Education funding, mental health services, fraud and voter ID laws were all discussed by Republican candidates in Ames Wednesday.

Gov. Kim Reynolds, Lt. Gov. Adam Gregg, State Rep. Rob Bacon, State Auditor Mary Mosiman and a slew of other Republican candidates met a group of approximately 50 Story County residents at Nelson Electric on Wednesday afternoon.

Although Reynolds agrees there is work to be done in the field of healthcare, she said she believes the Republican party is to be credited with Iowa being ranked the best managed state in the country by U.S. News and World Report. She said this progress was due to work done since she took office.

“It wasn’t always this way,” Reynolds said. “When I took office in 2011, Iowans were struggling to find jobs, there was massive spending and debt. Mr. [Fred] Hubbell cut education 10 percent across the board.”

Reynolds said she believes her opponent Fred Hubbell did not do a good job supporting education in Iowa in the past. She said his plan for the future is flawed.

“His answer to everything was more money, more money, more money,” Reynolds said. “When he wasn’t talking about that he was talking about growing government.”

Gregg echoed Reynolds points, saying that Iowa has been propelled forward by the Republican majorities in the State Senate and House of Representatives.

“If you want Iowa to keep moving forward, we need you to cast these votes,” Gregg said. “These next 13 days are going to decide the future of our state.”

Mary Mosiman took the stage and took the opportunity to oppose her opponent Rob Sand. She said being a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is a pivotal point of distinction between her and Sand. She also believes that her opponent neglected to act on the fraud cases involving the University of Iowa.

“It does matter if the auditor is a CPA,” Mosiman said. “There will be consequences if we have to outsource that job.”

Rep. Rob Bacon focused heavily on the fiscal issues in state government. He started his political career in the Senate. When he started there was a $900 million deficit. Now, that has been transformed into a $127 million surplus. Bacon believes that Republican control caused this change.

“Vote down the ticket,” Bacon said “If you don’t know who to vote for, if there’s an ‘R’ than that’s the right vote.”

Secretary of State, Paul Pate, and U.S. Representative, Steve King, were among those that were unable to make it to the meeting. The Republican candidate for State Treasurer, Jeremy Davis, spoke in favor of the current Secretary.

“If Paul Pate is not re-elected, that challenge will result in a failure of voter ID in the state of Iowa,” Davis said. “It protects the integrity of the ballot box.”

While many Reynolds supporters attended the rally, Story County resident Gary Seite showed up to question one of her decisions. Steve King, who is a co-chair of the Reynolds campaign, has recently endorsed the mayor of Toronto and has connected himself with many other far-right figures. Seite asked Reynolds to fire King from her campaign and she defended her decision.

“I asked her to fire Steve King,” Seite said. “She needs to speak up and fire him.”