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Wahls blasts ‘broken economy,’ vows to reject corporate PAC money in Iowa U.S. Senate run
Candidate ties kitchen-table costs to influence of big money in politics
Sep. 12, 2025 3:48 pm
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CEDAR RAPIDS — Democratic state Sen. Zach Wahls cast his U.S. Senate bid as a crusade against “political corruption” and a “broken economy” during a Thursday evening campaign stop at RAYGUN in Cedar Rapids, telling a packed room that Washington is working for “corporate donors and billionaires” instead of ordinary Iowans and pledging not to accept corporate PAC money.
Wahls, 34, a two-term legislator from Coralville opened with an appeal to kitchen-table pressures he said families feel at the grocery store, pharmacy and child care center.
“Our child care cost almost as much as our mortgage,” said Wahls, whose wife, Chloe, and infant son, Elijah, were in the crowd. “Iowans are getting squeezed while a better future for our kids and grandkids slips away.”
Framing the 2026 Senate race as a choice between entrenched interests and reform, Wahls argued that the “corrupting influence of money” is the main barrier to economic fairness. He said his campaign’s first principles are to “fix the broken economy by cleaning up the corruption.” He vowed to work to overturn Citizens United, the landmark 2010 U. S. Supreme Court ruling that reversed century-old campaign finance restrictions and enabled corporations and other outside groups to spend unlimited money on elections.
“In Iowa, we know that rotating the crops is good for our soil, and you better believe it’s good for our politicians too,” Wahls quipped to applause.
He also pledged to support enacting congressional term limits and barring members of Congress from trading individual stocks.
“This won’t solve every problem,” he said, “but it’s a dang good place to start.”
Wahls repeatedly contrasted his approach with Republican members of Iowa’s congressional delegation, singling out U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson and retiring U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst.
Ernst announced last week that she will not seek a third term in office, creating an open seat for the 2026 election.
Hinson, 42, of Marion, who represents Iowa’s 2nd District, announced her campaign for U.S. Senate hours after Ernst’s announcement, and received President Donald Trump’s “complete and total endorsement.”
Wahls criticized what he described as Iowa’s slumping economic standing, worsening water quality and a slide in public school performance.
He tied his anti-corruption theme to a story from his first year in the Iowa Senate. After out-of-state firms bought manufactured-housing communities and raised lot rents by 50 to 70 percent, Wahls said he helped pass a bipartisan protections bill in the Senate. He alleged that Hinson, then a state representative, helped block the measure after receiving donations from the Iowa Manufactured Housing Association.
“When we talk about the connection between a broken economy and political corruption, this is exactly what we are talking about,” he said.
Hinson’s campaign pushed back Friday, painting Wahls as extreme.
“Zach Wahls is as far-left as you can go and is out of touch with Iowans,” Campaign Director Addie Lavis said in a statement. “He supports boys playing in girls' sports, opposes tax cuts for working families, and opposes the deportation of violent criminals who are in our country illegally. Ashley is delivering for working Iowa families and fighting for common sense and will beat him next November.”
The event, which included a Q&A, also showcased Wahls’ position on guns, health care and rural issues.
GUN POLICY: Calling himself a gun owner who respects the Second Amendment, Wahls backed universal background checks and closing the “gun-show loophole,” and criticized state Republicans for ending permit-to-acquire requirements for handguns. He lamented the logistics of federal gun tracing — one attendee cited delays caused by congressional restrictions that have prevented the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) from using modern, centralized digital databases for gun tracing, significantly slowing investigations — and used the example to argue for modernizing government operations so they “work well on behalf of the people.”
HEALTH CARE AND DRUG COSTS: Fielding concerns about COVID-19 vaccine access and strained clinics, Wahls said he’s hearing reports of Iowans struggling to obtain vaccines and criticized moves in Washington that he said undercut public health guidance. He argued that skepticism of vaccines stoked by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has eroded trust and must be rebuilt. On prescription drugs, he condemned high U.S. prices and pointed to insulin costs as a flashpoint, faulting Hinson for votes he said opposed a $35 monthly insulin cap.
Hinson has voted against Democratic-backed legislation that included provisions to cap monthly insulin costs at $35 for Medicare recipients, arguing it would raise health care premiums and increase government control over the private sector. Instead, she has supported a separate proposal that would set a higher cap for seniors.
She has promoted her own preferred alternative, the "Lower Costs, More Cures Act." The bill included a $50 monthly cap on insulin for seniors, allowed high-deductible health insurance plans to cover insulin before the deductible was met, and contained other bipartisan measures.
Wahls also blasted pharmacy benefit managers, calling the PBM industry “massive” and in need of tighter regulation. On drug advertising, Wahls said he’d support limits on direct-to-consumer TV ads, calling it a “narrow area of agreement” if the current administration advances restrictions.
RURAL IOWA: Responding to a voter’s plea to “call out” GOP economic policies in rural counties, Wahls said tariffs and rising input costs have hurt farmers and manufacturers, contributing to layoffs. He pledged to campaign aggressively outside metro areas and noted his experience representing rural parts of Johnson and Cedar counties and a slice of Muscatine County.
Wahls also addressed the national mood following recent acts of violence, telling the crowd: “We condemn that political violence in the strongest possible terms. Arguments should be won with words, not ended with bullets.”
Throughout the evening, Wahls emphasized coalition-building, saying his message is resonating with Democrats, independents and “even some Republicans.” He said his campaign has received grassroots donations from Iowans in all 99 counties.
Wahls acknowledged frustration among Democrats with national leadership and said he would “work with anyone who wants to make our state better and stand up to anyone who wants to make it worse — Joni Ernst, Chuck Schumer, Donald Trump, whoever.” He highlighted a record of opposing a six-week abortion ban and Gov. Kim Reynolds’ private-school vouchers, while claiming credit for bipartisan work “where we can find it.”
Pressed by a supporter on why primary voters should choose him over other Democrats in the race, Wahls cited his age and experience — “young enough to understand the pressures on families, experienced enough to get things done” — and argued he is best positioned to compete statewide.
Four other Democrats are running in the U.S. Senate election: state Rep. Josh Turek of Council Bluffs, former state lawmaker Bob Krause, Des Moines school board leader Jackie Norris, and veteran and former chamber of commerce leader Nathan Sage of Indianola.
“I can’t guarantee we’ll win every heart and mind,” Wahls said, “but I know there are some hearts we can win — and if we build the right coalition, we can rotate the crops and make a change.”
Comments: (319) 398-8499; tom.barton@thegazette.com
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