Who's running in Iowa's 3rd congressional district
2 candidates are on the ballot. Below is what each one says they stand for, what they have actually done in office or in public life, and the arguments published for and against them — each quoted from a named source rather than summarised by us.
2 candidates · ballot order · Zach Nunn currently holds this seat
High confidenceHigh confidenceBacked by government records or the candidate's own official statements, with agreement across several independent sources.What would raise it: Nothing missing — this is the strongest evidence tier.
What they say they stand for
Their own words. Claims, not verified facts.
'Working across the aisle, fighting to lower costs, taking on fraud and corruption.'
A ban on congressional stock trading and term limits.
Backing the Defense Department's proposed $1.5 trillion budget and US forces in the Iran war, while saying he opposes a 'forever war'.
Confronting the Chinese Communist Party.
Protecting women's and girls' sports and spaces and parents' role in children's education.
What they’ve actually done
Documented record from official sources.
US Representative for Iowa's 3rd District since January 2023; reelected with 51.8% in 2024.
Iowa House and Senate, 2015–2023; colonel, Air Force Reserve.
Voted for the Stop Insider Trading Act in 2026.
Voted against two House-passed resolutions to remove US forces from hostilities with Iran.
Has not held public town halls in Congress; said in 2025 he did not want taxpayer-funded events 'hijacked' by protest groups.
His campaign and leadership PAC accepted $18,750 from Syngenta and Smithfield Foods, Chinese-owned companies, from 2022 to 2026, per The New Republic.
Arguments in favor
Nunn is 'clear about it, and he's willing to take the tough votes to do the right thing on behalf of our war fighters' — the kind of leader who has the president's back.
— Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, at a Nunn fundraiser (Iowa Public Radio)
'In Congress, he's doing what he's always done, serving, working across the aisle, fighting to lower costs, taking on fraud and corruption and delivering results for families.'
— Zach Nunn campaign ad (Iowa Capital Dispatch via KCRG)
Arguments against
'Zach Nunn is a career politician who has been in office since 2014 … he's voted to increase costs for the rest of us. He's desperate to distract from the fact that he has taken thousands of dollars from Chinese companies, and then voted to allow China to buy Iowa farmland.'
— Sarah Trone Garriott, Democratic opponent (The New Republic)
'Zach Nunn hasn't held a single town hall while in Congress, and Iowans deserve a representative who answers to them.'
— Sarah Trone Garriott, Democratic opponent (Iowa Capital Dispatch via KCRG)
'It's disgraceful that Zach Nunn and Pete Hegseth are partying together at a campaign stop in Iowa while our service members are under threat.'
— Sarah Trone Garriott campaign statement (Iowa Public Radio)
What we couldn’t verify
Nunn's campaign disputes the China characterisation, citing legislation he has supported against the Chinese Communist Party; the details of that legislation were not in a loaded source.
Whether Hegseth's appearance at the fundraiser violated Defense Department rules was raised by Iowa Starting Line but not resolved in a loaded source.
Debate plans had not been reported in a loaded source.
Term limits, required town halls and a ban on stock trading for members of Congress.
Lowering costs and addressing Iowa's maternal health care deserts, which she links to Republican policies.
Ending the war in Iran and keeping deployed Americans safe.
Being 'tough on China', including on Chinese purchases of Iowa farmland.
Making 'listening a priority'.
What they’ve actually done
Documented record from official sources.
Iowa Senate since 2021; reelected in 2024 in a district President Trump carried.
Won the June 2, 2026 Democratic primary after former House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst withdrew and endorsed her.
In the Iowa Senate, voted against the school bathroom bill and the 2022 law basing school sports eligibility on sex assigned at birth.
Endorsed by the DCCC's Red to Blue program, EMILY's List, End Citizens United, several Iowa unions and Sen. Elissa Slotkin, per Wikipedia.
Arguments in favor
The DCCC's Red to Blue program, EMILY's List, End Citizens United, Teamsters Local 238, Iron Workers Local 67 and Sen. Elissa Slotkin are among her endorsers.
— Listed endorsements, Wikipedia's race page
Trone Garriott 'has a real shot' in a year of Democratic enthusiasm, and her calls for mandatory town meetings resonate because 'nobody has been holding town meetings.'
— Karen Kedrowski, Iowa State University political scientist (The New Republic)
Arguments against
Trone Garriott 'voted to allow men in girls' sports and their private spaces' and cosponsored legislation to teach sex education in kindergarten: 'Her record is too extreme, too dangerous, and too out of touch for Iowa.'
— NRCC spokeswoman Emily Tuttle
Trone Garriott 'officiated a SATANIST WEDDING.' The New Republic reports the claim is false: in 2006, as an unordained intern pastor, she read 1 Corinthians 13 at a wedding her supervising pastor officiated.
— NRCC social media post, April 2026 (The New Republic)
What we couldn’t verify
Her campaign website address could not be confirmed from a loaded page.
Debate plans had not been reported in a loaded source.
Positions and criticism are quoted from the named sources, not our assessments. This is built to help you start getting informed — confirm the official candidate list with your election authority before you vote.
November 3, 2026 is Iowa's general election, decided by plurality; there is no runoff. The map did not change for 2026: Iowa's districts are drawn through the nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency process, and no 2026 redraw or pending congressional map litigation was found. Primaries were held June 2, 2026. The roster matches the Iowa Secretary of State's official general election candidate list (August 2026), which shows two candidates: Republican Rep. Zach Nunn, unopposed in his primary, and Democratic state Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott. A Libertarian, Marco Battaglia, was disqualified, and Democrat Xavier Carrigan's primary candidacy was disqualified. The district covers Des Moines and 21 counties in south-central and southwest Iowa. Nunn won 51.8% in 2024. Candidates are listed in the order of the Secretary of State's candidate list; that is not necessarily the printed ballot order, and it implies no ranking.
This is one contest on a longer ballot
A Iowa ballot also carries state legislative districts, county offices, judicial seats and often local questions — and which of them you vote on is decided by your street address, not your city or ZIP code.