To: Interested Parties
From: Katie Smith, DCCC Regional Press Secretary
Date: June 2, 2026
Subject: The Case Against Zach Nunn
There is a common denominator causing the problems facing Iowans right now, from the skyrocketing cost of living, gas, and grocery prices; the slowed economy and manufacturing layoffs; the rural health care crisis and exploding health insurance premiums; or the state’s divestment in public education. That common denominator is Zach Nunn.
Nunn has his fingerprints on all these hardships Iowans are facing. From being a Kim Reynolds “yes-man” in the State Senate, to being a “yes-man” for his bosses in Washington D.C., Nunn has become a stereotypical politician who broke his promises. He now trades cash and access for votes, even when it hurts Iowans: gutting health care, raising prices, giving billionaires tax breaks, laying the groundwork for and backing Reynolds’ toxic voucher program, cheerleading a price–spiking war overseas because his bosses tell him to. Nunn doesn’t show up for or listen to the families he promised he’d put first, he sells them out.
Sarah Trone Garriott has been showing up and listening her entire life. A mom, Lutheran minister, and State Senator, Sarah’s faith drives her to help her neighbor and show up for them. As a hospital chaplain, Sarah sat with parents and children in the toughest moments of their lives, supporting them when they needed a shoulder to lean on. When she served as a parish pastor, she took her church’s directory and knocked on every single door in her congregation to talk to her parishioners about how she could show up for them. Through her work at the largest faith-based food pantry in Des Moines, Sarah built connections across the community to help families put food on the table for their kids.
And as an Iowa State Senator, Sarah shows up to make government work better for her neighbors: holding regular town halls, knocking thousands of doors, and giving out her phone number to Iowans because that’s what showing up means to her. Sarah voted with State Senate Republicans to deliver tax relief, supported bills to lower prescription drug prices, passed a law to lower child care costs, and introduced bills to institute term limits and ban stock trading to take on corruption. That’s what she’ll do in Congress: work to get costs down for families like her own, strengthen our health care system, and fix the corrupt and broken system.
Iowans know that Sarah shares their values and works for them. An undeniable electoral overperformer, it’s her commitment to service, showing up, and doing what’s right for her neighbors that proves such a strong contrast to Zach Nunn. He’s a politician who helps himself, the special interests, and D.C. party leaders, and Iowans are paying the price.
Zach Nunn on His Health Care Vote: “The Myth Here is That Rural Hospitals Are Going to Close Down. That’s Not the Case.” The Reality: Four Health Care Clinics in IA-03 Have Shut Down.
From his time voting for Kim Reynolds’ Medicaid cuts in the state legislature, Nunn has always voted to make health care more expensive and harder to access.
Last year, Nunn repeatedly promised he would vote against cutting Medicaid. He warned the cuts were dangerous and would hurt Iowa providers. He even said he wouldn’t support them. Then he voted for them anyway, breaking his promise to Iowans to instead side with the special interest donors who fund his campaign. Nunn has taken over $350,000 from the pharmaceutical and insurance industries, and at least $175,000 from billionaires who are benefiting from tax cuts to the rich while regular Iowa families pay more.
In a pathetic and humiliating attempt to defend his vote, Nunn said on TV, in his own words, that it is a “myth” that hospitals would be at risk of closing down due to his Medicaid cuts.
Nunn: “Let’s dispel myths from reality here. I think that the myth here is that rural hospitals are going to close down. That’s not the case.”
Unfortunately, it’s not a myth. Already, Iowans in the Third District have seen four health care clinics close their doors, directly citing Nunn’s Medicaid cuts in their decision-making. That includes MercyOne’s clinic in Ottumwa and the River Hills Community Health Center’s Centerville clinic, both serving rural Iowans. MercyOne closed two clinics in South Des Moines, meaning patients will be forced to travel farther to get care. And MercyOne has done several rounds of layoffs impacting workers in IA-03. This is all just the tip of the iceberg, as Iowa health care providers who were already struggling are forced to grapple with Nunn’s extreme cuts.
