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Here’s what political candidates are saying at the Iowa State Fair this year
Candidates for governor, U.S. Senate and more are participating in the state’s time-honored tradition of greeting Iowans at the State Fair
Aug. 7, 2025 3:45 pm, Updated: Aug. 17, 2025 3:52 pm
The Gazette offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
DES MOINES — The 2026 general election is more than a year away, but candidates nonetheless have been participating in the time-honored tradition of greeting Iowans at the State Fair.
Iowans will elect a new governor in 2026 — Republican incumbent Gov. Kim Reynolds, who has held the post since 2017, announced earlier this year she will not seek re-election. And they will elect a U.S. Senator — Republican incumbent Joni Ernst has not yet said whether she plans to run for another term.
There are already four Republicans and two Democrats running in the gubernatorial election, and five Democrats running in the U.S. Senate campaign. And that doesn’t include Iowa’s four U.S. House elections.
Many of those candidates appeared at the Iowa State Fair. The Gazette-Lee Des Moines Bureau covered those candidates’ appearances at the Fairgrounds.
The Iowa State Fair started Thursday, Aug. 7, and ran through Sunday, Aug. 17.
Iowa’s primary election is June 2, 2026, and the general election is Nov. 3, 2026.
Mike Bousselot
Election: Governor
Party: Republican
Other Republicans running: Eddie Andrews, Brad Sherman, Randy Feenstra
Incumbent: None (Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds is not seeking re-election)
Bousselot, a state legislator from Ankeny, has been campaigning across the state as he considers a full-blown run for governor. He said he will decide by Labor Day.
Bousselot’s political experience includes helping to encourage former Gov. Terry Branstad in 2010 to run for a second stint as governor, then serving as Branstad’s legal counsel and chief of staff.
“This summer, I’ve spent a lot of time traveling the state, listening to voters, raising money, and just trying to understand what the election is going to look like,” Bousselot said Sunday, Aug. 17 at the Republican Party of Iowa’s booth. “And it’s been a really positive response. But it’s not something I take lightly. I know very closely what that job looks like, both to campaign for and win. So I’m prayerfully considering it with my family and friends in terms of what the next step is.”
Bousselot said he continues to hear from Iowans about their property taxes, an issue legislators have attempted to address in recent years. At a recent candidate event, Bousselot said he is working on a plan to completely phase out state individual property taxes.
“This is a growing state, a state that people have a lot of pride in, and they want it to be a place where people want to continue to live, invest in and grow,” Bousselot said. “So property taxes are a huge inhibitor for families staying in rural Iowa, for businesses moving to Iowa, for growing in Iowa. That’s one thing that’s really resonated. We have to lower that property tax burden. We can control that.”
Ryan Peterman
Election: Iowa Secretary of State
Party: Democrat
Other Democrats running: None
Incumbent: Paul Pate
Since launching his campaign for Iowa secretary of state, Democrat Ryan Peterman has been traveling the state and talking to Iowans, from Sioux City to Davenport. Peterman, standing by the Iowa Democratic Party’s state fair booth Thursday, Aug. 14 said he’s seen an excited response to his campaign so far.
“I want the people to have the power to decide our elections, and I would never try to shape an election in a way that would benefit me, personally or politically,” he said.
Peterman, a former U.S. Navy pilot from Davenport, entered the race in May. He’s heard concerns from Iowans regarding recently enacted voting laws, including one passed by the Iowa Legislature this year that allows voters to have their citizenship status challenged at the polls.
“The big problem with that (legislation) is it doesn't tell anyone how they can rectify or prove that they are, in fact, a citizen,” Peterman said. “I've heard concerns about the reduction in time that we have to vote.”
Paul Pate
Election: Iowa Secretary of State
Party: Republican
Other Republicans running: None
Incumbent: Paul Pate
Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate said while he’s focusing on his re-election campaign, he also is concentrating on his current job as the local 2025 election season nears.
