Democrat Lanon Baccam shares ‘history of service’ in Iowa State Fair speech

Democrat Lanon Baccam, running in Iowa's 3rd District, asked for fairgoers to support his campaign for Congress in his speech at the Des Moines Register's Political Soapbox Aug. 12, 2024. (Photo by Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch)

Democrat Lanon Baccam told the crowd at the Iowa State Fair Monday that he would bring his “history of service” and commitment to health care access to the U.S. Congress if elected.

Speaking at the Des Moines Register’s Political Soapbox Monday, the 3rd District Democratic nominee shared stories of his time serving in the Iowa National Guard. Baccam said he was inspired to enlist by the “legacy” of Iowa Gov. Robert Ray, a Republican, and his decision to accept and resettle Tai Dam refugees in Iowa — including Baccam’s family in Mount Pleasant — as well as the people who sponsored and built communities with refugees across the state.

Following his time in the military, Baccam took on roles in the U.S. federal government, most recently at the U.S. Department of Agriculture under former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack.

Baccam said he has “dedicated my life to giving back to this country,” and that running against U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn, the incumbent Republican, in the Nov. 5 election is the best way to continue that work.

“You all can sense and feel lately, at times, our country feels like our democracy is on the line,” Baccam said. “Our freedoms are on the line, and we know that. We see that here in Iowa, with a near total abortion ban that went into effect. … These are extreme positions that Iowans don’t support, Iowans are not there. People want to have their rights back. People know when their freedoms are being taken away, and that’s what’s happening right here in this state right now. But we’re going to change that.”

Democrats across the country are hoping abortion access and reproductive health care will be winning issues in the upcoming election. Baccam criticized Nunn for supporting a measure similar to Iowa’s current law when the Republican served in the Legislature. The state law banning most abortions after six weeks of gestation took effect in late July.

Nunn spoke at the soapbox Friday — the only Republican on the schedule — emphasizing his commitment to working across the aisle while preparing for a “competitive election year.” Election forecasters like Sabato’s Crystal Ball and Cook Political Report have rated the race as leaning Republican.

While Nunn spoke about his bipartisan efforts in Congress, he also called for increasing security along the U.S. southern border — a top issue for Republicans heading into the 2024 election and a focus of criticism against the Biden administration.

Baccam criticized Nunn and Republican lawmakers for not advancing the bipartisan border deal that Baccam said would have increased border security by deploying more border patrol agents to the U.S. southern border and giving agents improved drug detection technology.

“I mean, those are things that actually could have made a difference, to give the president a chance to be able to shut down the border when it became overwhelmed,” Baccam told reporters. “Those are things that the bipartisan border security package would have allowed for. And yet, for purely political purposes, reasons, it was killed. And this is the kind of stuff that I think Iowans are tired of. Every time there’s a chance to actually do something and get something done, politics gets in the way.”

In campaign materials, Nunn and Iowa Republicans have highlighted Baccam’s connections to Presiden Joe Biden , as the Democratic congressional candidate previously worked on Biden’s Iowa campaign team.

But there have been major changes to the top of the ticket for Democrats in recent weeks — Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to take on former President Donald Trump in the 2024 election.

Baccam said Harris leading the ticket has sparked a “surge of engagement” with his campaign, but also said that he believes he is the best choice for moderates in the upcoming election.

“I am a person that is right in the middle here,” Baccam said. “And the key is, I’m not running for a party. I’m running to serve the communities  — that’s what’s really important to me. … And it’s so exciting to know that the challenges that people face in their communities are challenges that we can actually fix, but we actually need to get people in Congress who will put aside the politics and the political games that we constantly see, and actually pay attention to the people in our in our towns.”

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