U.S. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise linked Iowa Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott, the Democrat running for Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District, with candidates affiliated with the Democratic Socialists of America — though she is not associated with the organization — as he spoke to Republicans in Iowa Wednesday in support of Rep. Zach Nunn’s reelection.
Scalise, alongside a group of other Republican U.S. House leaders, joined Nunn at the Westside Conservative Club Wednesday morning as the Iowa Republican campaigns for reelection. Nunn, who has held the seat since 2022, faces a tough election in 2026 against Trone Garriott in a race labeled a “toss-up” by political forecasters like Cook Political Report.
Republican leaders told the conservatives gathered at the Machine Shed in Urbandale that keeping Nunn in office this midterm cycle was necessary to ensure the measures passed by the GOP majorities and signed by President Donald Trump remain in place. Scalise said Iowans have benefitted from the tax law changes made through the 2025 “One, Big Beautiful Bill” Act, which cut taxes on tips and overtime — a measure that Trone Garriott has said she would support repealing because of its cuts to Medicaid.
But the Louisiana Republican said Trone Garriott and a potential Democratic majority represents a bigger threat — bringing “socialism” to U.S. Congress.
“What she says is bad enough,” Scalise said. “What she would actually do if you gave her a voting card — that’s what’s on the ballot here in Iowa, you know, that’s the socialism that’s no longer going to be nebulous. It’s no longer going to be, ‘it’s over there in California, it’s way over there in New York and Mamdani, you know, El-Sayed in Michigan.’ No, it will be here in Iowa if this race goes the wrong way.”
Scalise’s comments link Trone Garriott with candidates like Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, who won the party nomination for Michigan’s U.S. Senate seat earlier in August, and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. Conservatives label these and other candidates “democratic socialists” who have progressive politics aligning with figures like U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York. While Mamdani is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) organization, El-Sayed has rejected this label.
Trone Garriott is not affiliated with the DSA organization, and has not identified as a “socialist.” But Republicans have regularly criticized her as a “radical” figure, saying she did not oppose legislation banning “men in women’s locker rooms or boys in girls’ sports” — a characterization she disputes — and claiming she believes Americans are “too white,” referencing her comments made in a 2021 YouTube video in which she said she wanted to see more diversity in the state Legislature, which she said is, “mostly white, mostly Christian, mostly older men.”
Scalise said states like Iowa have not seen democratic socialist candidates or the impacts of policies they support. But he said if these progressive candidates are elected to serve in Washington D.C., “it comes home to Iowa.”
“If [Nunn’s] opponent is somehow able to beat him, they bring socialism, Marxism to Iowa,” Scalise said.
In a statement responding to Scalise’s comments, Trone Garriott’s campaign said Trone Garriott is “endorsed by and would join the moderate New Democrats Caucus,” and that she is not a member of DSA nor a supporter of its agenda.
“Zach Nunn and his DC leaders’ lies reach new levels of absurdity. Iowans know Sarah as the minister, state senator, and mom who shows up for them — she is not a socialist, but if there’s one thing Sarah wants to bring to Iowa, it’s a couple more Costcos,” Trone Garriott campaign spokesman Zach Schenkman said in a statement.
Nunn also criticized Trone Garriott for supporting legislation that is “out of step with 80% of Iowans” on issues related to access to gender-affirming care for minors and educational materials in Iowa’s K-12 schools. While he and other Republicans have said Trone Garriott has “extreme” positions, Nunn spoke on his moderate bonafides, highlighting his position of being rated one of the most bipartisan members of Congress and his ability to work across the aisle to pass measures like expanded parental leave for reserve and National Guard members.
The incumbent also called on Iowa Republicans to help GOP leadership keep control of Congress in the 2026 midterms.
Iowa’s 3rd District is not the only competitive federal race in Iowa this election cycle. Election forecasters also rank the race for the 1st District between U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Democrat Christina Bohannan as a “toss-up.” Iowa’s 2nd District, where Republican Joe Mitchell faces Democratic state Rep. Lindsay James, and the U.S. Senate race between U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson and Iowa Rep. Josh Turek are both labeled as “leans Republican,” but are seen as more competitive than in previous election cycles.
“Iowa is ground zero for election day success,” Nunn said. “We have more races in Iowa that will determine majorities in both Congress and in the U.S. Senate than any other state as a percentage of our population. Guys, this is a huge responsibility. It’s also a huge privilege. … Iowa does this right. Not only are we the land that picks future presidents, we’re the land that delivers majority.”
Robin Opsahl is a reporter covering the state Legislature and politics for an Iowa Capital Dispatch, where this article first appeared.
