(Des Moines) Des Moines native Marco Battaglia attacked Republican efforts to take his name off the ballot in a speech Sunday at the Des Moines Register’s Soapbox event at the Iowa State Fair.
A Libertarian candidate in Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District, Battaglia works as a correctional officer at the Iowa Correctional Institution for Women but also ran for Iowa attorney general in 2018 and lieutenant governor in 2022.
Those filing petitions to keep Battaglia off the ballot allege 3rd District Libertarians did not hold county party conventions and thus his name should be pulled from the ballot.
Battaglia told reporters the party fulfilled state legal requirements by having nominating conventions where people would split off by county. Battaglia added that those challenging his right to be on the ballot should withdraw their challenge but even if their challenge is successful, he will continue his campaign as a write-in candidate.
“If you want to save taxpayers money and you want to not waste the auditor’s time, not waste the secretary of state’s time, not waste the attorney general’s time, you can withdraw this objection and you can save time and money,” Battaglia said.
Battaglia is running against incumbent Republican Rep. Zach Nunn and Democrat Lanon Baccam. Sabato’s Crystal Ball, an election forecaster, says the 3rd District race is leaning Republican.
While no Libertarian candidate has ever won an election for federal office in Iowa, Battaglia could affect the race’s outcome. When Nunn defeated former Democratic Rep. Cindy Axne in 2022, he won by about 2,000 votes or less than 1 percentage point.
Battaglia said the Libertarian Party offers an alternative to the two major parties.
“Both these parties are just really weird to me,” Battaglia said. “All I care about is liberty and justice and freedom.”
For Iowa Libertarians, the main focus of the upcoming November election is likely to be on retaining the party’s registered-party status by having Libertarian presidential candidate Chase Oliver receive 2% of the vote for president in Iowa. According to a Des Moines Register poll, 2% of likely Iowa voters would vote for Oliver.
As a recognized party, Libertarians can participate in primary elections and have their party included as an option on voter registration forms.
“We keep growing the party, we’ve been growing the Libertarian Party for every cycle since 1971,” Battaglia said.
Battaglia attacked the drug use policies of Nunn and the Republican Party. If elected, he added, he would work to have marijuana legalized.
“I have friends and family that use cannabis as medicine and it’d be a lot easier for them to get if the governor wasn’t out here trying to rekindle the war on hemp of all things,” Battaglia said.
Battaglia joined the list of politicians at the Iowa State Fair who spoke out against eminent domain.
Battaglia also accused his Democratic opponent of not actively campaigning and called on Baccam to answer more questions about his specific policy positions.
“Where have you been, buddy? I have yet to see you anywhere. What do you think of ethanol? What do you think of eminent domain? What are your views on foreign policy?” Battaglia said.
Battaglia is among four Libertarians who have given, or intend to give, a speech at the Iowa State Fair. 1st District candidate Nicholas Gluba and Oliver both spoke on Saturday, while 4th District candidate Charles Aldrich was scheduled to speak at 4 p.m. on Sunday.
Nunn spoke on Friday while Baccam is scheduled to speak at the Iowa State Fair on Monday at 4:30 p.m.
(Photo by Jack O’Connor/Iowa Capital Dispatch)
