Zach Wahls Discusses Fairness, Corruption and Iowa's Future

It's your town. Your lives. Your stories. Make sure someone's telling them—donate to Decorah News now. DECORAH — Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Zach Wahls sat down with DecorahNews.com reporter Alexander Rosenow Friday at Impact Coffee in downtown Decorah for an extended interview about his campaign priorities, Iowa's economic pressures, and his views on fairness, corruption, agriculture, immigration, and political accountability. The conversation, held as Wahls continues his campaign tour, touched on many of the issues shaping his run for the U.S. Senate—from the rising cost of child care to the effects of tariffs on farmers and the role of term limits in government reform. Listening Across Iowa: Fairness and Accountability Asked what lessons from his time in the Iowa Legislature would guide him in Washington, Wahls said his campaign began by focusing on two central ideas: fairness and accountability. "When we started the campaign, we spent the first two months traveling to a bunch of different parts of the state, and we were just trying to really listen to people," he said. "The two big things that we heard the most about were related to the economy and the fact that so many Iowans are getting squeezed by an economy that's working great for people at the very top, billionaires and big corporations, and not for an enormous number of working-class and middle-class Iowans." Wahls said the issue is personal for him. "Our daycare costs almost as much as our mortgage," he said, noting that many families like his are deciding "the size of their families not by the number of kids they want to have, but the number of kids they can afford to have." He said another major concern Iowans raised was corruption, particularly the influence of corporate and special interest money in politics. "The Citizens United decision that allowed billionaires to spend enormous amounts of money," he said, "and the failure of our representatives and senators to stand up to Donald Trump when he's been pushing policies that by any objective measure are terrible for our state." Wahls criticized Rep. Ashley Hinson and Sen. Joni Ernst, saying they "vote more for the party line than what's actually right for our state," and pointed to health care and Medicaid cuts as examples. He also cited a bipartisan bill he helped pass in the Iowa Senate to protect mobile home residents, which he said was later blocked in the Iowa House. "I watched Ashley Hinson kill bipartisan legislation that I had passed through the Iowa State Senate 48 to 0 because she was in the pocket of corporate interests," Wahls said. "I've seen this happen firsthand." On Agriculture and Tariffs When asked about the impact of tariffs on Iowa farmers, Wahls said he has heard concerns from rural communities. "I hear you," he said. "The tariffs are crushing people." Wahls said he keeps in touch with farmers from his previous legislative districts and continues to hear about the financial fallout from trade disruptions. "It took Iowa farm leaders decades to build a lot of these export markets, and they are being gutted as a result of these policies," he said. He criticized what he called inconsistent positions among Iowa's Republican representatives. "Ashley Hinson said that tariffs are bad for Iowa, that they do a lot of damage, and then she has voted not once, but twice, maybe three times to continue this emergency authority to President Trump to keep these tariffs in place." Wahls also cited reports about the "$40 billion Argentina bailout" he said favored politically connected investors while farmers at home suffered. "Trump has been bailing out these right-wing billionaires while hammering our farmers," Wahls said. "I have yet to meet a farmer who's excited about the idea of bailouts. What they want are markets where they can sell their crops at a fair price." Immigration and the Border Wahls was also asked about his support for the bipartisan Border Act of 2024, which aimed to strengthen border security and streamline asylum cases. He said he backed the bill's goals but expressed concern over what he described as unlawful deportations in Iowa. "We are a nation of immigrants; we are also a nation of laws," Wahls said. "What concerns me about what's currently happening is what appears to be unlawful deportations happening, and the targeting of people who have legal status in the country." He said reports of enforcement actions affecting long-term residents, such as those in Ottumwa, go against what voters were told to expect. "When you're talking about hundreds of people who were here under legal status being deported, ripping apart families, devastating their community, that is not something that I can support," he said. Wahls said comprehensive reform is long overdue. "We do need to secure the southern border, there's no doubt about that," he said. "And we need to make sure that people who have not committed violent crimes have an opportunity to get a path to citizenship, because what's currently happening is clearly not right." He praised Winneshiek County Sheriff Dan Marx for "upholding the Constitution," saying local law enforcement has shown leadership where federal oversight has failed. "Clearly, there's been no meaningful oversight at all of what's going on," Wahls said. "That's where the legislature has this oversight role of the executive branch, and we've not seen it." Term Limits and Political Courage When asked about taking risks in politics, Wahls cited his introduction of term limits legislation in the Iowa Senate as an example of standing by principle despite political pushback. "I got a lot of side-eye from my colleagues," he said. "But it's something that I believe is really important. In my experience, the people who have been there the longest tend to have the coziest relationships with some of those lobbyists who represent special interests." He compared legislative turnover to Iowa farming practices. "In Iowa, we know that rotating the crops is good for the soil," Wahls said. "I think it's good for politicians, too." Building a Coalition for Change As the interview wrapped up, Wahls spoke about his broader message to voters, emphasizing unity across party lines. "The job of a U.S. senator is not to represent one party or one interest," he said. "It is to represent the people to the government." He said too many elected officials have reversed that duty. "The problem is you have a lot of people who see their job as representing the government to the people, and that's exactly backwards," he said. Wahls invited Iowans of all political affiliations to join what he called his "coalition for fairness." "Whether you are a Democrat, independent, Republican, or third party," he said, "if you believe we need an economy that works for us and not just the billionaires and big corporations, and you want to clean up the corruption we can all see in Washington, we want you in this coalition." He said the coalition focuses on three goals: "lowering costs, cleaning up corruption, and bringing new opportunity to small towns and rural Iowa." The visit to Decorah marked Wahls' 53rd county stop and one of more than 120 campaign events across Iowa. Wahls urged Iowans to learn more at ZachWahls.com and follow his campaign on social media. Stay informed, stay inspired! Newsletter sign up is free and join hundreds of free subscribers who rely on DecorahNews.com for trusted information and fresh perspectives.