“This could once again be one of the closest races in the country, and there’s no better candidate than Lanon Baccam to flip this seat. Born and raised in rural Iowa, Lanon has dedicated his life to service, first as a combat engineer serving in Afghanistan and then at the U.S. Department of Agriculture expanding economic opportunity for rural communities and helping veterans find good-paying jobs. While Zach Nunn pushes a dangerous agenda of banning abortion nationwide and threatening Social Security and Medicare, Lanon has never let partisanship get in the way of delivering results, and that’s exactly how he’ll serve in Congress,” said DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene.
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To: Interested Parties From: Mallory Payne, DCCC Regional Press Secretary
Date: June 4, 2024
Subject: The Case Against Zach Nunn
Iowa’s Third Congressional District is one of the most competitive races in the country, and Lanon Baccam’s victory tonight gives Democrats a strong chance to retake this seat.
Lanon is a combat veteran, public servant, and rural Iowa native who’s running for Congress to bring real results to Iowa after Zach Nunn has cemented his place in the most unproductive Congress in modern history. The son of Tai Dam refugees from Laos, Lanon has spent his life giving back to the communities who welcomed his family with open arms.
He enlisted in the Iowa National Guard at age 17 and later deployed to Afghanistan as a combat engineer focused on explosive demolitions and force protection. When he returned, Lanon had the opportunity to serve in the U.S. Department of Agriculture under Secretary Tom Vilsack, where he implemented critical investments in our rural communities, expanded access to high-speed internet, and helped connect veterans to good-paying jobs.
Lanon has always put others first. In his lifetime of service, it didn’t matter if folks were Democrats, Republicans, or Independents. Lanon wanted to do right by Iowans, which is why he’s running for Congress.
It’s harder than ever for families to get ahead, and Iowans can’t afford another two years of the ineffectiveness and dysfunction in Washington that Zach Nunn has enabled. In Congress, Lanon will put partisanship and political games aside to lower costs, protect reproductive freedom, strengthen public education, and safeguard Social Security and Medicare.
Meanwhile, Zach Nunn cares more about protecting his political career than delivering for Iowans. His anti-abortion agenda is dangerous and out of step with Iowans, he sides with DC politicians at the expense of Iowa families, and he has completely failed to deliver solutions that lower costs for Iowa families.
Zach Nunn Is An Anti-Choice Extremist
Nunn is a threat to Iowans’ reproductive freedom. He’s made it crystal clear that he thinks politicians should decide if, when, and how women should start a family.
He supported banning abortion nationwide with zero exceptions for rape, incest, or to save a woman’s life. And his record confirms it; in the state legislature, he voted for “the most restrictive abortion ban in the nation,” laying the groundwork for Iowa’s near-total ban.
While in the state legislature, Nunn voted for a number of bills that could ban abortion in Iowa, including a constitutional amendment that could eliminate the right to an abortion with no exceptions and a bill that could jeopardize women’s access to IVF.
Now in Congress, he’s doing everything in his power to chip away at abortion access across the country and work toward his goal of banning abortion nationwide. Nunn has helped pass bills that could imprison doctors who perform abortions, allow federal funds to spread misinformation and target women who seek essential health care, and block reproductive health care access for members of the armed services.
Zach Nunn Always Sides With DC Politicians over Iowans
For his entire political career, Nunn has pushed an out-of-touch agenda at the expense of Iowa families.
Nunn has been a disaster for public education. In the state legislature, Nunn voted to lay the groundwork for Iowa’s deeply unpopular school voucher program that diverts taxpayer dollars away from public schools. He’s continuing these attacks in Congress, calling to abolish the Department of Education and voting to cutfunding for early education programs. He even voted with his party bosses for a plan that could cut tens of thousands of teacher jobs nationwide.
Amid threats to gut Social Security and Medicare, Nunn has refused to stand up for Iowans’ retirement benefits. He’s even part of a group that repeatedly proposes deep cuts to Social Security and Medicare and is working to raise the retirement age, forcing Iowans to work longer.
