In his first visit to Iowa since taking office, Vice President JD Vance told the crowd in Des Moines Tuesday reelecting Republicans such as U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn in 2026 is vital in order to support businesses, workers and U.S. citizens.“This is a contest between a party that wants to take all of your money and give it to illegal aliens and a contest between gentlemen like Zach Nunn who fight every single day for you,” Vance said.Vance’s event was officially a White House address to American workers, but it also came as an effort to support Nunn in the Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District in the midterms. Nunn’s reelection bid, alongside U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks’ campaign to keep the 1st District in Republican control, are expected to be among the most competitive U.S. House races in the 2026 election, both rated as “toss-ups” by political forecasters such as Cook Political Report.The event was held at the Ex-Guard manufacturing facility in Des Moines, a business that makes grille guards for pickup and semi-trucks. Vance said reelecting Nunn is a way to help protect companies such as Ex-Guard, which he said began business in 2009 — something Vance characterized as a ” tough thing to do” during a global recession.Vance said after the business was founded, the company learned that “foreign countries — in particular, the People’s Republic of China — were dumping goods, undercutting the wages of the workers of this factory and driving this place out of business.”“They were using cheap labor, sometimes slave labor, to try to steal jobs from the hard-working people of this district and this factory floor,” Vance said. “And for my entire life, we had presidents and politicians of both parties who didn’t do a single thing to stop (it) and said, ‘Oh, by the way, absolutely, bring those cheap goods into our country. Bring those things that were built by the hands of slaves rather than the hands of our own workers.’”He said the first political movement “that said enough is enough” was led by President Donald Trump.Vance said he spoke with the owners of Ex-Guard before coming to the stage, and they told him the tax cuts made through the “One Big, Beautiful Bill,” most of which took effect four months ago, have allowed their business to expand, give workers higher salaries and hire new employees. He said critics of Trump’s tariff policies are attacking the very policies that discourage other countries from undercutting wages and taking jobs from Iowa workers.“When you hear the Democrats attack the Trump administration’s tax policies, that’s what they’re attacking,” Vance said. “They’re attacking the policies that make it harder for people to steal your jobs, and they’re attacking the policies that gives you more money to keep in your own pocket.”He said the Trump administration’s economic policy, through tax cuts and efforts to “bring back American manufacturing,” are now making life affordable in places such as Iowa. He also criticized Democrats for opposing Republicans and the Trump administration’s efforts to fight “corruption and fraud” in public assistance programs.Vance said progress on such issues would be halted if Democrats regain control of Congress in the 2026 midterms.“The fundamental question for us in this election is actually not any specific question of public policy, it’s not any particular issue,” Vance said. “It’s fundamentally, do you want people in Washington, D.C., who fight for you, who fight for the people of this district, or who fight for corruption and fraud?”The vice president highlighted issues Nunn voted on in Congress that benefited Iowans — issues, he said, that, Nunn’s expected Democratic opponent would not focus on if elected. Nunn is expected to face Iowa Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott, D-West Des Moines, in the general election — a name Vance said he was having trouble finding in his notes as he spoke in support of Nunn’s campaign. Neither candidate faces challengers in the June 2 primary.Nunn, who introduced Vance at the event, criticized Trone Garriott in his speech while highlighting his own commitment to bipartisanship.“What I don’t need is, I don’t need a lecture from someone who pretends to preach from the pulpit while at the same time doing things like oversee a satanic wedding or tell Americans that they’re too white and too racist, or wag their finger to say, ‘Hey,’ from the bully pulpit, ‘most of Iowa is bigoted,’” Nunn said. “I don’t think that’s true. I still believe in the greatness of folks all across the spectrum.”Nunn was referencing incidents that have been repeatedly cited by Republican-backed organizations. Trone Garriott, a Lutheran minister, trained as a minister at a church in West Virginia, when the pastor who trained Trone Garriott officiated a wedding — a Christian ceremony — between two people who identified as satanists. She described this event at a Des Moines Storytellers Project event in 2023.The other comments referred to by Nunn were comments made by Trone Garriott in a YouTube video published in 2021 where she said she was drawn to run for the state senate because she “just wanted different kinds of people to be in leadership” who are more representative of the diversity that exists in Iowa, saying the state Legislature is “mostly white, mostly Christian, mostly older men.”Trone Garriott said in a statement Tuesday she was running for Congress “because it’s time someone stood up for Iowans.” She criticized Nunn for aligning himself with Vance.