“I'm more focused on doing my day job, and we're pretty busy,” Pate said in between talking to fairgoers Saturday, Aug. 16 at the Iowa Secretary of State fair booth. “We have the State Fair, obviously, where we're encouraging Iowans to learn about how to vote, and we're also encouraging businesses to know what services we have available.”
Pate is running for a fifth, four-year term as secretary of state. He has held the office for the past three terms, since 2015; he previously held it for one term, from 1995 to 1999.
Pate said while he feels good about the state of Iowa’s election system, he will continue to combat misinformation about elections.
“Don't want to rest on your laurels,” Pate said. “We want to make sure we're battling the myths and disinformation all the time, letting them know this is the facts.”
Ashley WolfTornabane
Election: Iowa's 4th Congressional District
Party: Democrat
Other Democrats running: Stephanie Steiner
Incumbent: Republican U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra
Less than two months after kicking off her congressional campaign in July, Ashley WolfTornabane said she’s been traveling to county fairs across the 36-county district and connecting with voters through listening sessions.
“We're hearing a lot of things about the economy,” WolfTornabane said Saturday at the Iowa Democratic Party’s state fair booth. “People are having a hard time, and they're living paycheck to paycheck, and people getting kicked off of their Medicaid.”
WolfTornabane, a stay-at-home mom from Storm Lake, is running in the reddest congressional district in Iowa. She said she is talking to people from across the political spectrum about the issues that they care most about.
“I don't really even introduce myself as a Democrat, not because I'm ashamed, just because I'm a human and I just want to represent their voice, and that's whether they're a Democrat, Republican or independent,” WolfTornabane said. “I just want everybody to have a voice. I don't think that the people of our district really have a voice right now. Instead, the representatives for our district have been representing the billionaires and special interests.”
Randy Feenstra
Election: Iowa governor
Party: Republican
Other Republicans running: Mike Bousselot, Eddie Andrews, Brad Sherman
Incumbent: None (Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds is not running for re-election)
Standing in 90-degree heat at the Iowa Pork Producer's state fair tent on Friday, U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra told reporters that he has an announcement coming “hopefully in the next … three weeks or so.”
This announcement will likely be the official launch of his bid for Iowa governor. In May, Feenstra started an exploratory campaign and has since aired ads across the state and rolled out endorsements from multiple top Iowa Republicans.
Feenstra said he didn’t want to announce a run during the summer before kids go back to school and when no one is focused on politics.
Representing Iowa’s 4th Congressional District, which covers northwest Iowa, Feenstra said he has been traveling the state and making up his mind in the meantime.
“I'm just a common, regular, Iowa kid that wants to give back to our state, and to me, it's all about a vision of how we can grow economically, how we can keep our kids here in Iowa, and how we can create better education and health care, you know, bring our state to new heights,” Feenstra said.
Asked about what issues need to be worked on in Washington, Feenstra touted the passage of the GOP-backed “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” which was signed into law in July.
“We passed a big, beautiful bill, which is awesome. I look so forward to seeing the tax cuts that we did for families, for businesses, for agriculture, take place,” Feenstra said. “That's gonna make an incredible difference as we move forward economically in this state and in our nation.”
Ashley Hinson
Election: Iowa's 2nd Congressional District (hasn't officially announced a campaign)
Party: Republican
Other Republicans running: None
Incumbent: Hinson
Following in the tradition of candidates at the Iowa State Fair, Iowa U.S. Rep Ashely Hinson flipped pork chops at the Iowa Pork Producers Tent on Friday in the 90-degree heat.
Hinson answered questions from reporters about President Donald Trump’s use of National Guard members in Washington, D.C., Iowa's water quality, and immigrant labor in the state.
Last month, more than 200 workers at the JBS meatpacking plant in Ottumwa had their visas revoked and are being forced to leave the country. Hinson said the county needs to take a look at workforce visas and make sure immigrant workers are coming into the country through legal pathways.