Now, Nunn is coming for the Affordable Care Act. On camera and in his own words, Nunn said that he wants the ACA “gone.” He said he is “not in favor of the ACA going forward” and “has a bill that will immediately end it.” Nunn repeatedly suggested the ACA “enslaved” Americans who depend on it and it “keeps people in a position of permanent servitude.”
Repealing the Affordable Care Act would be devastating for Iowans, yet Nunn’s Washington bosses, with Nunn’s help, have repeatedly indicated they are more than willing to do so. Nunn’s scheme would kick more than 100,000 Iowans off their health care, rip away protections for Iowans with pre-existing conditions, and cause the cost of health care to skyrocket even further. He’s already undermined the ACA by failing to extend the health care tax credits, which 25,000 Iowans in the Third District relied on to afford health care.
Sarah Trone Garriott has watched as rural hospitals close and care becomes harder to access for her neighbors thanks to Nunn’s votes in Washington and Des Moines. Sarah will work to reverse the Medicaid cuts, allow Medicare to negotiate additional lower prescription drug prices, and push for increased support for rural health care providers. While Nunn doesn’t listen or show up – never even holding a town hall – Sarah is there hearing from her neighbors facing closed clinics in Ottumwa and risks to their care across the district, talking about what she can do to help.
Nunn Broke His Promise to Lower Prices, Instead Backing Price-Spiking Tariffs and A Cost-Raising War
Zach Nunn promised Iowa families he would bring prices down and strengthen our economy. But under Nunn and Kim Reynolds’ leadership, Iowa is going in the wrong direction. The state’s economy is ranked worst in the nation. Iowa has lost more than 20,000 jobs since the beginning of last year, including nearly 4,000 manufacturing jobs. Farm bankruptcies are skyrocketing to levels previously not seen since the 1980 farm crisis, as the agricultural economy is hurting.
Nunn fully backs the reckless tariffs that are hiking prices on families, closing markets, raising input costs, and forcing farmers further into a corner. These tariffs wreaked havoc on Iowans, but Nunn says they are “winning.” At every opportunity he had to stand up and put a stop to the tariffs crushing Iowans, he voted to support them – eight times in total. He fell in line with what his Washington bosses told him to do, and now Iowans are left to foot the bill.
This is a pattern for Nunn: not only did he rubber stamp the tariffs, but he fell in line and did nothing to stand up to the Argentina bailout that tossed Iowa farmers aside. Iowa farmers needed someone to block sending millions of dollars overseas instead of providing relief to the struggling domestic agricultural sector. Nunn refused to act – which isn’t a surprise, as he took money from a Chinese company that did business in the Argentine soybean industry, profiting from the tariffs that Nunn backed.
And while families pay more at the pump, farmers grapple with the rising cost of fertilizer at the start of spring planting season, and Iowans mourn fallen service members, Nunn is cheerleading the cost-spiking forever war in Iran that’s to blame. This war of choice puts Iowans in danger and makes life more expensive, but Nunn votes to support it anyways: another broken promise.
As a working mom, Sarah knows how rising prices at the grocery store and at the gas pump are hurting families, because her family feels it too. She won’t hesitate to stand up to D.C. to get things done for families like her own. In the State Senate, Sarah crossed party lines to vote to cut Iowans’ taxes, and voted to lower prescription drug prices. In Congress, she’ll push to reverse the tariffs, deliver real tax relief for working families, and stand up to the inside dealing and corruption that allows insiders to get rich while Iowans are left behind.
