Deidre DeJear is among the three Black women running to be some of the first Black women governors in the United States. Stacey Abrams in Georgia and Yolanda Flowers in Alabama are also vying to hold office as their states' top executive. 

In 2018, DeJear became the first African American ever to be nominated by a major party for statewide office in Iowa and then did it again this year as the first Black person to ever win the Democratic nominee for governor of Iowa. DeJear is seeking office against Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, a popular incumbent seeking reelection, making this the first time two women are running against each other in the state. If elected, it would make DeJear Iowa's first Democratic governor in nearly 16 years.

Reynolds boasts an approval rating over 50%, an endorsement from former President Trump, and she delivered the Republican response to President Biden’s State of the Union address in March. Reynolds is currently pushing in court to allow a 2018 law to go into effect that would ban abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy- a timeframe before many women even know they are pregnant. The law does carry exceptions for rape, incest, fetal abnormalities and to protect the life of the mother. 

In January, the Des Moines Register reported that Governor Reynolds had broken the record for most cash on hand reported for a campaign for Iowa governor- nearly $4.8 million. That kind of campaign finance advantage typically deters challengers, but DeJear has stepped up to the plate and is working to make sure that Monday's upcoming debate shows "the difference between the two... and [the] core issues that folks have been talking about all over the state," DeJear told the Des Moines Register.

We speak to Ian Richardson of the Des Moines Register and Deidre DeJear, Democratic candidate for Governor of Iowa, for a look into the Iowa governor's race in this edition of our special midterm election series SHElection! in partnership with Center for American Women and Politics and with support from Ms. Foundation.