Bushaw, who owns a squash farm just 10 minutes away from his childhood home in West Union, said his community in rural Iowa has been neglected and abused by what he said were misguided decisions made in Washington, D.C.
As many of his peers were leaving the state, Bushaw bought his farm and rooted himself in northeast Iowa. He is a longtime activist who cut his teeth as an anti-war protester in the early 2010s. In 2019, he became a rural field organizer for Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign in Iowa, Nevada and South Carolina.
“When a lot of younger folks were leaving, I decided to plant my feet right here,” Bushaw said. “This is where I was born and raised, and this is the community that I grew up in and that I love, and it’s been gutted by bad actors and their billionaire friends up in Washington.”
Bushaw said both major parties are guilty of attacks on labor and the American people, and he doesn’t trust either. That’s why he’s running as a third-party candidate.
“We’ve seen nothing but attacks on labor from both sides, the conservative and liberal wings of the same bird that feeds the oligarchic class,” Bushaw said. “We’ve seen attacks on labor for the last 100 years really consistently, and especially here in Iowa.”
He said he's not yet sure whether he would caucus with Democrats or Republicans if he is elected.
“I agree with folks like Thomas Massie, where he says, ‘I just want a couple people that are willing to buck the party lines once in a while,’” Bushaw said. “I heard him say that, and I am answering that call."
Independent candidate focuses on workers' rights and health care
Bushaw said he would push a pro-labor agenda, including ending to right-to-work laws and ensuring people pay union dues if they wish to receive union benefits. He also said he would call for more localized conditions and requirements for federal dollars that he said currently allow states to bring in out-of-state workers on roadway projects.
“Really, it’s about keeping the jobs, not just here in Iowa and in the states where the money is allocated to, but also keeping them in America,” Bushaw said. “I’m not anti-tariff, but I do believe that if we are going to have a robust tariff system, it needs to be coupled with infrastructure building incentives in the manufacturing industry.”
Bushaw said universal health care is a human right, and he would try to pay for it by redirecting funds from wars the U.S. is involved in overseas.
“We rank dead last in health care outcomes, and we have a lower life expectancy than most other developed countries,” he said. “Now, what we are number one in here is health care costs.”
Other priorities: immigration reform and bringing back family farms
On immigration, Bushaw said he witnessed the 2008 Postville raid, where federal immigration enforcement officials conducted one of the largest workplace immigration raids in U.S. history.
“We need strong borders if we’re going to continue the experiment of being the nation of America,” Bushaw said. “But I grew up on The Dukes of Hazzard and Smokey and the Bandit — some things don’t sit right with me about a bunch of feds running around in my backyard.”
Bushaw said multinational corporations controlling thousands of acres of farmland in Iowa don’t operate with the same care for land stewardship as a farmer managing a tenth of that land.
“We’re facing a farm crisis right now, and corporate agriculture is the cause,” Bushaw said. “Farmers need more options. That means more options and ways they can pass the land on to next generations, as well as more options for the crops they’re growing.”
In the past, he has worked with United Today, Stronger Tomorrow, an organizing project aimed at holding government accountable. He also started Real Men’s Circles, a group that connects with other organizations to help men find community in their area.
“Men are hurting to find their place in the 21st century, their roles in the household, their new roles in society,” Bushaw said. “Gone are the days of the stereotypical 1950s family-style unit. Men are hurting over that. A lot of men are disengaging and signing into online, dangerous groups.”
Bushaw said what pushed him to run for office was conversations with friends who have become disengaged in politics. He wants to be a working-class voice in Washington, pushing through national ballot referendums on issues that he said are grounded in trust, such as abortion, marijuana and term limits.
“In the last 249 years, less than 2% of Congress has ever been from the working class, and I’m looking forward to changing that,” Bushaw said. “And I just want folks to know that I’ll trust them if they trust me.”
Bushaw said his campaign is recruiting volunteers to collect signatures for ballot access since he's running as an independent. He is holding a campaign launch rally on Nov. 22 at 11 a.m. at the Fayette County Fairgrounds.
Democrats Guy Morgan, State Rep. Lindsay James, Clint Twedt-Ball and Kathy Dolter are seeking their party's nomination. Republicans Charlie McClintock, Joe Mitchell and Shannon Lundgren are also running.
The 2nd District seat is currently held by Republican Rep. Ashley Hinson, who announced her campaign for U.S. Senate in September.
