Christina Bohanan Faces Repercussions Over Past Comments
Christina Bohanan, the Democratic candidate for Iowa’s 1st Congressional District, is under heavy criticism from Republicans regarding remarks she made about diversity education in schools. She suggested that Iowa would seem “backward” if it failed to implement such programs and claimed that the founding of the nation was heavily influenced by the desire to maintain slavery during the Revolutionary War.
Bohannan, a law professor and former state representative, is attempting to reclaim her seat from current Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa) in a rematch after narrowly losing by less than 1 percentage point in the 2024 election. Given how close that race was, this term is crucial for both parties, especially for Republicans, who are trying to retain a key competitive district while highlighting Bohannan’s previous stances on diversity, equity, and inclusion.
“DEI queen Christina Bohanan believes George Floyd is a role model and George Washington should be canceled,” stated Zach Craft, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee. He added, “The people of Iowa will channel the spirit of 1776 and once again reject this two-time loser so she can get back to her day job calling everyone racist.”
Bohannan made her controversial comments during a 2021 appearance on the podcast “Under the Dome.”
At that time, she expressed great concern over a bill in the Iowa Legislature aimed at banning diversity training, including implicit bias training, in public education. She emphasized that implicit bias—unconscious attitudes shaped by race—is a serious issue, urging against the passage of the bill. “If it passes, it will be very divisive,” Bohannan said. “It would send a very bad message about Iowa and make it seem like it’s some kind of backwards state that doesn’t understand that systemic racism exists.”
Despite her concerns, Republican Governor Kim Reynolds signed the bill into law in June 2021.
Bohannan also expressed her relief when Congress rejected a Republican initiative to ban the 1619 Project, a New York Times initiative that asserts slavery was central to the nation’s founding.
“The 1619 Project focuses on the fact that there were revolutionary leaders who came to support the revolution because they wanted to preserve slavery,” Bohannan noted, acknowledging that while there were other factors like taxation, this perspective was significant.
Fox News Digital has tried to contact Bohanan for her thoughts on the matter.
Bohannan has a history of advocating for diversity, equity, and inclusion, as well as supporting reforms in policing and immigrant rights.
During her time in the Iowa Legislature, she co-sponsored a bill that would mandate implicit bias training for healthcare providers, though it was never brought to the committee for consideration.
As chair of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee at the University of Iowa School of Law, she encouraged students to engage with the Black Lives Matter movement following George Floyd’s death. In a letter to students, she listed several funds for donations, including initiatives advocating for police defunding.
At a candidate forum in 2020, Bohannan revealed her active participation in the Eastern Iowa Workers’ Justice Group, which is focused on abolishing ICE. Not long ago, she also contributed to the Prairieland Freedom Fund to help free undocumented immigrants from detention, emphasizing a vision of a “world without police.”
Meanwhile, Fox News Digital has reached out to Miller-Meeks’ campaign for additional comments.
