DES Moines, Iowa — Iowa State Senator Zach Wahls officially announced he’s running for a seat in the U.S. Senate. He hopes to win the Democratic primary next June and unseat Republican Senator Joni Ernst.
“One of the things that I want to make very clear in this campaign is that if you believe on building a better future for Iowa, I want you on the team,” State Sen. Wahls said.
The UI grad living in Coralville was first elected to the statehouse back in 2018 and is currently on his second term.
However, it wasn’t his first time in the political spotlight. Back in 2011 he gave a speech on the house floor defending his LGBTQ+ parents that went viral and launched him into politics.
Later he became one of the youngest Senate Minority Leaders but was replaced just two years ago.
“I spent two and a half years trying to make change in how we led our operations and that’s not always easy,” State Sen. Wahls said. “So when it came down to the conversation about how do we want to move forward I had some different ideas for what we wanted to do my caucus disagreed.”
State Sen. Wahls said Sen. Ernst’s leadership is failing Iowans and that the state needs a new generation of leaders fighting for them in Washington DC.
“There was a report out just last week that had us dead last in the country in our economy and we need new leadership in Washington,” State Sen. Wahls said. “People who understand what’s going on in our economy and how important it is we have real leadership that is solving these issues rather than just playing politics like Senator Ernst is doing in DC.”
He plans to focus on political corruption, healthcare issues and protecting social security and Medicaid. However, he said his main priority will be lowering costs for Iowans.
“The economy is the number one issue,” State Sen. Wahls said. “I was talking with a small business owner just earlier this week who lives in northeast Iowa. He runs a beer and wine importing business and these tariffs are making it impossible for him to tell whether or not he’s gonna make any money this year or lose his shirt.”
As of now, State Sen. Wahls will be facing two other Democrats in next years Democratic Primary; State Rep. JD Scholten and Nathan Sage.
“You deserve a Senator whose gonna always put Iowa first no matter who’s in charge and if you elect me to the US Senate, I’ll be that Senator,” State Sen. Wahls said.
