Marco Battaglia announced on June 16 that he will run for Congress in Iowa’s third district as a Libertarian. His platform includes “promoting agricultural and medical freedom,” combating inflation with “sound money and sound economic reasoning,” and being “a voice for peace and prosperity.”

A longtime resident of Des Moines, Battaglia was the Libertarian nominee for Iowa attorney general in 2018 and for lieutenant governor in 2022, on a ticket with Rick Stewart. Libertarians regained major-party status in Iowa following that election, because Stewart received more than 2 percent of the vote for governor.

A Libertarian convention on June 8 nominated Battaglia, along with two other U.S. House candidates: Lone Tree city council member Nicholas Gluba in the first district, and Charles Aldrich in the fourth district. Aldrich was the Libertarian nominee for Iowa’s U.S. Senate seat in 2016; he later was the party’s 2018 candidate in IA-04 and ran for an Iowa House seat in 2022.

Battaglia’s campaign news release (enclosed in full below) says that for the past five years, he has worked with incarcerated Iowans and previously “had over a decade of experience working to keep Iowans safe from financial crimes.”

The Libertarian’s candidacy will likely worry Republicans. First-term U.S. Representative Zach Nunn already faces a well-funded Democratic challenger in Lanon Baccam. With no third-party candidates on the ballot in 2022, Nunn won with 50.3 percent of the vote to 49.6 percent Democratic incumbent Cindy Axne. In contrast, Axne defeated Republican David Young with about 49 percent of the vote in 2018 and 2020. In both of those races, third-party candidates received more than 3 percent of the votes in IA-03.

While voters across the spectrum may share some Libertarian positions, Battaglia will likely find more support among disaffected Republicans than Democrats. On his campaign website, he describes himself as an ally of Republican U.S. Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky and names Senators Angus King of Maine, Rand Paul of Kentucky, Mike Lee of Utah, and Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming as politicians he could imagine working with on companion legislation. King is an independent who caucuses with Democrats; the others are Republicans.

From the issues page of Battaglia’s website:

I will gladly work with whoever is elected this cycle to move us towards sound money, justice, and liberty. We need to move on from the two party illusion/the uniparty that has gripped the country throughout the last century and we need to work together to restore our republic, to stand for the inherent rights of the individual and to let liberty ring for all. 

“Uniparty” is an epithet most commonly heard from conservatives. David Pautsch, who had a surprisingly strong showing in the recent GOP primary for Iowa’s first Congressional district, has accused IA-01 incumbent Mariannette Miller-Meeks of representing the “uniparty” rather than Republicans.

Bleeding Heartland will soon publish a more detailed preview of the IA-03 race. The Cook Political Report and Sabato’s Crystal Ball rate the district “lean Republican.” Inside Elections with Nathan Gonzales puts IA-03 in the more competitive “tilt Republican” category.

The third district covers the 21 counties that are red on this map. About three-quarters of its voters live in Polk or Dallas counties, containing most of the Des Moines metro area. The latest official figures indicate that the district contains 178,283 registered Democrats, 181,333 Republicans, 182,004 no-party voters, and 4,266 Libertarians.

Appendix: June 16 news release from Marco Battaglia’s campaign

Marco Battaglia Announces Candidacy US House Iowa District 3.

Des Moines , IA — Marco Battaglia has declared his candidacy for  US House Iowa District 3. Battaglia was born and raised in Des Moines, Iowa and he currently resides with his family on the South Side of Des Moines. He experienced the last 5 years from the frontlines working with incarcerated Iowans and taking them in and out of hospitals for medical appointments. Prior to this Battaglia had over a decade of experience working to keep Iowans safe from financial crimes. 

Battaglia’s campaign focuses on taking back the “people’s house” for the citizenry. “We should elect our representatives to be Iowa first, and more specifically in this case, district 3 first,” Battaglia said during his campaign announcement in Des Moines. His platform includes standing for the inherent liberties and concerns of the people of district 3, promoting agricultural and medical freedom, and addressing inflation head on by “leading on sound money and sound economic reasoning”. Battaglia firmly believes that current Representative Thomas Massie “needs more allies in congress that support voluntary exchanges, based in honesty and transparency, that invite reciprocity and trust.”  Battaglia often invokes the memory of former Iowa Governor and Senator, Harold Hughes, whom Battaglia calls, “one of the true pioneers in the field of alcohol and other drug abuse.”

Battaglia intends to highlight the people of district 3. Next week Battaglia will be touring Greene and Guthrie counties followed by a public event, Thursday June 20 2024 in Dallas County at 6:30 pm at The Handlebar. 1607 Sugar Grove Ave, Dallas Center, IA 50063. Battaglia encourages press and public to attend, to bring any concerns that they want to voice, and for anyone interested in getting involved locally to show up. 

Battaglia will engage with constituents through public events, social media interactions, and grassroots action. Battaglia has pledged to only accept donations from individual Iowans. Battaglia’s announcement comes on the heels of U.S. Marine Corps Veteran and Engineer, Charles Aldrich’s, announcement to run for US House for Iowa’s 4th district and U.S. Marine Corps veteran and current Lone Tree Iowa City Council member, Nicholas Gluba’s, announcement to run for US House for Iowa’s 1st Congressional District. 
For more updates on Marco Battaglia’s campaign, visit www.marco4congress.com or contact his team at marcoforcongress@yahoo.com. 

Top photo of Marco Battaglia provided by his campaign.