Attorney Taylor Wettach announced on Monday he has quit the race for the Democratic nomination in Iowa’s 1st Congressional District, and is running for Iowa Auditor of State instead.
“These past few weeks have been an incredible reminder of exactly why I decided to run for office,” Wettach said in a video announcing the change on Monday. “We’ve been on tour all across eastern and central Iowa, and everywhere we’ve gone, people were honest, thoughtful and hopeful about the future.”
Those people “just want a fair shot for themselves and their families,” he said.
Wettach grew up in Muscatine. He attended Georgetown University, where he earned both a BS and an MA from the university’s School of Foreign Service. Wettach later attended New York University School of Law.
Wettach practiced at a major law firm, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, where he focused on trade and national security. But Simpson Thacher & Bartlett is one of 15 law firms that were targeted for punitive actions by President Trump. Six of those firms are challenging, or have challenged, Trump’s actions in court, and judges have so far ruled in their favor. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett was not one of those firms. It entered into a settlement, offering Trump $125 million in pro bono work.
Wettach quit after Simpson Thacher & Bartlett agreed to do the pro bono work for Trump. He moved back to Iowa, and in July he launched his campaign for Congress in IA-01.
“Everywhere I’ve gone, I’ve heard the same concerns,” Wettach said in a video, describing his campaign across the 1st District. “Too many people have lost trust in government and feel like there isn’t accountability. As a trade and national security lawyer, I’ve seen firsthand what happens when power goes unchecked.”
“I quit my job rather than go along with an abuse of power that violated my oath the Constitution and my Iowa values.”
Before Wettach changed the office he’s running for, there was no Democrat running for State Auditor, the one statewide office a Democrat currently holds. The current auditor, Rob Sand, is, of course, running for governor this year instead of reelection.
In his video, Wettach echoed Sand’s nonpartisan approach.
“Iowans deserve a fair, honest and independent watchdog. Someone who speaks truth to power, follows the money and stands up for Iowa taxpayers,” he said. “And that’s why this isn’t about Democrats versus Republicans, or left versus right. It’s about right versus wrong. It’s about restoring trust and proving that government can work for us again.”
Sand has refined his nonpartisan pitch into a rhyming line: “Not redder or bluer, but better and truer.”
Beyond any commitment to nonpartisan service, any Democrat running for statewide office needs to attract votes from Republicans and those registered as No Party Preference. According to the most recent active voter totals published by the Iowa Secretary of State’s Office, there are 701,173 Republicans in Iowa, 584,343 No Party Preference active voters and 503,619 Democrats.
There were already two Republicans running for auditor, Lt. Gov. Chris Cournoyer and Iowa County Supervisor Abigail Maas. They will face each other in the June primary.
With Wettach running for auditor, there’s only one statewide office without a Democratic candidate. No one has so far entered the race for Iowa Treasurer. The Republican incumbent is Roby Smith, who is finishing his first term in office and running for reelection.
Wettach’s change clears the way for Christina Bohannan to win in June. This will be Bohannan’s third time challenging incumbent Republican Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks. Healthcare worker and first-time candidate Travis Terrell is also running for the Democratic nomination in IA-01. Terrell is running a grassroots campaign on a shoe-string budget, while Bohannan continues to show the sort of impressive fundraising ability she did in 2022 and 2024. She has consistently raised more money than any other Democrat running for Congress in Iowa.
