“The idea that you bring people together to make progress and that you’re always results-focused,” he said.

Health and nursing homes

Branstad’s door-knocking has convinced him that rising health care costs are the most pressing problem facing the district, followed by the needs of rural schools and the importance of investing in roads.

“Health care costs are out of control. They’re rising much faster than our wages and incomes are,” he said. “... It makes for some very tough decisions for families. I’ve talked to people who are forced to decide between health insurance and paying the mortgage, or health insurance and putting food on the table.”

Cornish’s first focus in health care involves nursing homes, especially the ones in his district that are struggling because metro homes get reimbursed at higher levels than rural ones.

“It can be up to hundreds of thousands of dollars a year,” he said, adding that makes it hard for rural homes to pay competitive wages to aides and nurses. “Then they run into the problem that their employees are being raided by the hospitals.”

City, country and coalitions

Both candidates also talk about the disparity they see in funding levels for rural schools compared to metro schools.

Cornish said many rural districts repeatedly see taxpayers turn down referendums seeking more operating revenue or funding for building projects.

“It’s a dismal track record right now,” Cornish said. “We have to look at education as a statewide problem. ... We have to figure out a statewide formula to take care of it.”

He also would like to see more transportation funding diverted from metro roads and transit to rural parts of the state.

“The way I work on that is trying to get rural legislators together and somehow work on coalition building,” Cornish said.

Branstad said he doesn’t think Cornish has demonstrated much skill as a coalition-builder. And he thinks voters are looking in all races for a candidate that’s offering a new approach.

“People see the direction we’ve gone in the last few years and they see it’s time for a change,” he said, “government that works for people and seeks results, not just political finger-pointing and excuses.”