Libertarian Marco Battaglia of Des Moines has joined Iowa’s competitive 3rd District Congressional race, with a focus on immigration reform, eliminating tariffs and ending aggressive military action abroad.
This cycle marks the Des Moines native’s second time running in the district. Battaglia, who ran unsuccessfully in past local and state elections, said he was first motivated to campaign for office after feeling dissatisfied with the state of politics following the birth of his eldest son.
He told himself he would run in local, state and federal elections and said his initial decision to run for Congress was an extension of that choice.
“It wasn't really because of who was running as a Democrat or Republican or anything like that,” he said. “It was just I was going to do it and try to give the people of the district another voice, and I felt like mine was really different.”
This time around, Battaglia said his top priority is working to streamline immigration processing. He supports abolishing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which he said has functioned “more like a secret police.”
“There's nothing good about it, and if you don't hold that position, I argue that you do not claim to be constitutional or a fiscal conservative,” he said.
Battaglia lives on the southside of Des Moines with his family. He previously ran as a Libertarian candidate for attorney general in 2018 and later for lieutenant governor, with gubernatorial candidate Rick Stewart in 2022. Battaglia also ran for Des Moines City Council in 2019.
In 2024, Battaglia ran as a write-in candidate for the 3rd District, after a state panel voted to remove Libertarian candidates from the ballot due to a procedural error. The Iowa Supreme Court upheld the decision.
Last election cycle, Battaglia centered his campaign on reining in federal spending. He criticized the federal government for spending money on aid to Ukraine and Israel rather than on domestic issues. This year, he's focused on reining in inflation and thinks Congress needs to cut back on military spending and funding for ICE.
He said one of his key policy positions is pushing to eliminate tariffs and sanctions on other counties and to end aggressive U.S. military actions abroad.
“I think that people, we really need to show people how these policies hurt every day, hard working people the most,” he said.
Battaglia is a correctional officer at the Iowa Correctional Institution for Women in Mitchellville. He supports increasing penalties for violent crimes, like rape and sexual exploitation of minors, and favors removing criminal penalties for nonviolent drug offenses.
“It shouldn't be criminal whatsoever, no matter what drug it is,” he said. “If someone has an addiction problem, we should have support in the community to treat that.”
A competitive district
Republican incumbent Rep. Zach Nunn and Democratic state Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott are also running in the 3rd District race. Nunn is vying for his third term.
Political forecasters ranked the 3rd District race as a “toss up” between the Republican and Democratic candidates — marking it as one of the most competitive races in the country.
After the Libertarian Party’s presidential candidate failed to garner 2% of the vote in 2024, the Libertarian Party of Iowa lost major party status. This cycle, Battaglia filed via nomination by petition, which requires more than 1,700 signatures from people in the district, according to the Secretary of State.
No Libertarian has ever won statewide or federal office in Iowa, but as a third party candidate, Battaglia could pull votes away from mainstream candidates in a race that could come down to slim margins.
The general election is Nov. 3.
