Republican Rep. Zach Nunn and Democratic state Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott stood side by side for the first and only time this campaign on Tuesday, sparring over the Iran war, Medicaid cuts and tax policy in a televised debate that arrived just one week before Iowans decide who represents the 3rd Congressional District. The matchup, hosted by KCCI in Des Moines, capped a bruising campaign that has drawn more than $10.6 million in outside spending into a district anchored by Des Moines, its suburbs and much of rural south-central Iowa.
Iran, Tax Cuts and Health Care Dominate the Night
The debate covered a wide range of ground, according to KCCI, with candidates fielding questions on the ongoing war in Iran, tax cuts, rural health care, cancer rates and water quality. Nunn, of Ankeny, is seeking his third term, while Trone Garriott, of West Des Moines, is making her bid to flip the seat, according to Iowa Public Radio. The district stretches across 21 counties in central and southeastern Iowa, anchored by Des Moines and Polk County, per Iowa Starting Line.
On Iran, Nunn has carved out a notably independent streak from his party, voting for a resolution limiting President Donald Trump's war powers after opposing five previous such measures, according to the Des Moines Register. That shift comes as higher gas and diesel prices have squeezed Iowa farmers by raising the cost of transporting their goods, a dynamic CNN has tied to broader GOP unease over the conflict.
Medicaid and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act
Health care emerged as one of the sharpest points of contrast. Nineteen percent of the district is on Medicaid, the same Iowa Public Radio report notes, making changes under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act a direct line item for many constituents. Trone Garriott has said she would reverse the law's Medicaid cuts if elected, while the law also created a $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program that sent Iowa $209 million in its first year.
The stakes attached to that debate are significant: KFF estimates roughly 80,000 Iowans could be uninsured by 2034 because of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, with 68,000 of those losses tied specifically to the Medicaid changes, according to the same Iowa Public Radio analysis. On taxes, Trone Garriott told reporters on Oct. 22, 2026, that she would work to make the law's no-tax-on-tips and no-tax-on-overtime provisions permanent if she wins. Those provisions currently let eligible workers deduct up to $25,000 of tip income and $12,500 of overtime pay, but both are set to expire after the 2028 tax year.
Attack Ads Over Epstein and Transgender Issues Surface
The debate also became a venue for the candidates to push back on outside attack ads that have flooded the airwaves. Per the Iowa Capital Dispatch, Trone Garriott defended her votes against a 2022 law banning transgender women from women's sports and a 2023 law barring transgender students from using school restrooms matching their gender identity. She also pointed to her support for Erin's Law, a bipartisan-backed proposal that would direct the state Department of Education to develop guidelines for teaching students in kindergarten through sixth grade about child sexual abuse.```
Nunn, meanwhile, had claimed legislation would teach transgender ideology to kindergartners — a characterization the Iowa Capital Dispatch's reporting found does not hold up, noting the measure in question actually relates to Iowa's Area Education Agencies and makes no mention of sex education at all.
A Race the Handicappers Can't Agree On
Just how competitive this contest really is depends on which forecaster you ask. The Cook Political Report recently shifted the race from toss-up to lean Democrat, with analyst Erin Covey writing that Trone Garriott has retained her edge in the polling and that it's hard not to see Nunn as the underdog in this environment, according to the Des Moines Register. The race has drawn attention from forecasters.
Tuesday's event ended weeks of impasse over scheduling. The 3rd District had been the only congressional race in Iowa where candidates had not agreed to a debate, according to Iowa Capital Dispatch's news partner, which reported the sides finally locked in the matchup for one week before Election Day. With Iowans heading to the polls November 3, it was the only chance for voters who had not yet cast their ballots to see Nunn and Trone Garriott answer questions side by side.