“I want to make sure that we are focused on the right way, which are legal workforce visas,” Hinson said. “It's just been status quo, and that's not a good way to do business.”
She also said she and her son were looking forward to seeing the biggest bull while at the fair.
“First of all, the Iowa Fair is about our values, right? It's about Iowa agriculture, Iowa family, all Iowa goodness on display,” Hinson said.
Hinson has not officially announced re-election plans for Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District.
Mariannette Miller-Meeks
Election: Iowa's 1st Congressional District (hasn't officially announced a campaign)
Party: Republican
Other Republicans running: David Pautsch
Incumbent: Miller-Meeks
Ahead of the 2026 election, Iowa U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks told reporters she will be talking to constituents about the benefits of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” which was signed into law in July.
Miller-Meeks, along with the rest of Iowa’s Congressional delegation, voted for the legislation.
“I intend to do what I always do, and that is, burn lots of shoe leather, visiting, talking to people,” Miller-Meeks said.
Iowa's 1st Congressional District is forecast to be one of the most competitive House races in the country in 2026. Though Miller-Meeks has not officially announced a re-election campaign, she could face Democrat Christina Bohannan, who ran against her in the last two elections and lost by less than 800 votes in 2024. Muscatine attorney Taylor Wettach, University of Iowa Health Care employee Travis Terrell and former state lawmaker and veterans advocate Bob Krause of Burlington also are running for the Democratic nomination.
“We're not going to shy away from what we've done. We're proud of the work that we've done. We're going to be out there,” Miller-Meeks said. “We're going to campaign hard, and we're going to continue to work to reduce prices, reduce interest rates, so young people can buy a home if they choose to buy a home.”
Zach Nunn
Election: Iowa's 3rd Congressional District
Party: Republican
Other Republicans running: None
Incumbent: Nunn
Standing outside of the Iowa Pork Producers state fair tent on Friday, Republican Iowa U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn told reporters that he is aware the 3rd Congressional District race will be tight, adding that he is “fired up.”
“We've already hit the ground running,” Nunn said. “We're not going to take anything for granted. We are on the ground raising money, but most importantly, we're getting out to all 21 counties. We're getting all around the state, and we're making sure that Iowa's recommendations actually go to the top.”
Nunn confirmed his U.S. House run in July after a conversation with President Donald Trump, who convinced him to stay in Congress. The week before, Nunn considered running for Iowa governor after Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird turned down a run, according to the Des Moines Register.
Asked about his Democratic competitors — state Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott and former Iowa House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst — Nunn said his experience serving in Congress sets him apart from them.
“I've worked with most of these folks. I think they're all very nice people. But I'll also say this, a lot of them have been in the Statehouse longer than I have, and they've achieved a lot less of actual success, zero amounts of legislation being passed,” Nunn said. “I've gotten to work in the Iowa House, the Iowa Senate and in U.S. Congress under both a Republican and a Democratic president, every time we move bills forward.”
Josh Turek
Election: U.S. Senate
Party: Democrat
Other Democrats running: Nathan Sage, J.D. Scholten, Jackie Norris, Zach Wahls
Incumbent: U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst
A little over 48 hours after launching his campaign for U.S. Senate, Democratic state Rep. Josh Turek greeted fairgoers and flipped pork patties at the Iowa Pork Producers’ state fair tent on Thursday. Aug. 14. Turek said he’s heard excitement from Iowans in the first few days of his campaign who want to see more optimism instead of divisiveness.
“I think they (Iowans) see something different with me, something that's genuinely authentic,” Turek told reporters.
Turek, who was born with spina bifida, represents part of Council Bluffs and Carter Lake in the Iowa Legislature. Before being elected to office, he played on the U.S. Paralympic basketball team. He serves as the volunteer director for the Ryan Martin Foundation, which provides children with disabilities opportunities to play sports for free.
Turek added that being at the Iowa State Fair allowed him to connect with more Iowans and receive feedback on his campaign.
