A Libertarian running for the U.S. House of Representatives in Iowa’s 3rd District says as a member of Congress he would aim to cut federal foreign aid and "put Iowa first."
Marco Battaglia has run for office as the Libertarian candidate for Iowa attorney general in 2018 and lieutenant governor in 2022 when he was on the party’s ticket with gubernatorial candidate Rick Stewart. Now Battaglia is running for Congress because he says neither Democrats nor Republicans in Washington, D.C., are doing enough to control federal spending.
“You know, there's just a few glaringly red or blue issues that they would vote differently on,” Battaglia said. “But in terms of continuing to spend more and more money, they're gonna vote — they've consistently voted — the same.”
He said the U.S. should pull back on funding for Ukraine and Israel in their ongoing wars with Russia and Hamas because the money would be better spent on domestic issues.
“We basically have to get our own house and our own budget in order before we even consider sending money to other countries,” he said.
Battaglia, who is a Des Moines native and works as a correctional officer at the Iowa Correctional Institution for Women, said he also plans to campaign on decriminalizing marijuana and ending what he calls abusive prison labor practices.
He faces incumbent Republican Rep. Zach Nunn and Democratic candidate Lanon Baccam in the 3rd House District, which covers the Des Moines metro as well as rural parts of southwestern and south central Iowa. No Libertarian has ever won federal or statewide office in Iowa, but as a third party choice Battaglia could influence a race that is expected to be closely contested and was decided by around 2,000 votes two years ago.
With Battaglia on the ballot, the Libertarian Party of Iowa has candidates in three out of four congressional races in the state. Nicholas Gluba of Lone Tree is running in the 1st District, and Charles Aldrich is running in the 4th House District.
