OTTUMWA, IOWA -- With campaigning for the general election now underway, candidates across the Heartland want to get their message to the voters.

On Wednesday, KTVO interviewed Republican Candidate Blake Smith. Smith is running for office in Iowa House District 81. On Thursday, we spoke with his opponent, incumbent Democrat Mary Gaskill.

Gaskill told KTVO that if she is elected again, she wants to continue to help assisting the unemployed find jobs, and help create new programs.

“I want to assist the job seekers in Iowa to get trained, to get good paying jobs. I want to do that by keeping an eye on workforce development, and I want to help the community colleges in having good training programs to support those workers,” said Gaskill.

Gaskill also told KTVO that if she is re-elected she will continue to work with members across the aisle.

“I plan to continue working across the aisle. In fact, one of my bills that was passed this year, I co-sponsored with Rep. Jeff Kaufmann, and it is now a law. So I am very pleased about that. I worked with him to try to make it easier to get landlords, because I consider landlords small business owners, so I worked with him so it was not as difficult for them to conduct business,” said Gaskill.