“Zach Nunn has voted with party leaders like J.D. Vance and special interests to close healthcare clinics in Ottumwa and South Des Moines while raising costs on everything from healthcare to gas and groceries for Iowa families,” Trone Garriott said. “As a mom, minister, and state senator, I’ve spent my entire life showing up for, and helping, my community, and I plan to do the same in Congress.”Vance was originally scheduled to appear with Nunn at an event last Thursday, and was to make another Iowa stop at Iowa State University with Turning Point USA CEO Erica Kirk. These events were rescheduled as Vance and Nunn stayed in Washington, D.C., to vote on measures including the farm bill and a Department of Homeland Security funding bill.Notably, language to promote year-round availability of gasoline with 15% ethanol — known as E15 — was not included in the final farm bill passed by Congress. U.S. House GOP leaders have said the House Agriculture Committee will consider a measure related to year-round E15. The subject came up at the Tuesday event, as advocates wearing hats and shirts touting support for year-round E15 cheered as Vance spoke in support of the measure.“We’re working on it every single day, because, number one, we want viable partners to have access to more markets,” Vance said. “But number two, we want everybody, all of our fellow citizens across our 50 great states, to benefit from grain right here in Iowa. That’s why we’re fighting for E15.”He said Nunn is working on this issue already in Congress, stating that “a lot of our partners are struggling with high fertilizer prices” tied to the war in Iran. Vance said the administration is going to “take care of some business on the foreign policy side,” but said simultaneously, “we’re working with the congressman, and we’re finding ways every single day to make sure that you guys and the farmers in this great state get access to the products that they need.”The vice president’s visit to Iowa has implications beyond the 2026 election season, as Iowa remains first-in-the-nation in the Republican presidential nominating cycle. Several speakers made references to potentially seeing Vance return to the state in the future.“Let me say this, Mr. Vice President, you are absolutely invited to every single part of Iowa,” Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird said. “We’d all like to see you.” Iowa Capital Dispatch is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Iowa Capital Dispatch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Kathie Obradovich for questions: info@iowacapitaldispatch.com.
DES MOINES, Iowa —
In his first visit to Iowa since taking office, Vice President JD Vance told the crowd in Des Moines Tuesday reelecting Republicans such as U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn in 2026 is vital in order to support businesses, workers and U.S. citizens.
“This is a contest between a party that wants to take all of your money and give it to illegal aliens and a contest between gentlemen like Zach Nunn who fight every single day for you,” Vance said.
Vance’s event was officially a White House address to American workers, but it also came as an effort to support Nunn in the Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District in the midterms.
Nunn’s reelection bid, alongside U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks’ campaign to keep the 1st District in Republican control, are expected to be among the most competitive U.S. House races in the 2026 election, both rated as “toss-ups” by political forecasters such as Cook Political Report.
The event was held at the Ex-Guard manufacturing facility in Des Moines, a business that makes grille guards for pickup and semi-trucks. Vance said reelecting Nunn is a way to help protect companies such as Ex-Guard, which he said began business in 2009 — something Vance characterized as a ” tough thing to do” during a global recession.
Vance said after the business was founded, the company learned that “foreign countries — in particular, the People’s Republic of China — were dumping goods, undercutting the wages of the workers of this factory and driving this place out of business.”
“They were using cheap labor, sometimes slave labor, to try to steal jobs from the hard-working people of this district and this factory floor,” Vance said. “And for my entire life, we had presidents and politicians of both parties who didn’t do a single thing to stop (it) and said, ‘Oh, by the way, absolutely, bring those cheap goods into our country. Bring those things that were built by the hands of slaves rather than the hands of our own workers.’”
He said the first political movement “that said enough is enough” was led by President Donald Trump.
Vance said he spoke with the owners of Ex-Guard before coming to the stage, and they told him the tax cuts made through the “One Big, Beautiful Bill,” most of which took effect four months ago, have allowed their business to expand, give workers higher salaries and hire new employees. He said critics of Trump’s tariff policies are attacking the very policies that discourage other countries from undercutting wages and taking jobs from Iowa workers.
“When you hear the Democrats attack the Trump administration’s tax policies, that’s what they’re attacking,” Vance said. “They’re attacking the policies that make it harder for people to steal your jobs, and they’re attacking the policies that gives you more money to keep in your own pocket.”
