Mike Davis, an Iowa native and former staffer for Sen. Chuck Grassley, argues that voters should reelect Republican Attorney General Brenna Bird. His Fox News opinion piece, published Oct. 17, 2026, portrays Bird as a strong prosecutor and Democratic challenger Nate Willems as too lenient on crime. The article is advocacy, not a neutral account, and the supplied text does not include a response from Willems.
Davis points to Bird’s legal background, including work as a prosecutor and county attorney in Fremont and Guthrie counties, and her service as Iowa attorney general since January 2023. He credits a cold-case unit created under Bird with progress in two homicide investigations.
In the first case, Davis says Ryan Cooper was found shot dead at his home in Traer in 2021. After the case remained unresolved for two years, Bird’s unit took it on. Davis writes that Karina Cooper and Huston Danker were arrested, and that a jury convicted Karina Cooper, who received a sentence of life without parole.
Davis also describes the disappearance of Barbara Lenz, a 31-year-old mother last seen in Woodbine in 1989. He says her partner, Robert Davis, claimed he had dropped her off. The article states that Bird’s unit charged Davis decades later, that a jury found him guilty, and that a judge sentenced him to 50 years. The supplied material does not provide case documents or additional detail about the investigations.
Davis’s criticism of Willems centers on votes he attributes to the Democratic candidate from his time as a legislator. He says Willems opposed requiring electronic monitoring for convicted sex offenders, including those who abused children. He also says Willems voted against making Iowa a “shall-issue” concealed-carry state. Davis characterizes that vote as contrary to Second Amendment rights and invokes the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen.
On other policy issues, Davis says Willems opposed voter-identification laws, criticized federal immigration enforcement, and voted against a ban on abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. Davis frames each position as evidence that Willems is out of step with Iowa voters. Those descriptions and judgments are Davis’s; the supplied article does not include Willems’s explanations or responses.
Davis also condemns a social media post he attributes to Willems on the 82nd anniversary of the D-Day landings. According to the essay, Willems reposted an image comparing American paratroopers in 1944 to Antifa, with a caption describing the soldiers as “uniformed antifa.” Davis calls the comparison offensive and says it should disqualify Willems from serving as attorney general. The text does not provide a link to the post or a response from Willems.
The essay closes by contrasting Bird’s record, as Davis presents it, with Willems’s policy positions and public conduct. Davis urges voters to support Bird in November and uses sharply negative language about her opponent. The supplied material contains no independent assessment of the candidates’ records, the cases, or the disputed characterization of Willems’s post.