Nunn Has Become Another D.C. Politician Who Prioritizes Washington Bosses and Special Interests Who Cut His Campaign Checks
Instead of standing up for Iowans like he promised, Zach Nunn sided with the corporations and Washington bosses taking advantage of them. Nunn took over $260,000 of dollars from credit card companies and big banks, while voting to let them charge fees up to six times higher. He is beholden to the corporate donors who fund his campaign, including the at least $175,000 he took from Wall Street billionaires, who are profiting from the tax cuts he delivered them. Nunn even took money from a Chinese-owned company buying up American farmland, and voted to allow those same Chinese companies to keep buying American farmland.
He took tens of thousands of dollars from Big Pharma and big health insurance companies, and voted to raise insurance premiums, opposed capping the cost of insulin and other lifesaving drugs, and voted to allow insurance companies to deny care to people with pre-existing conditions.
Nunn has raked in over $1.2 million from his Washington bosses, who know he is a “yes-man” for their agenda. His party loyalty score has skyrocketed 15 points: increasing from voting with his bosses 80% of the time, to an eye-popping 95%. Iowans know that 95% of what comes out of Washington isn’t right, but Nunn backs it anyways. Just like how Nunn backed Kim Reynolds’ disastrous voucher program and voted to lay the groundwork for the toxic program that diverts taxpayer dollars away from public schools. Nunn received more than $50,000 from Reynolds’ major donors after he rubber-stamped her agenda and voucher scheme.
While he’s quick to serve his wealthy campaign donors, Nunn refuses to meet with Iowans because he doesn’t care to hear from them. In his nearly four years representing IA-03, Nunn has never held a town hall. He calls town halls “taxpayer-funded protest event[s];” Iowans call them the bare minimum of doing your job. He’d rather travel all the way to Dubai and Taiwan, or “liv[e] it up at Mar-a-Lago” at “swanky” fundraisers than hear from Iowans.
He’d even rather spend time hobnobbing with Pete Hegseth. So much, in fact, that he went as far as to advertise a campaign fundraiser with Pete Hegseth in the first days of the Iran War. While Iowans were mourning the deaths of Iowa service members, Zach Nunn promoted a partisan political fundraiser billed as a “salute to the troops” and “a tribute to the brave men and women who wear the uniform and defend our freedom” – but the proceeds would have gone towards his own campaign. At a time when Iowans needed their representative to be focused on serving them, Nunn was focused on collecting campaign cash.
Nunn has left no room for confusion: he’s become just another stereotypical Washington politician who will say, or do, anything he needs to protect his political ambitions. He’s doubled his estimated net worth since entering Congress just four years ago, and he wants to continue climbing the ladder, no matter the cost.
Sarah will take on the Washington corruption that Zach Nunn has profited from. In the State Senate, she pushed for term limits and a stock trading ban – she’ll do the same thing in Congress. Sarah will fight the influence of corporate money that has bought Nunn; she’ll actually work for Iowans and stand up to the people making life more expensive.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
Iowa Starting Line: Miller-Meeks, Nunn vote to cut Medicaid and SNAP [Iowa Starting Line, 5/22/25]
American Journal: Nunn backed a $1T Medicaid cut and Iowa hospitals are feeling the pain [American Journal, 3/11/26]
“Iowa Rep. Zach Nunn said it was a “myth” that Medicaid cuts would lead to hospital closures. Less than a year later, seven of his state’s medical facilities have shut their doors, laid off staff, or reduced services.”
The New Republic: MAGA Rep. Voted Against Obamacare Because He Says It “Enslaved” People [The New Republic, 2/6/26]
“…Nunn told the Westside Conservative Club that he believed the ‘ACA keeps people in a position of permanent servitude.’ “Let me be very clear: I am not in favor of the ACA going forward. We have a bill that will immediately end it,’ Nunn said. ‘The ACA is one of the most destructive health care plans out there.’”
Punchbowl News: Hegseth to stump for Nunn as Iran war rages [Punchbowl News, 3/4/26]
“Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is traveling to Iowa in two weeks for a campaign event with Rep. Zach Nunn (R-Iowa), a move that’s drawing criticism amid the ongoing war in Iran. […] Nunn is billing the event as “a tribute to the brave men and women who wear the uniform and defend our freedom.” […] “A 20-year-old from West Des Moines lost his life, and Nunn is fundraising for his campaign under the guise of supporting the troops instead of doing his job – callous and disqualifying,” DCCC spokesperson Katie Smith said in a statement.”