“I love being out and being able to interact with lots of Iowans and see what Iowa has to offer,” Turek said. “Even as I'm out here, so many people have come up said, ‘Oh, I saw your launch video. It's so exciting, go get them, we need people like you, we need change.’ And so that inspires me.”
Jim Carlin
Election: U.S. Senate
Party: Republican
Other Republicans running: None (Incumbent U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst has hired a campaign manager but not yet officially announced if she intends to run for re-election)
Incumbent: U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst
In between talking to fairgoers at the Republican Party of Iowa’s state fair booth, Carlin said he is focused on delivering a central campaign message to voters: Stopping the “squeeze of government on everyday people.”
Carlin, a former Iowa state senator, said he is hearing concerns from Iowans while on the campaign trail, including from farmers who are concerned about the price of corn and college students worried about student debt. He added he would like to see more economic relief for seniors who are having to come out of retirement to pay the bills.
"That's a lot of pressure, a lot of stress being put on people,” Carlin said.
His experience as a state lawmaker helps him stand out from the other candidates in the race, he said, including getting the Iowa Veterans Trust Fund reinvested.
“The work that I did reflects the concern for seniors, for children, for veterans, for everyday people, and that's how I would define myself as a U.S. Senator,” Carlin said.
Carlin is an attorney from Sergeant Bluff and founder of the Iowa Liberty Network, a Christian, grassroots organization focused on electing “authentic, constitutional conservatives” to the Iowa Legislature and other public offices, according to its website.
Julie Stauch
Election: Iowa governor
Party: Democrat
Other Democrats running: Rob Sand
Incumbent: None (Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds is not running for re-election)
Standing off to the side of the Iowa State Fair’s main concourse, Stauch told reporters that she is running a bottom-up campaign and spending time listening to voters as Democrats in Iowa chart a path forward following a dismal election for the party last year. Stauch compared having to bring various factions of the party under one umbrella to the multiple agricultural entities at the Iowa State Fair advocating for similar goals despite having differing interests.
“The pork producers have different priorities from the cattle producers who have different priorities from the poultry … and then the corn growers, soybeans, all those have different priorities, and those priorities are often competing priorities,” Stauch said. “There's not consensus among the ag community on an issue that they have a strong feeling on. And I, as a Democrat, can accept that, because that's just how we operate, right? We're like, find the things that we can get support for and that we believe in, and we work on those things.”
Stauch, a former teacher, said she is tapping into her educator roots on the campaign trail by talking with and listening to Iowans.
“When I tell them I've got a worksheet for them and that I'm a recovering teacher, there's sometimes a groan in the room, but mostly, mostly they get in and they get going on it, and then I make them discuss among themselves, because that's where I learn the most,” Stauch said. “When they're talking to their neighbors and friends they get real about things, and they share the realness. And I then get to hear what I really need to hear.”
Stauch has been president and CEO of her own consulting firm since 2011. Prior to that, she worked for Planned Parenthood of the Heartland. She also has extensive campaign experience in Iowa, including work on Democratic caucus campaigns for Pete Buttigieg, Bill Clinton and Michael Dukakis.
Rob Sand
Election: Iowa governor
Party: Democrat
Other Democrats running: Julie Stauch
Incumbent: None (Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds is not running for re-election)
In between grilling a round of pork chops outside the Iowa Pork Producer’s state fair tent and serving lunch at the Iowa Cattlemen's Beef Quarters, Sand told reporters that Iowans are “fed up” with the current political system.
Sand, who jumped into the Iowa governor’s race in May after Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds announced she will not seek re-election, has been crisscrossing the state on a 100-stop town hall tour where, he said, he’s hearing from Iowa voters who say they are tired of the polarization between Democrats and Republicans.
“Neither the Democratic nor the Republican parties solve enough problems to deserve their monopoly on our choices at the ballot booth,” Sand said. “I think that's what people want. They want less of the finger-pointing, less of the fighting and more of the public service.”
