Zach Wahls says Iowans want change, need new generation of leaders as he announces his U.S. Senate campaign

DES MOINES — Calling for a new generation of political leaders — including new leadership for U.S. Senate Democrats — and saying national politicians in both parties “have been screwing over Iowa families for too long,” Iowa Democrat and state legislator Zach Wahls on Wednesday announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate.

Wahls, a 33-year-old state senator from Coralville, in an interview ahead of Wednesday’s announcement said Iowans need someone who will have “the courage to stand up to the establishment to fight for us.”

“I’ve spent my entire career doing exactly that: standing up to powerful interests and insiders when it’s hard, delivering real results for Iowans and demonstrating that Iowa Democrats believe in hard work and not handouts for billionaires,” Wahls said.

Iowa’s 2026 U.S. Senate election is for the seat held since 2015 by Republican U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst. Ernst has not yet declared whether she plans to run for re-election, although her campaign hired a campaign manager earlier this month.

Wahls is the third Iowa Democrat to announce his candidacy for the state’s U.S. Senate election, joining fellow state legislator J.D. Scholten of Sioux City and chamber of commerce leader Nathan Sage of Indianola.

Wahls said he believes Iowa voters of all political ideologies are ready for change.

“I think it’s time for a new generation of leaders who are focused on solving the problems that we are going to be facing today and tomorrow, and not rehashing the battles of the past,” Wahls said. “I think that (Iowans) are more interested in leaders who will roll up their sleeves and do the hard work of solving problems, rather than just engaging in political posturing and point-scoring in Washington and in Iowa.”

That new generation of leaders should include new leadership in the U.S. Senate Democratic caucus, Wahls said.

New York U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer has led U.S. Senate Democrats since 2017. When asked, Wahls said if elected to the U.S. Senate he would vote for a new Democratic leader.

“Absolutely. It’s time for new generation of leaders,” Wahls said.

Wahls experienced a leadership change of his own when, in 2023, Iowa Senate Democrats voted to remove Wahls as their caucus leader and install Sen. Pam Jochum, of Dubuque, who has since retired. At the time, Wahls claimed 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.

Wahls said at the time that Iowa Democrats “desperately need a new direction and leaders who will chart that course.” He has similar thoughts now about the direction of the country.

“I’ve stood up to my own party before. I’ve got the scars to show for it,” Wahls said during his campaign announcement interview. “Making change is hard, and that’s exactly why it’s so important.

“Look, I’m a Democrat because I believe that since the New Deal, our party has stood for economic security and civil rights. That’s the core of what it means to be a Democrat. I think a lot of people in our party are frustrated by leaders in our party because they don’t see leaders who can effectively deliver on those two commitments,” Wahls added. “And I think there is a lot of excitement about a new generation of leaders stepping forward and saying we have a new vision for how our party can win elections, can govern and can solve the problems that are facing Iowa families.”

Wahls was first elected to the Iowa Senate in 2018. He represented a district that included Coralville and western Johnson County, and all of Cedar County. After decennial redistricting in 2021, Wahls’ district changed to include Coralville, North Liberty and western Johnson County.

  Buy Photo

Wahls is cofounder of Wahls Enterprise LLC, which he established for the customized “Woman Cards” playing cards that he created in 2016 after then-candidate Donald Trump accused his 2016 presidential election opponent Hillary Clinton of playing “the woman card.” Wahls previously worked as vice president for community investment and development at GreenState Credit Union.

Wahls first gained prominence in 2011 when, as a 19-year-old, he spoke on the Iowa House floor about his two mothers as legislators debated a proposal to ban same-sex marriage in the state.

Campaign of community service

Wahls said he expects economic concerns to be the top issue in the 2026 election. He also highlighted health care issues — including Iowa’s high cancer rates — education, and protecting Social Security.

Wahls said he wants his U.S. Senate campaign to be one of community service. He pledged to campaign across the state and ask Iowans about the needs in their communities.

“One of the things that I always loved growing up was that quote from President Kennedy who said, ‘Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.’ With this campaign, we’re asking not what can Iowa do for this campaign. We’re asking what can this campaign do for Iowa,” Wahls said.

“So we’re looking for opportunities to provide community service along the way, to hear from people across the state about the problems in their communities and use whatever resources our campaign can find to address those problems,” Wahls said. “And if we can’t address those problems during the campaign, that’s going to be our to-do list in Washington. Our legislative agenda is going to be directly informed by the problems that we hear about as we campaign across the state.”

Another political quote that Wahls is drawing on as he launches his Senate campaign comes from Sam Rayburn, a Democratic U.S. House Speaker in the 1940s, who once said, “Any jackass can kick down a barn, but it takes a good carpenter to build one.”

And Wahls said he will take the cue from longtime Iowa Republican U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley and campaign in all 99 of Iowa’s counties. Wahls credited Grassley for “good constituent service and hearing from Iowans.”

“And frankly, that is the same ethos that we want to bring to this campaign. Those are good, old fashioned Iowa values,” Wahls said. “We’re going to be running a grassroots effort. I want to hear from Iowans. We’re going to respond to Iowans. We’re going to hear their problems. We’re going to try to help solve their problems. And that’s the approach that we’re going to take in this campaign, and that is exactly how I will represent them in the United States Senate if they choose to elect me.”

The primary election in Iowa is scheduled for June 2, 2026.

Wahls' current, four-year term in the Iowa Senate ends at the end of 2026, and state law prohibits Iowa legislators from holding multiple elected offices at the same time.

Republicans react

The Republican Party of Iowa and the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the campaign organization that works to elect Republicans to the U.S. Senate, both issued statements Wednesday addressing Wahls’ campaign announcement.

Both Republican statements referenced immigration and transgender athlete policies.

In her statement, Republican Party of Iowa co-chair Linda Upmeyer, a former Iowa House Speaker, called Wahls “another far-left, do-nothing Democrat.”

“During his forgettable time in the Iowa Senate, Zach Wahls made a name for himself as an extreme liberal activist championing out-of-touch policies including high taxes, open borders, and letting biological men play in women’s sports,” Upmeyer said in the statement. “But above all else, he has always been more interested in chasing headlines than listening to Iowans.”

Comments: (515) 355-1300, erin.murphy@thegazette.com

Get the latest Iowa politics and government coverage each morning in the On Iowa Politics newsletter.