Nunn vs. Trone Garriott: Where Iowa’s 3rd District candidates stand
Rep. Zach Nunn voted for Medicaid cuts that shuttered health clinics and backed tariffs that raised costs for Iowans. State Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott is challenging the Iowa Republican, campaigning on lowering health care expenses and ending tariffs.
At Heartland Signal, we want to be sure voters are informed heading into the midterm elections. Accordingly, we’re creating a series where we offer voters in certain districts a look at the candidates and their stances on issues that matter most to voters right now.
Iowa’s Third Congressional District
Incumbent: Zach Nunn (Republican)
District geography: Des Moines and rural Southern Iowa
Last election (2024):
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Percent |
| Zach Nunn (incumbent) | Republican | 213,746 | 51.8 |
| Lanon Baccam | Democrat | 197,962 | 47.9 |
Q: Who is running to represent Iowa’s Third Congressional District?
A: Incumbent Republican Zach Nunn is running against Democratic state Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott for this seat.
Q: Where is Zach Nunn from?
A: Zach Nunn was born in Iowa and grew up in the district. He grew up there, but he moved to England after college, where he then went to graduate school and worked for conservative MP Sir Peter Bottomley. After that, he moved to Washington, D.C., where he was a political aide. He also joined the Air Force, and after his military career, he returned to Iowa to run for office.
Q: Where is Sarah Trone Garriott from?
A: Sarah Trone Garriott was born and raised in Minnesota. After college, she embarked on a career as an Evangelical Lutheran minister, which took her around the country. She has lived in Iowa since 2013.
Q: Does Zach Nunn want to make health care better?
A: The only health care issue addressed on Zach Nunn’s website is his support of limiting reproductive rights. Nunn voted to pass the One Big Beautiful Bill, which cut $700 billion from Medicaid and led to the closure of the MercyOne Health Clinic in Ottumwa and the River Hills Community Health Center in Centreville. Despite that, he believes that rural hospital closures are a myth and physically attacked someone who asked him about them.
Q: Does Sarah Trone Garriott want to make health care better?
A: Sarah Trone Garriott’s top priority in health care is reversing the Medicaid cuts that Zach Nunn voted for. While serving in the Iowa Senate, she sponsored measures that would cap the price of insulin, require corporations to cover their workers’ medical leave, make Medicaid cover more cancer screenings and improve Medicaid benefits.
Q: Is Zach Nunn trying to make things cheaper?
A: Zach Nunn has a history of voting to support Donald Trump’s priorities, some of which have led to higher costs. He has voted to support the Iran War after it was launched, which has led to gas and diesel prices to skyrocket along with mortgage rates. Notably, he appeared at a campaign event with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth after the war started. He also voted to support higher tariffs in March 2025, September 2025 and this past February. The Iran War and higher tariffs have led to increases in inflation. Nunn, however, thinks the war’s effects on the cost of living have been overhyped. He’s also fought to let banks increase overdraft fees after taking hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations from them.
Q: Is Sarah Trone Garriott trying to make things cheaper?
A: Sarah Trone Garriott opposes the Iran War and has criticized its effect on the cost of living for Iowans in particular. She also wants to end Donald Trump’s tariff policies, calling them reckless. While serving in the state legislature, she introduced bills to cap the price of insulin, require big corporations grant people the right to repair and give children free school lunches.
Q: Will Zach Nunn stop data centers?
A: Zach Nunn has called Iowa, where 33 data centers have been built in his district alone, a “model for how workforce development and AI leadership can work hand in hand.” But he says he opposes sweetheart deals for data center builders if they’re from out of state and doesn’t want them to increase electricity bills.
Q: Will Sarah Trone Garriott stop data centers?
A: Sarah Trone Garriott has focused on making sure that data centers don’t cause electricity rates to go up, as she sponsored legislation that would prevent them from shifting electricity costs onto consumers.
Q: Will Zach Nunn fight corruption?
A: Zach Nunn has been embroiled in a few corruption scandals. He’s accepted more than $80,000 in free travel in the last two years alone, including a luxury tour of the British Isles during the last government shutdown. While serving in the state legislature, he received $34,000 from a family that owns an amusement park as he was sponsoring a bill that let high schoolers operate rides. He’s also fought to let banks increase overdraft fees after taking hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations from them. And Pete Hegseth is facing an ethics complaint over his campaign appearance with Nunn. However, in spite of this, he has also sponsored legislation that would impose ethics reforms on Congress.
Q: Will Sarah Trone Garriott fight corruption?
A: Sarah Trone Garriott has sponsored bills to ban corporate meddling in politics and insider trading by lawmakers. She has pledged to pursue similar policies in Washington, D.C. if she is elected to Congress.
Q: Is Zach Nunn tough on China?
A: Zach Nunn has missed many meetings of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, on which he serves, focusing instead on promoting his self-published novel about China.
Q: Is Sarah Trone Garriott tough on China?
A: As a state lawmaker, Sarah Trone Garriott has not had to address foreign policy during her political career.
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