He said the Trump administration’s economic policy, through tax cuts and efforts to “bring back American manufacturing,” are now making life affordable in places such as Iowa. He also criticized Democrats for opposing Republicans and the Trump administration’s efforts to fight “corruption and fraud” in public assistance programs.
Vance said progress on such issues would be halted if Democrats regain control of Congress in the 2026 midterms.
“The fundamental question for us in this election is actually not any specific question of public policy, it’s not any particular issue,” Vance said. “It’s fundamentally, do you want people in Washington, D.C., who fight for you, who fight for the people of this district, or who fight for corruption and fraud?”
The vice president highlighted issues Nunn voted on in Congress that benefited Iowans — issues, he said, that, Nunn’s expected Democratic opponent would not focus on if elected. Nunn is expected to face Iowa Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott, D-West Des Moines, in the general election — a name Vance said he was having trouble finding in his notes as he spoke in support of Nunn’s campaign. Neither candidate faces challengers in the June 2 primary.
Nunn, who introduced Vance at the event, criticized Trone Garriott in his speech while highlighting his own commitment to bipartisanship.
“What I don’t need is, I don’t need a lecture from someone who pretends to preach from the pulpit while at the same time doing things like oversee a satanic wedding or tell Americans that they’re too white and too racist, or wag their finger to say, ‘Hey,’ from the bully pulpit, ‘most of Iowa is bigoted,’” Nunn said. “I don’t think that’s true. I still believe in the greatness of folks all across the spectrum.”
Nunn was referencing incidents that have been repeatedly cited by Republican-backed organizations. Trone Garriott, a Lutheran minister, trained as a minister at a church in West Virginia, when the pastor who trained Trone Garriott officiated a wedding — a Christian ceremony — between two people who identified as satanists. She described this event at a Des Moines Storytellers Project event in 2023.
The other comments referred to by Nunn were comments made by Trone Garriott in a YouTube video published in 2021 where she said she was drawn to run for the state senate because she “just wanted different kinds of people to be in leadership” who are more representative of the diversity that exists in Iowa, saying the state Legislature is “mostly white, mostly Christian, mostly older men.”
Trone Garriott said in a statement Tuesday she was running for Congress “because it’s time someone stood up for Iowans.” She criticized Nunn for aligning himself with Vance.
“Zach Nunn has voted with party leaders like J.D. Vance and special interests to close healthcare clinics in Ottumwa and South Des Moines while raising costs on everything from healthcare to gas and groceries for Iowa families,” Trone Garriott said. “As a mom, minister, and state senator, I’ve spent my entire life showing up for, and helping, my community, and I plan to do the same in Congress.”
Vance was originally scheduled to appear with Nunn at an event last Thursday, and was to make another Iowa stop at Iowa State University with Turning Point USA CEO Erica Kirk. These events were rescheduled as Vance and Nunn stayed in Washington, D.C., to vote on measures including the farm bill and a Department of Homeland Security funding bill.
Notably, language to promote year-round availability of gasoline with 15% ethanol — known as E15 — was not included in the final farm bill passed by Congress. U.S. House GOP leaders have said the House Agriculture Committee will consider a measure related to year-round E15. The subject came up at the Tuesday event, as advocates wearing hats and shirts touting support for year-round E15 cheered as Vance spoke in support of the measure.
“We’re working on it every single day, because, number one, we want viable partners to have access to more markets,” Vance said. “But number two, we want everybody, all of our fellow citizens across our 50 great states, to benefit from grain right here in Iowa. That’s why we’re fighting for E15.”
He said Nunn is working on this issue already in Congress, stating that “a lot of our partners are struggling with high fertilizer prices” tied to the war in Iran. Vance said the administration is going to “take care of some business on the foreign policy side,” but said simultaneously, “we’re working with the congressman, and we’re finding ways every single day to make sure that you guys and the farmers in this great state get access to the products that they need.”
The vice president’s visit to Iowa has implications beyond the 2026 election season, as Iowa remains first-in-the-nation in the Republican presidential nominating cycle. Several speakers made references to potentially seeing Vance return to the state in the future.
“Let me say this, Mr. Vice President, you are absolutely invited to every single part of Iowa,” Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird said. “We’d all like to see you.”
Iowa Capital Dispatch is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Iowa Capital Dispatch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Kathie Obradovich for questions: info@iowacapitaldispatch.com.