Nunn also can’t be trusted to protect access to quality, affordable health care. He’s part of a group in Washington working to block Medicare from negotiating lower drug prices and end the $35 insulin cap for seniors, allowing drug companies to jack up prices.
Finally, Nunn took more than $30,000 from the credit and finance industry, then opposedcapping credit card fees, protecting profits for big banks and credit card companies instead of lowering costs for Iowa families.
Zach Nunn Is a DC Politician Failing To Deliver For Iowa
No one knows better than Zach Nunn that he’s failing Iowans – that’s why he hides from voters and has refused to hold a single in-person town hall since being elected.
Nunn’s first term has been defined by chaos and dysfunction, from an ousted speaker to many near government shutdowns to an expired Farm Bill. That’s why this Congress has been deemed the most unproductive in modern history. And Nunn has enabled it every step of the way.
Despite serving on the House Agriculture Committee, Nunn let the Farm Bill expire for nearly 50 days. Almost a year since it expired, he has yet to pass a new five-year bill on the House floor.
Amidst one of the many government shutdown deadlines this Congress, Nunn refused to support a bipartisan solution to keep the government open. Instead, he voted for a hyper-partisan bill that would cut critical programs for local law enforcement, the Social Security Administration, and farmers.
Time and time again, Nunn chooses Washington’s dysfunction over Iowa families.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
Iowa Starting Line: Cancer survivor presses Nunn to commit to protecting Affordable Care Act [Iowa Starting Line, 3.20.24]
Iowa Starting Line: Nunn Rejects Plan That Could Prevent Shutdown [Iowa Starting Line, 9.28.23]
KTVO: Candidate for Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District emphasizes rural communities in campaign [KTVO, 4.16.24]
“Baccam said his tenure as a deputy for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services provided him with insight from farmers and ranchers about how the government can support the agriculture industry.
“‘In this district, we have seen incredible investments from rural wastewater and water infrastructure programs. rural broadband programs are being invested in again. And those are the types of programs that I worked on when I was at USDA,’ he clarified.
“Baccam said that lowering the cost of living is critically important to the families and working people in the third district, in addition to protecting Social Security and Medicare.”
Des Moines Register: Christina Bohannan, Lanon Baccam have big fundraising quarters in Iowa congressional races [Des Moines Register, 4.16.24]
“Baccam, a veteran and former U.S. Department of Agriculture official, is challenging Republican U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn in the 3rd District. He raised the most of any candidate this quarter — $901,528 compared to Nunn’s $524,270.”
“Des Moines Democrat Lanon Baccam, who is running to challenge Iowa U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn, a Republican from Bondurant, announced raising more than $900,000 for the quarter.
[…]
“According to Baccam’s campaign, the haul sets a record for the highest first quarter fundraising for a congressional challenger in Iowa.”
PATH TO VICTORY
IA-03 was one of the closest races in the country last cycle. Democrats held the seat for years until Nunn eked by with less than 2,000 votes in 2022 – only six votes per precinct.
In fact, many Democrats have won this district, even in years with low Democratic turnout: last cycle, Rob Sand, Tom Miller, and Mike Fitzgerald all won this district with at least 54% of the vote despite Republicans having their largest turnout advantage in 8 years. In 2023, Democratic-backed candidates swept school board elections throughout the Des Moines suburbs, from Ankeny to Johnston to West Des Moines.
Over 60% of the vote comes from blue Polk County, where the Presidential race will help expand turnout, while nearby Dallas County is the district’s second-largest and is rapidly trending toward Democrats.
Even as a first time candidate, Lanon is breaking fundraising records and has outraised Nunn every quarter he’s been in the race, ensuring he’ll have the resources to reach voters across the district. This fall, Iowans will have a clear choice between Lanon, a public servant with a record of delivering for Iowa communities, and Nunn, a DC politician who refuses to stand up to his party and get things done.