During his town hall tour, Sand, the only elected statewide Democrat, has been introducing himself to Iowans as a moderate and bipartisan lawmaker who isn’t a big fan of party labels, which he says is what people across the state want in a governor.
“People right now know that our political culture is broken, and I think having an opportunity for people of different political stripes to actually just join together for one minute for something is pretty meaningful to most people,” Sand said. “When we get into the Q and A ... we're getting lots of questions about rising costs, we're getting lots of questions about the vouchers program and how there's no real oversight for how that money gets spent.”
Brad Sherman
Election: Iowa governor
Party: Republican
Other Republicans running: Randy Feenstra, Mike Bousselot, Eddie Andrews
Incumbent: None (Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds is not running for re-election)
Speaking at the Republican Party of Iowa booth at the Iowa State Fair on Tuesday, Sherman said property rights, specifically property taxes and eminent domain, are two key issues on Iowans’ minds right now.
“We shouldn't have we work all of our lives to pay off our mortgage, and then we have to rent our house from the government. That's not right,” Sherman said. “We're working on a plan to do something about that.”
Sherman, a pastor from Williamsburg, served one term in the Iowa Legislature, representing House District 91, which includes Tiffin, Swisher, Oxford and all of Iowa County. He did not seek re-election last year due to the sudden and unexpected death of his daughter in June 2023.
He said he stands out from the other Republicans in the race because he was the first to launch his candidacy, starting his campaign before Reynolds announced in April she will not seek re-election in 2026.
“We had a conviction that we prayed about, and ... we felt like it was a calling, if you want to call it that. And so I think that does set me apart from the others,” Sherman said. “I didn't check with any political bosses before I decided to run, and I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who can say that, and so that makes me clearly the most non-establishment candidate.”
Sherman emphasized that he was the first state lawmaker to endorse then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in 2024, adding that he is happy with the actions Trump has taken in the beginning of his second term in office.
Eddie Andrews
Election: Governor
Party: Republican
Other Republicans running: Randy Feenstra, Mike Bousselot, Brad Sherman
Incumbent: None (Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds is not seeking re-election)
Andrews, a state lawmaker from Johnston, said he came into the campaign knowing he would face some logistical challenges against some of his fellow Republican candidates. However, Andrews said Saturday at the Fair, he believes his campaign is getting voters’ attention ahead of schedule.
“Other people have been in this race (months longer) and others have large name recognition and lots of money. And if you’re talking about a traditional race, you would think, well, Eddie Andrews has no shot,” Andrews said during an interview at the Republican Party of Iowa’s booth at the Fair.
“But just like each of the three previous races that all the experts thought, ‘Oh, Eddie’s not going to win this. Oh, I’m sorry, Eddie can’t win that one.’ What people forget is that a message that resonates, and a message that is passionate, and a message from a capable messenger and a proven leader and a proven visionary will win.”
Andrews has, during his campaign appearances, highlighted his statehouse election victories in a competitive district in suburban Des Moines.
Andrews was first elected to the Iowa House in 2020, when he defeated a Democratic incumbent by just more than 400 votes. He has twice since won re-election.
On the issues, Andrews has stressed his support for property owners’ rights against the use of eminent domain for private projects, improving Iowa’s education system and choices, and lowering — if not eliminating — individual property taxes.
“In my role as governor, I will have legislation, I will have a plan, and that will be solved and signed in 30 days. End of story,” Andrews said. “It’s our job to protect land owner rights full stop, three exclamation points.”
Jennifer Konfrst
Election: U.S. House 3rd District
Party: Democrat
Other Democrats running: Sarah Trone Garriott
Incumbent: Republican U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn
Konfrst, who was the Iowa House Minority Leader before she stepped down from the post to run for Congress, has been spending time at the Fair this week, but prior to that has been campaign in the 3rd District’s rural counties.
“I’m out there in the rural parts of the district a lot. I think it’s really important,” Konfrst said Saturday during an interview at the Iowa Democratic Party’s booth at the Fair. “We can’t just spend time in the two (metro-dominated counties), Dallas and Polk. We have to get out there. We have to start to raise Democratic margins in those communities.
