“I’m no stranger to tough fights. I’m the only Iowa Democrat who flipped two seats from red to blue, then won a district that went to Trump in 2024. I know how to win, and I know how to deliver for Iowans.

“Zach Nunn has failed us. As Iowans struggle with higher costs, attacks on our personal freedoms and reckless cuts to our public schools, Zach Nunn is not showing up, he’s not listening, and he’s not working for us. Iowans know that I show up for all my constituents, and that I listen. And I speak out.”  (Campaign Announcement, Iowa Capital Dispatch, 5/05/25).

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To hear directly from Candidate Trone Garriott, watch this short video:

State Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott launches campaign for US House seat, challenging Zach Nunn

BACKGROUND AND EXPEREIENCE

Sarah Trone Garriott has served her community as a minister, a mom, a non-profit leader, and an Iowa State Senator. 

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A native of Minnesota, she earned a BA in history from the College of St. Scholastica. Garriot became a VISTA volunteer in New Mexico and later earned a Master of Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School and a Master of Divinity from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. From 2004 to 2025, she served in various locations across the country as Lutheran minister, pastor, and interfaith engagement coordinator.

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In 2020, Garriott was elected to the Iowa Senate District 22. In 2022, following redistricting, she defeated the then Iowa State Senate president to represent District 14. She was re-elected to this seat in 2024 in a close race against her Republican opponent.  Garriott is currently the ranking member of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee. 

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Her husband William is a professor at Drake University and they have two sons.

ON THE ISSUES

These are the issues that identify Garriott’s priorities and values:

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• Making life more affordable for all

• Great public schools for every child, every community

• Protect Iowa’s land, water, and clean energy future

• Public safety

• Reproductive freedom is personal – and non-negotiable

• Serve our veterans like they served us

• Standing for your retirement and your health

• The right to organize and the dignity of work

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POLITICS IN IOWA

Iowa has long been considered a swing state. Consistent with Trump’s double-digit 2024 win in the state, however, it has trended solidly Republican for the last decade. 

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Both of Iowa’s U.S. Senators are Republican as is its four-person House of Representatives delegation. Zach Nunn, who has been serving in Congress since 2023, is Garriott’s opponent in the upcoming race. He won reelection by four points in 2024, similar to Trump’s margin of victory in the district. However, both the Cook Political Report and Sabato's Crystral Ball rate this seat as Toss-up, indicating that neither party has an advantage. Nunn initially considered running for Governor and chose to run for re-election after pressure from national Republicans who want to protect this seat.

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Senator Garriott’s track record winning three elections to the State Senate, her legislative experience, and her compelling resume point to an excellent opportunity for Democrats to flip this Republican seat.

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