund the Police movement. For years now, Axne has tried to fool Iowans into believing she is a moderate. However, Iowans know the Democrat Party has changed. There are no moderates left, just ones who lie about their agenda and ones who are honest about their hatred for our country and its values.

Iowans deserve to know Pressley’s record. Pressley is an avid supporter of defunding our police, she has called for rioters to target GOP officials, and wants to “restructure” our country. None of these are Iowa values, yet Cindy Axne will campaign with her and use the money to continue her deceptive lies.

Republicans will face off in the primary on June 7, and whoever advances will face up against Axne. One of the Republican candidates, State Sen. Zach Nunn (R-Bondurant), recently told Breitbart News Saturday that Axne is only loyal to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and not Iowans.

Jacob Bliss is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow him on Twitter.