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FIRST ON FOX – A Democrat running for Congress in Iowa admitted he felt “uncomfortable” with the whiteness of his hometown in Minnesota after returning from living in New Mexico years ago.
Sarah Trone Garriott, 47, who is running unopposed in the Democratic primary in one of the most competitive congressional districts in the country, is facing backlash for her comments as she seeks to unseat Rep. Zach Nunn, R-Iowa.
“Yeah, I remember the first time I went back to northern Minnesota to visit, and I was shocked at how many white people there were,” Trone Garriott recalled of the American neighborhood where he grew up in a rerun of the podcast that aired nearly a decade ago.
“The feeling was very different. I was like ‘whoa,’ and I was also uncomfortable in a different way,” he added.
IOWA DEMOCRAT RUNNING FOR CONGRESS WROTE THAT 9/11 MADE HIM MORE ‘WARE’ ABOUT ‘THE TREATMENT OF MUSLIMS’.
State Senator Sarah Trone Garriott, Democrat from Iowa and US candidate, works behind the counter at the West Des Moines United Methodist during the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines, Iowa, US, Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025. (Scott Morgan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
About 78% of Iowa’s 3rd congressional district candidate Trone Garriott is seeking to represent in Congress is white, according to a DataUSA report.
Republicans argue the candidate’s past and recent comments are inconsistent with the district’s demographics.
“Every time Sarah Trone Garriott’s administration lets her go, the wicked witch rises up and finds a new way to insult Iowans,” said Zach Kraft, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee.
“We haven’t even reached the national election, and he has managed to call almost everyone in the state racist, sexist, and bigoted,” he added.
Trone Garriott’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment on the previous remarks. Nunn’s campaign also did not respond when her opponent’s comments were made available.
According to the Cook Political Report, Iowa’s 3rd congressional district is among 16 “throw-up” races during the 2026 midterms, with a slight R+2.
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State Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott, Democrat from Iowa and US congressional candidate, right, greets attendees at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines, Iowa, on Aug. 13, 2025. (Scott Morgan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Nine years after Trone Garriott recorded the podcast interview, her comments highlight wariness of homogeneity and underscore the candidate’s belief that representation should be tied to demographics.
In a separate interview with the University of Iowa in 2022, Trone Garriott expressed support for people’s rights and government-based measures, such as those he learned about after meeting with Kosovo legislators.
“They actually have quotas, and I know that’s a dirty word for some people, but they have requirements for how many people from different ethnic backgrounds, religious minorities – and gender equality is part of their structure,” Trone Garriott said of the Balkan nation.
“And therefore, there is a type that likes those people who are not supposed to be in the government. What I think is very important to express those words,” he added.
IOWA POLL SHOWS DEMOCRATS POSSIBLE TO FLIP 2 GOP HOUSE SEATS
State Representative and Iowa congressional district candidate Sarah Trone Garriott speaks during the Polk County Democrats spring dinner April 7, 2026, in Des Moines. (Cody Scanlan/USA TODAY NETWORK via Magn Images)
Trone Garriott was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. After receiving his undergraduate degree in Duluth, Minnesota, he went on to earn a Master of Theological Studies at Harvard Divinity School, and a Master of Divinity at the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago.
He volunteered with the AmeriCorps VISTA anti-poverty program in New Mexico – where he was awakened to the ‘whiteness’ of his Minnesotan hometown.
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Trone Garriott began his career as an ordained minister of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), spending time in ministry in Pennsylvania, Chicago, Virginia and finally Iowa.
From there, Trone Garriott began a political career in the Iowa State Senate, where he has served since 2021. He announced a bid last year to unseat Rep. Nunn in the state’s third congressional district.