American Journal: Nunn talks tough on banks after taking $260K from credit card industry [American Journal, 5/13/26]
Heartland Signal: Zach Nunn reverses course on opposition of China buying U.S. farmland [Heartland Signal, 5/20/25]
Iowa Starting Line: Reynolds-connected lobbyist recruited paid attendees for JD Vance’s Iowa rally on behalf of ‘an ethanol company’ [Iowa Starting Line, 5/8/26]
“Just hours before Vice President JD Vance took the stage in Des Moines, an ethanol lobbyist with deep connections in the Reynolds administration offered money to contacts willing to attend the rally. […] Iowa Starting Line reached out to Nunn’s campaign which did not respond by press time.”
Associated Press: 3 Democratic pastors in Iowa are running for Congress, a snapshot of a national trend [Associated Press, 3/20/26]
“In polite company or otherwise, the Rev. Sarah Trone Garriott is very comfortable talking to people about religion and politics. She delivered an impassioned sermon last Sunday encouraging the people in the pews at Grace Lutheran Church to welcome strangers as Jesus did. The day before, she campaigned for Congress in rural Iowa, decrying Medicaid cuts and their impact on people’s access to health care.”
Des Moines Register: Sarah Trone Garriott holds roundtable discussion on rural healthcare [Des Moines Register, 3/15/26]
Iowa Capital Dispatch: Iowa Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott criticizes Nunn for not holding public town halls [Iowa Capital Dispatch, 9/7/25]
Des Moines Register: Iowa Democrats outraise House GOP incumbents ahead of Iowa’s primary [Des Moines Register, 5/23/26]
Ottumwa Courier: Trone Garriott kicks off ‘Faith In Iowa’ tour with Ottumwa stop [Ottumwa Courier, 5/4/26]
“‘I think the most important thing about building trust is showing up for people. When I was a chaplain, I worked at a children’s hospital in Chicago and my job was to be there and present for everyone,” [Sarah Trone Garriott] said. ‘I would go floor to floor, talk to people cleaning the rooms, security guards, the parents who couldn’t sleep at night, the kids who were awake. That was how I built trust, by showing up so I could do those things. You all deserve elected leaders who show up for everybody.’”
PATH TO VICTORY
Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District is one of the most competitive seats in the country, and Sarah Trone Garriott has a proven record of winning tough races: she successfully flipped a Republican-held seat in the Iowa State Senate in 2020; then she took on the Republican State Senate president in 2022 and won before going on to defend her Trump-won seat again in 2024.
As a Dallas County-based legislator, Sarah has the track record of overperforming in this must-win suburban territory. In 2024, Sarah won her state senate district while Trump narrowly carried it – running ahead of both the Democratic House candidate and Kamala Harris’ margins. In her 2022 race, she overperformed Cindy Axne’s margin by 2.6 points. In both these years, Democrats faced headwinds at the top of the ticket, but Sarah won.
Not since 2018 (when Democrats won IA-01, IA-02, and IA-03) has Iowa seen as competitive a Democratic ticket. With Rob Sand, who at the top of the ticket is running on an anti-corruption and bipartisan problem solver ethos, Sarah will benefit as Sand carried IA-03 with more than 54% of the vote in both 2018 and 2022.
When Iowans get to know Sarah, they trust her. They see that she is a mom, a minister, and a public servant whose faith has driven her to a life of service. Zach Nunn has become another D.C. politician in the eyes of Iowans: not an Independent fighter, and not someone who is standing up for them. With Sarah’s record of electoral overperformance, years of showing up for Iowans, and ability to harness the issues of affordability and anti-corruption, she is poised to win this race. |
