BONDURANT, Iowa – State Senator Zach Nunn, R-Bondurant, decided not to run in Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District’s Republican primary.
Nunn announced a listening tour in Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District back in May after telling Caffeinated Thoughts that he would make a decision about the race after the legislative session.
Monday evening after announcing he will travel to Ukraine to join an international election monitoring team, he announced he decided not to run for Congress.
“For the past few weeks, we’ve met hundreds of Iowans on a 16-county ‘Listening Tour’ across southwest Iowa. We received overwhelmingly positive support from everyday Iowans. Going forward, we’re still deeply committed to serving, working for Iowans, and helping improve communities,” he said. “Congress can be fixed. Doing it will require more of the Iowa model of home-grown solutions — and less of the D.C. mandates and extremism.”
“Growing our nation’s success and forging a path forward starts with winning back Iowa’s 3rd District. I support leaders like US Senator Grassley when they seek to focus on winning the 3rd district — and that is most achievable when we’re working together,” Nunn added.
The 39-year-old Air Force combat veteran won his seat representing Iowa Senate District 15, a historically Democratic district, in 2018 after serving two terms in the Iowa House of Representatives. Nunn says he plans to continue his service in the Iowa Air National Guard as a squadron commander and by finishing his current term in the Iowa Senate.
Nunn’s decision also comes soon after former U.S. Rep. David Young announced he raised over $330,000 in less than two months after announcing his campaign indicating that he may have a lock on the Republican money race in the district for his effort to retake the seat he lost to Axne in 2018. The National Republican Congressional Committee also just released a head-to-head poll that showed Young leads Axne by six points.
Currently, Young and Army veteran Bill Schaffer are the only Republicans who have announced they are running to challenge Axne.