“And what I’m finding is that people are actually responding because they feel like they haven’t been heard.”
Konfrst, who is from Windsor Heights, said that in addition to wanting to be heard, voters are telling her they are concerned about their health care. She pointed to federal Republicans’ tax and spending package that reduced future Medicaid spending by $941 billion over 10 years, which has created concerns for rural hospitals.
“They’re worried about hospitals closing. They’re worried about where their doctors will be. They are really scared about the high costs and they’re not getting better,” Konfrst said. “So that, I think, is a theme that I’m seeing in rural areas and in urban areas.”
Konfrst said she had State Fair plans to flip pork chops and hand out eggs — a couple of State Fair staples. She said she had ridden the Ferris wheel and played carnival games, and planned to visit the Iowa PBS and VFW booths, the latter partially in honor of her parents, both of whom are veterans.
Ruben Gallego
Election: None
Party: Democrat
Gallego, a U.S. Senator from Arizona, was in Iowa to work with local Democrats to highlight their criticisms of federal Republicans’ tax and spending package.
At the State Fair on Friday, Gallego talked to reporters, visited with Iowa Democrats at the state party’s booth, and chatted with pork producers before flipping pork chops on the grill.
He also was trailed at various points during his day at the Fair by protesters with Turning Point USA, a conservative nonprofit organization.
Gallego said the federal tax and spending legislation — signed by President Donald Trump last month — gives Democrats an opportunity to convince voters that theirs is the party that supports working-class voters, noting the potential impacts of the legislation’s reduction in Medicaid spending on rural hospitals and individuals who rely on Medicaid for their health coverage.
“The really bad bill that just passed gives Democrats an opening because we can finally, really show what Democrats are here for: we’re here to help those that are barely making it,” Gallego said. “What we need to do is make sure that we actually are able to continue to have that conversation and show that we’re fighting for everyday Iowans, for Iowans that don’t have health insurance vs. the people that are trying to just get more money for whatever extra income tax.
“If we hit that message, if you have the candidates to hit that message, you will get (Iowa Republican U.S. Rep.) Mariannette Miller-Meeks unelected, and the same with (Iowa Republican U.S. Sen.) Joni Ernst.”
The Republican Party of Iowa, in anticipation of Gallego’s appearance at the State Fair, issued a statement in which it highlighted past social media posts by Gallego that were critical of Iowa’s first-in-the-nation presidential precinct caucus status and federal subsidies for Iowa farmers, and criticized Gallego for voting against Republicans’ tax and spending package.
“Ruben Gallego trashed the Iowa caucuses, mocked our farmers, and then voted against tax cuts on tips, bigger paychecks, and financial relief for seniors,” Republican Party of Iowa Chairman Jeff Kaufmann said in a statement. “Now he wants a photo op at the State Fair? Iowans know better. He’s out of touch and out of his depth.”
Gallego’s expletive-punctuated social media criticism of the Iowa caucuses was posted after the infamous 2020 Democratic caucuses, whose official results were delayed by weeks after a new tabulating program failed on caucus night. That fueled national Democrats’ move to remove Iowa Democrats’ first-in-the-nation caucus status in the 2024 election cycle.
“Look, really, in 2020 a lot of us were just very frustrated with the results,” Gallego said. “And whatever happens in the future, it’s going to be left up to the DNC.”
Taylor Wettach
Election: U.S. House 1st District
Party: Democrat
Other Democrats running: Christina Bohannan, Bob Krause, Travis Terrell
Incumbent: Republican U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks
Wettach, while visiting fairgoers Friday at the Iowa Democratic Party’s booth, said he believes voters are looking for candidates with “new ideas, new vision, new blood, new perspective.” One of Wettach’s fellow Democrats in the 1st District primary is Christina Bohannan, who was the party’s nominee in each of the past two cycles; she lost both times to Miller-Meeks.
