--- title: Why Kim Reynolds’ State of the Union Response Matters description: In picking Reynolds, the Republican Party affirmed Trumpian politics remain the de facto position of the base. canonical: https://time.com/6152625/kim-reynolds-state-of-the-union-response/ author: Philip Elliott article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2022-02-28T19:54:40.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-24T13:56:48.639Z article:section: Politics og:title: Why Kim Reynolds’ Republican State of the Union Response Matters og:description: Picking Reynolds tells America as much about the current state of the GOP as any words loaded on her teleprompter. og:url: https://time.com/6152625/kim-reynolds-state-of-the-union-response/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf7aabe3cd8d0548f/698a22de09208f6415418e50/kim-reynolds-iowa.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2400 og:image:height: 1350 og:image:alt: Governor Kim Reynolds gives the condition of the state address to members of the Iowa Legislature inside the House Chamber, on og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Why Kim Reynolds’ Republican State of the Union Response Matters twitter:description: Picking Reynolds tells America as much about the current state of the GOP as any words loaded on her teleprompter. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf7aabe3cd8d0548f/698a22de09208f6415418e50/kim-reynolds-iowa.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Why Kim Reynolds’ Republican State of the Union Response Matters > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Philip Elliott](https://time.com/author/philip-elliott/)  ## Philip Elliott Senior Correspondent Feb 28, 2022 7:54 PM UTC  Governor Kim Reynolds gives the condition of the state address to members of the Iowa Legislature inside the House Chamber at the State Capitol, in Des Moines on Jan. 11, 2022. Governor Kim Reynolds gives the condition of the state address to members of the Iowa Legislature inside the House Chamber at the State Capitol, in Des Moines on Jan. 11, 2022. Kelsey Kremer—USA Today Netword/Reuters  by [Philip Elliott](https://time.com/author/philip-elliott/)  ## Philip Elliott Senior Correspondent Feb 28, 2022 7:54 PM UTC _This article is part of the The DC Brief, TIME’s politics newsletter. Sign up_ [_here_](https://cloud.newsletters.time.com/newsletter%5Fopt-in?qs=3a19a0aa35903a2d9f214b74f69a37910b58de73cf3f2b89adc123fac024f0478c72f91010ae9d01f08f46c616068cab3e74726837cd2cce70dac3796e46c2b4) _to get stories like this sent to your inbox._ If the Republican Party has an id, it might look like Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds. Mask [requirements](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/23/us/politics/iowa-kim-reynolds-face-masks.html)? Scrap ‘em. Vaccine [mandates](https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2022/02/10/vaccine-mask-mandates-iowa-employers-businesses-banned-under-bill/6703336001/)? In the trash. Distance [learning](https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/education/2020/04/10/schools-des-moines-distance-learning-online-classes-covid-19-coronavirus/2970641001/)? Nah, thanks. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Reynolds was among the [loudest](https://www.thegazette.com/government-politics/iowa-gov-kim-reynolds-wont-budge-on-masks-even-as-virus-deaths-rise/) critics of any efforts to modify personal behavior in order to curb the spread of the virus. It made her something a celebrity among conservatives who saw government overreach with every effort to slow the spread of the deadly coronavirus. The [posture](https://siouxcityjournal.com/news/state-and-regional/gov-kim-reynolds-says-it-s-time-to-move-on-and-treat-this-like-we/article%5Fc1b093a0-5323-59dd-b07e-e04efdd962bb.html) fit perfectly with her political identity honed over decades in Iowa, climbing from rural county treasurer to become the first woman elected governor of her state. And, on Tuesday, she will be the Republican anointed to give the party’s official response to President Joe Biden’s first State of the Union speech. Given her background and temperament, it’s highly likely she’ll keep the pre-canned criticism focused on Biden’s domestic agenda and steer clear of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that is sure to crowd out at least some of Biden’s yearly report card to Congress. But as an acolyte of Trump’s reboot of the GOP, she will surely have plenty of barbs for a President trying to de-escalate what could be the biggest ground war in Europe since the 1940s. So, who is Kim Reynolds? In many ways, Reynolds is Sarah Pailn 2.0, a conservative avatar who is shaking up her party’s good ol’ boys network that runs state government. A quick-witted rejoinder to institutional inertia, Reynolds is a ready foil for liberal instincts and a nemesis for those who would try to constrain politics to the familiar footprint. The culture wars are familiar [ground](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/coronavirus-stay-at-home-order.html) for her; the norms of polite politics are meant to be shredded. At this point, fighting convention is a winning quality for aspiring Republican leaders like her and meritorious on its own. Reynolds got her start in the rural fields of Iowa politics, spending four terms as a county treasurer before rising to the state senate in the 2008 election. From there, Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad—the longest-serving governor in American history—elevated her to be his running mate during her first term in the Des Moines legislature. When Branstad decamped from the governor’s mansion on Terrace Hill for the U.S. Embassy in Beijing in 2017, Reynolds rose from Lieutenant governor to the top job. She won her first full term in 2018. A rising [star](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/23/us/politics/iowa-kim-reynolds-face-masks.html) in the era of Donald Trump, Reynolds quickly understood the potency of a good troll. She was among the fiercest critics of pandemic-era restrictions. She didn’t implement a stay-at-home order or order mask mandates until late in 2020\. A strong [ally](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/10/business/economy/coronavirus-tyson-plant-iowa.html) of Iowa’s powerful pork industry, she didn’t push limits on processing plants even as COVID-19 hit the factories. In fact, her opposition to checks on the pandemic drew this fateful [line](https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2021/02/10/iowa-lift-all-restrictions/) from a Washington Post op-ed writer: “Welcome to Iowa: A state that just doesn’t care if you live or die.” In picking Reynolds, the Republican Party seems to affirm that Trumpian politics are durable and remain the de facto position of the base. Reynolds is about as conservative as they come, but her appeal inside the GOP goes beyond any of her policies. She embodies a plucky spirit of the party that takes delight in fighting expectations—even though it runs counter to her home state’s “Iowa Nice” reputation. In many ways, the pick of Reynolds tells America as much about the current state of the GOP as any words that are loaded on her teleprompter. The Republican Party at the moment is trying to coalesce around a [message](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/02/28/democrats-midterm-election-reset/) to criticize Biden, despite his sour polls and languishing standing even among allies. A looming Supreme Court confirmation could be a bright spot for him, and the situation in Europe has shown Biden to be a steady grounding in a fast-changing world. The choice of Reynolds is unlikely to challenge Biden’s stature on the global stage, but the selection could help ding him, especially among female voters who helped him win office in 2020. That’s not to say Reynolds is universally beloved. [Far](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/23/us/politics/iowa-kim-reynolds-face-masks.html) from it, even among voters who know her best. Her pandemic peacocking cost her and her Republicans standing in 2020 among independents and moderates according to polling in the state. The open contempt for science is only good for the slice of the electorate who wants to embrace raw rejection of civility. For Republicans to win this fall, they’ll need those suburban swing voters who decided to dump Trump in 2020 on the promise of a boring Biden presidency. So as the world waits to hear Biden give his assessment of the state of American politics, there will be plenty of attention to the counter-argument, coming from a Heartland governor with a sharp tongue of her own. While Trump is not giving a scheduled speech, his strain of politics will still have a voice via Reynolds. And with the midterm elections just a few months away, her speech will need a close reading. Given how much is at stake for the second half of Biden’s first term, the thesis coming from Des Moines will be a helpful hint at what Republicans see as the most viable message for the GOP’s prospects this fall. _Make sense of what matters in Washington._ [_Sign up for the D.C. 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