Deidre DeJear, the Democrat gubernatorial nominee in Iowa, recently received an endorsement from a local organization that has consistently called for defunding the Des Moines police department.
Earlier in the month, Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement Action (CCI) “proudly” endorsed DeJear. However, CCI has not been silent about its ultimate goal of defunding the police. On the organization’s website, they openly admit pushing for a world where “we’ve defunded the police.”
During the summer riots of 2020, CCI stood in solidarity with the Des Moines Black Lives Matter chapter’s call to “imagine a world without police.” The group has also hosted webinars about defunding the police, as they did in 2020.
Despite CCI’s outspoken calls for defunding the police, DeJear has been closely associated with this radical group for months. For example, DeJear joined a bus tour CCI hosted back in June.
CCI’s calls for defunding the police likely align with her personal policy interests, as DeJear once refused to stand during Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds’ (R) Condition of the State Address, where Reynolds honored members of law enforcement who put their lives on the line.
CCI said its endorsement of DeJear came after she “spent time listening to and learning from CCI Action members.” CCI Action Board President Cherie Mortice said, “Deidre understands, like we do, that change only comes from the bottom up.”
“CCI Action believes elections are a tool to advance our key issue campaigns,” the endorsement continued. “We’re supporting candidates who believe, like we do, that change comes from the bottom up and who are willing to work *with* us for our bold solutions.”
DeJear hopes to unseat incumbent Gov. Reynolds in the November elections. However, DeJear’s chances are slim, as Iowa has not elected a Democrat governor in 15 years.
DeJear and Reynolds will participate in a debate on October 17 ahead of the election.
Jordan Dixon-Hamilton is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at jdixonhamilton@breitbart.com or follow him on Twitter.