“With the stakes that we’re facing right now, I think the stakes are too high to do the same thing again and try the same things and hope for a different result,” Wettach said. “I think it’s time now to have new folks get on the scene, new folks being out in the fight, and new folks volunteering, new voices speaking out.”
Iowa’s 1st Congressional District contains many counties that are among those that since 2016 have swung from Democratic-leaning to Republican-leaning counties during elections. Wettach, an attorney from Muscatine, said Iowa Democrats hoping to win back some of those voters must show they are willing to listen to and fight for those voters.
“I think it is important to acknowledge that we as a party can always do better,” Wettach said. “I don’t think when folks are voting, they want more of what we had before. I think they actually want something different. That’s, frankly, why a lot of folks vote for Trump, including a lot of folks that maybe disagree with many of the things that he’s done.
“If we’re actually out there in all the places in the district, listening to folks, making sure people’s voices are heard, and saying, ‘It’s OK, even if you’ve voted for someone else before, it’s OK. We’re all going to work together and find ways to make policies that work for everybody in this district.”
Zach Wahls
Election: U.S. Senate
Party: Democrat
Other Democrats running: Nathan Sage, J.D. Scholten, Jackie Norris
Incumbent: Republican U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst
Wahls said on Friday he visited the cattle and horse barns, chatted with children who were showing their animals at the Fair, and that he planned to visit the Iowa Pork Producers and flip pork chops. Wahls said he also planned to attend an event hosted by Planned Parenthood.
Wahls, a state legislator from Coralville, said during the campaign he has most commonly heard two concerns from Iowa voters: rising costs and government corruption.
“The two things that we keep hearing the most about: how to control costs (and) how to control corruption and the fact that you now have a government that’s been totally bought and paid for, a broken establishment of both parties,” Wahls said during an interview at the Iowa Democratic Party’s booth at the Fair. “A lot of folks are frustrated with that. They want to see real change and they’re not sure that they’re going to get it with the current folks who are there.”
Wahls said he is willing to “take on the establishment” and that he has the scars to prove it, a reference to 2023 when Iowa Senate Democrats voted to remove him as their caucus leader. At the time, Wahls said he was voted out as leader after he fired two longtime Senate Democrat staffers who, Wahls said, did not share his vision for the caucus.
“I think folks want somebody who’s going to be willing to stand up to anybody who’s threatening Iowans, whether it’s (Republican President) Donald Trump or (Democratic U.S. Senate leader) Chuck Schumer, and they know that I’ll be willing to do that,” Wahls said.
Nathan Sage
Election: U.S. Senate
Party: Democrat
Other Democrats running: J.D. Scholten, Zach Wahls, Jackie Norris
Incumbent: Republican U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst
Sage on Thursday greeted visitors to the Iowa Democratic Party’s booth inside the Varied Industries Building and planned to walk the grounds and try State Fair food.
Sage, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and former chamber of commerce leader from Indianola, told reporters he believes Iowans are responding to his campaign and his personal style of communicating with voters.
“People love my story so far. They love the idea of someone like myself, that, yeah, I’m a little bit rough around the edges,” Sage said. “And I always tell my kids honesty is the best policy, that honesty will set you free. And I’m a little bit blunt when it comes to it.
“And I think that’s the world that we need right now. We can’t beat around the bush anymore. We can’t make one-liners. We can’t use political rhetoric. We need to call it how we see it, and that’s what I do.”
Sage said he believes his message resonates with voters because he speaks from experience.
“I get a little bit of passion and a little tense because I know the struggles of everyday life,” Sage said. “I know what it’s like to watch your family go through drug addiction. I know what it’s like to watch your family struggle. I know what it’s like when I’m 14 years old and my dad comes in my room and says, ‘Hey, Nathan, sorry we can’t buy you birthday presents.’ I know what that’s like, and a lot of people in the state know what it’s like.”
Comments: (515) 355-1300, erin.murphy@thegazette.com
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