CEDAR RAPIDS — California billionaire Tom Steyer is targeting Iowa’s new congresswomen in television ads calling on them to join his effort to impeach President Donald Trump.

Stayer’s Need to Impeach campaign has purchased more than $435,000 in television time for ads in markets across Iowa, including Cedar Rapids, Waterloo-Cedar Falls, Dubuque, the Quad Cities, Sioux City and Des Moines. It’s part of a $2.5 million national ad buy targeting Iowa and the three other leadoff states in the 2020 presidential nominating process — New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina.

The ad targets newly elected members of Congress, including 1st District Democratic Rep. Abby Finkenauer and 3rd District Democratic Rep. Cindy Axne. Steyer calls on them — and other Democrats — to hold the president accountable by using their power to impeach him by a simple majority vote.

In the 30-second spot scheduled to run Saturday through Jan. 11, Steyer says the 2018 election results show “Americans rose up this November and rejected Donald Trump.” As a result, Trump, “more unhinged by that than ever,” has “declared war on the rule of law.”

However, voters gave Democrats the power to hold Trump in check, Steyer says.

“They just need the will,” he says, asking Iowans to join more than 6 million people supporting Need to Impeach.

Steyer launched Need to Impeach in October 2017 and brought the campaign to Cedar Rapids in May 2018.

Steyer, who may be running for president, will be in Des Moines and Ankeny on Jan. 9 to lead discussions on his “5 Rights” platform — the right to an equal vote in a fair democracy; the right to clean air and clean water; the right to learn, from pre-K through college and advanced skills training; the right to earn a living wage; and the right to health. For more information, visit tomsteyer.com.

For more on Steyer’s impeachment campaign, visit needtoimpeach.com.

l Comments: (319) 398-8375; james.lynch@thegazette.com