A YouTube video Wettach released the morning of his campaign announcement shows him entering an elevator, wearing a suit and carrying a cardboard box full of personal effects.
“They say every candidate needs an elevator pitch,” he says as he enters.
Wettach uses the items in the box to tell his personal story. He is a seventh generation Iowan, raised in Muscatine to a preschool teacher and family doctor. His upbringing steered him towards a career in trade and national security law. He left his firm (see cardboard box) after it made a deal to do pro bono work for the president.
The deal was something he couldn’t be a part of, he said.
“I was concerned about that sort of agreement, especially considering that law firms and lawyers should be the first to stand up to efforts to go against the rule of law or to push others into making decisions extralegally,” Wettach said.
Now, he said he wants to use his national security expertise for public service.
He joins fellow Democrats Christina Bohannan, Bob Krause and Travis Terrell in running for the 1st District seat. Its current holder, Republican Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, said in April that she's not running for governor but has not officially announced a reelection campaign. David Pautsch is the only Republican who is set to challenge her in a primary.
For Wettach, being in Congress would mean using trade policy to bring down costs amidst what he calls an historic affordability crisis.
“We have this terrible trade problem where we essentially have tied ourselves in knots, where farmers can’t find their markets, or small business aren’t sure if they’re going to have consumers that will actually demand their goods and come into their stores,” Wettach said.
He said Trump’s tariffs have changed the overseas markets for Iowa farmers — markets they won’t regain when tariffs are lifted.
“Folks have to decide if they’re going to put food on the table or if they’re going to pay for their health care,” Wettach said. “Farmers are trying to find opportunities where they can sell their crops, because we’re destroying our markets overseas with economic policies that I don’t think folks in Washington really understand.”
On health care, Wettach said he wants to make rural hospitals more accessible. The Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform has said Iowa has 20 rural hospitals at risk of closing in the near future — and two that are at immediate risk.
“You’ve got to drive 45 minutes to deliver a baby from Muscatine. You can’t even be born in Muscatine, and that is frankly an abomination,” he said. “And then, with Miller-Meeks voting for this big, ugly bill, that’s only going to make it worse for people.”
Wettach moved with his wife from Washington, D.C., to Muscatine after he left his law firm in May. He said when he was a kid, Iowa was topping the charts for states with the best public education, health care and economy. But now, people have to decide whether to put food on the table or pay for health care.
“It’s the affordability crisis. It’s the chance for parents to safely send their kids to high quality schools. It’s an environment that’s welcoming for all people to be here in Iowa, because we need all of our best and brightest for our state to continue to grow,” Wettach said.
For seniors, Wettach said he wants to protect Social Security and Medicare.
“We made a promise 90 years ago with Social Security,” he said. “And right now, folks try to get on the phone, get a hold of the Social Security Administration, and they’re left on hold.”
Wettach said he has been making his way through the district on a tour where he's meeting with voters and making sure his policies are reflective of their interests, Democrat or Republican.
“When we’re talking with folks, we think they’ll understand that we’re going to provide a much better deal for them, in terms of actually providing an economy that works for all working people, health care for people to live their lives, and all the services that people were guaranteed they would have, including our seniors and veterans,” Wettach said.
