Democrat Sarah Trone Garriott has been elevated to what the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) calls its “coveted” Red to Blue program, while her Iowa Senate record includes opposition to citizenship verification and SNAP eligibility measures, along with votes on education and transgender-related policies.
The DCCC announced that Trone Garriott, a Lutheran minister and state senator challenging Republican Rep. Zach Nunn in Iowa’s Third Congressional District, had been selected for the first round of the committee’s “coveted” and “highly competitive” Red to Blue program, which the DCCC says provides support to “top-tier candidates.”
“Sarah Trone Garriott has spent her life showing up for her community, and now she’s running for Congress to continue that service: standing up to protect health care, get costs down, and always do what’s right for Iowa,” DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene said.
The RNC, however, points to Trone Garriott’s Iowa Senate record as evidence that her positions are out of step with voters.
“Sarah Trone Garriott is illegals first, Iowans last. She has proven that every time she gets the chance, she will raise taxes on hardworking Americans and put those dollars in the pockets of criminal illegal aliens,” Zach Kraft told Breitbart News.
Nunn helped pass a provision in the Working Families Tax Cuts intended to ensure that SNAP benefits do not go to illegal aliens.
Meanwhile, Trone Garriott opposed a similar provision in the Iowa Senate that would prevent illegal aliens from receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, saying it went against “Iowa’s tradition of helping those in need.”
Sixty-eight percent of voters, including majorities of Democrats and independents, agree that illegal immigrants should not be eligible for food stamps.
Trone Garriott also missed a vote on legislation that would deliver a $4.2 billion property-tax cut for Iowans earlier this year.
Another contrast emerged on election integrity as Trone Garriott voted against an Iowa bill requiring citizenship verification in elections, while Nunn voted to pass the Save America Act in the House, which requires citizenship verification.
Voters support citizenship verification in elections by a 30-point margin overall, while independents support it by a 20-point margin.
Trone Garriott has criticized Immigration and Customs Enforcement, saying the agency’s actions make Americans “less safe.” She also called for immigration legislation that would allow the government to deport criminals while creating a path to earned citizenship for immigrants who work and pay taxes.
Trone Garriott has faced additional scrutiny over her record on gender and education issues. She cosponsored legislation that would begin sex-education instruction in kindergarten and later declined to answer questions about the proposal. She further voted against legislation prohibiting instruction on gender identity for students in kindergarten through sixth grade.
During her time in the Iowa Senate, Trone Garriott voted against measures prohibiting gender-transition procedures for minors, preventing biological males from competing in girls’ sports, and requiring students to use school bathrooms corresponding with their biological sex. She also opposed legislation requiring schools to notify parents when a child adopts a different name or pronouns and restricting LGBTQ-related topics in elementary school classrooms.
She wrote in 2020 that transgender people experience high rates of food insecurity and “may not feel safe seeking assistance from food pantries.” She later recognized Transgender Day of Visibility, shared an article titled the “Catholic Case for Choosing Your Own Pronouns,” and described the LGBTQ movement as challenging traditional understandings of men, women, and relationships.
In a 2023 speech at a Methodist church, she said it was “uncomfortable” to see faith and political power collide and said the appearance of religion and political violence in public life felt “very threatening.” She tied what she called Christian nationalism to “white patriarchy” and said evangelist Billy Graham modeled an image of “white, Christian masculinity.”
In 2021, Trone Garriott delivered a sermon for Downtown Disciples, a progressive faith community that describes itself as LGBTQIA+ affirming and supportive of Black Lives Matter. The organization hosts a “Queer and Christian Book Club,” operates child and youth ministries, promotes an all-ages transgender festival, and lists a partnership with a fund that provides grants to transgender and nonbinary people seeking gender-related care.
Trone Garriott has also complained that Iowa’s leaders are “mostly white, mostly Christian, and mostly older men,” referred to private Christian schools as “segregation academies” that can create “white enclaves,” and defended a Wiccan-led prayer at the Iowa Statehouse by arguing that “Jesus engaged with pagans.”
She defended reading a Muslim prayer in the Iowa Senate, arguing that Christian voices had been “overwhelmingly represented.” In a later opinion piece, she wrote that beginning theological studies at Harvard immediately after the September 11 attacks made her more aware of “anti-Muslim bigotry” and its harm.
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