Iowa 3rd Congressional District Candidates Talk Inflation, Immigration, Abortion in Debate

Rep. Zach Nunn (R-Iowa) and Lanon Baccam, a Democrat running to represent Iowa’s Third Congressional District, faced off in an Oct. 8 debate in Waukee, Iowa, over how they would handle pressing issues affecting their constituents.

Nunn, a first-term congressman who took former Democratic Rep. Cindy Axne’s seat in 2023, is seeking another term. He is an Air Force veteran, a former member of the Iowa General Assembly, and served as director of cybersecurity on the White House’s National Security Council.

Baccam, a combat veteran, former U.S. Department of Agriculture official, and second-generation Laotian American, is looking to put the south-central Iowa district back on the Democratic side of the ledger in the House.

The most recent impartial polling of the district, which encompasses most of the Des Moines metro area and a wide swath of the Hawkeye State’s southern border, shows Baccam holding a slight edge over Nunn among likely voters. According to a poll published by RMG Research Inc. in mid-September, Baccam was leading the incumbent by a 3 percent margin at the time of the poll, conducted Sept. 5–12.

During the hour-long debate, hosted by Northwest High School in the Des Moines suburb and broadcast by local CBS affiliate KCCI, the candidates touched on key general election issues, addressed local concerns such as agricultural policy, and took questions from local high school students.

Inflation

Moderators from KCCI began the debate by asking Nunn and Baccam how they would handle inflation. According to polling accessed by the station, Iowa voters consider containing rising costs for goods, groceries, and gasoline to be the most important issue in the 2024 election.

Nunn blamed “trillions of dollars” in government spending at the behest of Democrats in government for the steep inflation putting a strain on Iowans. As a former member of the Iowa General Assembly, he said the solution to the problem is dialing back taxes and cutting government spending. If that approach worked in Iowa, he said, it can work in Washington, too.

Baccam said the solution lies in going after “the price gouging big corporations” that raise prices and pocket the profits. He said the government should also play a role in bringing down runaway housing costs.

Immigration

Citing statistics from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the debate moderators said more than 8 million people have attempted to cross the southern border since President Joe Biden took office in 2021. The candidates were asked what should be done to secure the southern border.

Baccam acknowledged there is a problem at the border. He blamed Nunn and other Republicans in Congress for killing a bipartisan bill that he said would have greatly improved the situation. The bill would have put more agents to work and would have given the agency additional resources to stop the flow of fentanyl into the United States, he said. In addition, he said, it “would have forced the president to shut down the border if it became overwhelmed.”

Nunn denied he had a role in the failure of the border bill that Baccam referenced. The measure never left the Senate, he said.

He laid the blame for the immigration problem on Biden. The president, Nunn said, refuses to take the necessary steps to stop more illegal immigrants from entering the country.

When asked about stopping the flow of fentanyl into the United States, Nunn cited a seizure by Iowa law enforcement of enough fentanyl “to kill everyone in the Des Moines metro area.” Stricter immigration enforcement is the answer, he said.

Abortion

In July, an Iowa law went into effect prohibiting most abortions after a baby’s heartbeat can be detected—usually at around 6 weeks of pregnancy. Debate moderators said abortion is a top issue at the polls for Iowans.

The moderators brought up past statements made by Baccam, indicating he supports enacting a national law establishing a right to abortion. He was asked whether he thought there should be a point in time in a pregnancy at which abortion should be illegal.

Baccam did not answer the question directly, including when asked a second time. Instead, he said: “When a woman who is pregnant needs to make these life and death decisions, it should be between her family and her doctors.

“We need to pass the Woman’s Health Protection Act in Congress. I will do that.”

The Woman’s Health Protection Act is legislation that would make abortion on demand at any stage of pregnancy a federal law and would nullify state laws restricting abortion access.

Similarly, Nunn was asked if there is “any federal policy restricting abortion access” he would support.

“I am pro-life. I have voted for exceptions for rape, incest, and certainly for the life of the mother,” Nunn responded.

“I believe strongly that we should not have a federal abortion ban.”

He said there should be federal support for in vitro fertilization access and that women should be able to purchase birth control over the counter.

When asked if Congress should pass national protections for in vitro fertilization and other fertility treatments, Baccam replied, “Absolutely.”