Zach Nunn announces run for Congress

Zach Nunn is running for U.S. Congress.

On July 13, Nunn, who represents Iowa Senate District 15 — which covers a large portion of Jasper County, including Colfax, Baxter, Kellogg, Mingo, Newton and Valeria — announced his campaign for the U.S. House of Representatives, more specifically Iowa’s third congressional district.

Currently held by Democratic Rep. Cindy Axne, the third congressional district includes the southwestern quadrant of the state, along with Iowa’s largest populated county: Polk County. Earlier this year, Axne, whose term ends 2023, also said she could entertain a run for U.S. Senate or Iowa Governor seat.

“We’re very excited about our run just because this is a community that we grew up in,” Nunn said. “Equally important, we’ve done some really good things, we believe, in the statehouse, and we like to see what’s worked in Iowa be shared with the rest of the nation by going to D.C.”

Nunn originally considered a bid for Iowa’s third congressional district in 2019, but told Newton News “the time was not right” for him or his family to jump into something new. Two years later, Nunn thinks it’s the perfect time. Especially now when Republicans have seen a number of victories in the statehouse.

“It’s been a good year for Republicans,” he said. “We have been successful in Iowa about passing the largest tax cut in Iowa history, and in D.C. they’re talking about passing the largest tax hike in U.S. history. We have been very supportive of our law enforcement and community while doing justice reform.”

Whereas in D.C. the conversations have centered around defunding the police but passing no meaningful legislation, Nunn claimed.

“Here we have done a really good job to ensure our budget is on track and we’re not running a deficit. In Washington, D.C. they’re running a deficit that looks to be more than the GDP of the country, which is a very dangerous scenario, from my perspective, for national security,” Nunn said.

If elected, Nunn wants to see more “impactful legislation” rather than the run-of-the-mill “partisan politicking,” and replicate the legislative practices of Iowa into Washington, D.C. Nunn said the driving force behind his congressional bid is his desire to serve.

“I’ve been a fighter on the battlefield, been a fighter at the statehouse — now there’s a desire to serve at the federal level,” Nunn said. “And this is the year to do it.”

Nunn is scheduled to finish his District 15 term in 2022, but he stressed he’s not done serving the district.

“We have over a year left and we are working very hard for the district,” Nunn said. “I’ve got a bill on the Second Amendment rights and we have a bill before us that works as economic recovery, particularly for small businesses. And we have a bill to help first generation farmers get started.”

Nunn said he’s so humbled to have served one of the only districts in the state that has parts of East Des Moines, suburban Altoona and rural Jasper County and, I would say, historical Newton.

“It’s a diverse district with so many great people that have some of the cleverest ideas that we have taken from their thoughts at a forum and gotten it through the legislation and down onto the governor’s desk,” he said. “This is what being in local government is supposed to be about:

“Hear the folks in Jasper County, voice their priorities and work with the community to get it passed in the legislation. And that makes me very proud to be part of this community, and I’m grateful on both sides — Republicans and Democrats and Independents — who have voiced that and worked for us.

“It’s a reflection of how awesome our community is.”

Contact Christopher Braunschweig at 641-792-3121 ext. 6560 or cbraunschweig@newtondailynews.com