Joshua Kuhn-McRoberts

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Joshua Kuhn-McRoberts

Democratic Party

Education

Bachelor's

Wartburg College, 2011

Graduate

Drake University, 2016

Personal

Birthplace

Des Moines, Iowa

Religion

United Methodist

Profession

Quality Assurance Underwriter

Contact

Campaign website

Personal Facebook

Joshua Kuhn-McRoberts (Democratic Party) ran for election for Governor of Iowa. He did not appear on the ballot for the Democratic primary on June 7, 2022.

Kuhn-McRoberts completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2021. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Joshua Kuhn-McRoberts was born in Des Moines, Iowa. Kuhn-McRoberts' professional experience includes working as a quality assurance underwriter, public servant with the Iowa Finance Authority, and IFA representative on the Iowa Mental Health Planning and Advisory Council. He earned a bachelor's degree from Wartburg College in 2011 and a graduate degree from Drake University in 2016.

Elections

2022

See also: Iowa gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2022

General election

General election for Governor of Iowa

Incumbent Kim Reynolds defeated Deidre DeJear and Rick Stewart in the general election for Governor of Iowa on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Kim Reynolds (R)	58.0	709,198
		Deidre DeJear (D)	39.5	482,950
		Rick Stewart (L)	2.4	28,998
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	718

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,221,864
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Governor of Iowa

Deidre DeJear advanced from the Democratic primary for Governor of Iowa on June 7, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Deidre DeJear	99.5	145,555
		Other/Write-in votes	0.5	801

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 146,356
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Ras Smith (D)
• Joshua Kuhn-McRoberts (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Governor of Iowa

Incumbent Kim Reynolds advanced from the Republican primary for Governor of Iowa on June 7, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Kim Reynolds	99.0	185,293
		Other/Write-in votes	1.0	1,808

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 187,101
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign themes

2022

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Joshua Kuhn-McRoberts completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2021. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Kuhn-McRoberts' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am a 4th generation Iowan. The son of blue collar-workers and the grandson of farmers, coal miners, and a school board president. I was taught the meaning and value of hard work, responsibility, and determination from a young age. I was a first generation college student who ended up graduating from Drake University in Des Moines with a Master's in Public Administration (MPA) Degree along with a Certified Public Manager designation.

I worked in public service for the better part of a decade at the Iowa Finance Authority ensuring compliance with federally funded Homelessness programs and then in the Homeownership Department assisting Iowans and veterans to achieve their dreams of homeownership.

I am married to my husband Christopher and live in Waukee Iowa. I'm the uncle to 3 wonderful children.

Iowans can trust me. They can trust me to care about the economy they depend on, to care about the air you breathe and the water you drink and the land that sustains us. Iowans can trust that I will fight to protect families and their livelihoods and to care about the future. Iowans can trust me to strike the balance necessary between health, prosperity, and general happiness in the present and the generations who will follow us and who depend on the decisions we make in the here and now.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Make Iowa #1 again in the nation for public education; Public funds for public schools
• Bringing 21st century technology to rural areas and schools
• Ending the Covid-19 Pandemic in Iowa

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Ensuring every day Iowans are listened to, protecting small family farms, ensuring families have access to good schools and live in safe communities, ensuring corporations pay their fair share, being able to connect with ALL Iowans, social equality, being transparent and honest with Iowans, doing all the good I can, in all the ways that I can, for all that I can, and working with farmers to ensure our waterways and fields aren't polluting Iowa's beautiful waterways. I will bring "Iowa Nice" back to the Governorship and politics.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

Barack Obama, Jimmy Carter, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Stacey Abrams, Hillary Clinton, Elizabeth Warren, Pete Buttigieg, and Gov. Robert Ray of Iowa.

I would like to follow the example of Gov. Ray and blend it with 21st century ideas. He was highly respected by both sides and United Iowa during tough times.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

To Shape a New World (Essays on the Political Philosophy of Martin Luther King, Jr.) by Tommie Shelby and Brandon Terry

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Honesty

Integrity
Respect
Open-minded
Forward-looking
Intelligent

Hard-working

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

Intelligent

Honest
Respectful
Uniter
Forward thinking (always have a plan)
Loving
Kind
Understanding

Want what’s best for all of Iowa’s people

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

To ensure the state of Iowa is managed in an effective and ethical way and that ALL Iowa citizens are governed equally and according to our the Constitution of the State of Iowa.

What legacy would you like to leave?

One in which I’m revered for the good I did on behalf of my fellow citizens rather than one where people look back with disdain. I want people to remember my time in office as the turning point when things started to change for the better in Iowa.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

The first historical event I can really remember is the Oklahoma City bombing. I was 6 years old when this occurred.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My first job was working for Casey’s General Store in Knoxville Iowa at age 16. I worked there until I went to college as a gas station clerk. 2005-2007

What is your favorite book? Why?

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. This is my favorite book because it speaks about injustice and righting a wrong, social challenges, it speaks of courage and compassion, it makes you think about laws (written and unwritten), and a loss of innocence.

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

Katniss Everding from The Hunger Games. She steps up and fights for her territory and for what is right.

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

“Song for the Lonely” by Cher

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

I am a survivor of domestic violence. It is something I have struggled with, but have done my best to seek counseling for and move on from, but it is something that has most definitely impacted my life and my worldview.

A governor is the top executive authority in his or her state. What does that mean do you?

To me this means they must show leadership and set an example for how they want the executive branch to behave and operate.

To me this means the buck must stop with the Governor and they must take the ultimate blame for whatever happens (good or bad).

They must always be honest; No matter how hard it is, the truth is always the best way to go.

Governors have many responsibilities, which vary from state to state. Which of those do you personally consider the most important in your state?

Ensuring the safety or Iowans, growing the state in every way possible, leaving the state better than we found it, and making Iowa the buck navy of the nation.

Different states require governors to have different degrees of responsibility for the state budgeting process. If it were your choice, what do you believe is the appropriate degree of gubernatorial involvement with this process in your state?

I believe the Governor should be involved in this process but with guidance. I’m a Democrat and I do believe in balanced budgets.

In most states, governors have the power to make line-item vetoes. If that is true in your state, what would be your philosophy for how and when to use this power?

I would use line item vetoes if I ever felt something would take away the right and liberties of Iowans or if I felt a bill would be a detriment to the state.

If the governor's office in your state does not have the line-item veto power, do you believe it should? Why or why not?

Iowa can line item veto.

What do you believe is the ideal relationship between the governor and state legislature?

The Governor should work closely with the legislature to unite and explain positions in to both sides and act as a mediator so that the legislature doesn’t stall and action is ultimately accomplished. I’m not opposed to meeting in the middle.

What do you love most about your state?

I love it’s people. They work hard, they want what’s best for their families, they want good schools and a government who works for them and with them; Not against them.

What do you perceive to be your state's greatest challenges over the next decade?

Climate change and its impact on crops and our economy, the brain drain, improving infrastructure, and fighting new diseases.

Tell us your favorite joke.

Why did the chicken go to the séance?

To get to the other side.

Under what circumstances should the governor of your state be able to use emergency powers?

During global pandemics, when natural disasters occur, and when the Governor is forced to do what is necessary to protect the citizens of Iowa.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

See also

2022 Elections

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Candidate

Governor of Iowa

Website

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