Nunn, Trone Garriott clash over Iran war, health care and taxes in lone IA-03 debate

REAL DUBUQUE NEWS (RDN) DES MOINES: Republican U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn and Democratic challenger Sarah Trone Garriott met Tuesday night, Oct. 27, for their only televised debate in Iowa's 3rd Congressional District race, an hour-long event hosted by KCCI in Des Moines. KCCI Chief Political Reporter Amanda Rooker and anchor Jodi Long moderated. The debate came one week before Election Day on Nov. 3, with early voting already underway since Oct. 14. Forecasters with Cook Political Report and Sabato's Crystal Ball moved the race from toss-up to lean Democratic earlier this month, according to the Des Moines Register. The sharpest split came over the war in Iran, now eight months in. Nunn emphasized an off-ramp that preserves the president's negotiating flexibility. He explained why he broke with his party and voted to limit President Donald Trump's war powers, saying he did not want to tie the president's hands during peace negotiations, but that Congress must have a battle plan for U.S. troops in the conflict. Trone Garriott called for an immediate end to the war and for a change in Pentagon leadership. She attacked Nunn over his five previous votes against limiting war powers and over holding a campaign fundraiser with U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and said she would support bipartisan efforts to remove Hegseth from office because, in her words, he does not have the experience to navigate global conflict. Health care turned personal, KCCI reported, with both candidates citing mothers who survived cancer. Nunn touted the Republican tax and spending law's $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Fund, $209 million of which went to Iowa in its first year, and pointed to his vote to temporarily extend enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies, making him the lone Republican from Iowa's delegation to cross party lines to do so. He said he does not favor the ACA going forward and wants to reform it. Trone Garriott called Nunn's vote for the law devastating for Iowa's health care system, arguing it is contributing to clinic closures that will drive up costs and make care harder to reach, especially in rural areas. She backs a public health care option, reinstating the enhanced ACA subsidies, ensuring Medicaid reimbursement rates cover the cost of care, and expanding Medicare to more people by changing the age ranges. On taxes and costs, Nunn touted the tax law for making the 2017 tax cuts permanent and for temporary deductions on taxes for tips, overtime and for seniors ages 65 and older, slated to end after 2028. He also pointed to his rural housing measure that became part of the bipartisan 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act. Trone Garriott called for ending tariffs and for targeted tax cuts toward working and middle class Americans, identifying $180,000 a year for families as an income threshold. She said the law's tax deductions expire in three years while wealthy people got a permanent giveaway, and said she would push to make those deductions permanent. KCCI reported she rejected Nunn's charge that she supports a tax increase, saying she voted for tax cuts in the Iowa Senate. She also highlighted her Higher Standard for Washington anti-corruption agenda: regular public town halls, term limits, blocking politicians from trading stocks, and banning corporate PAC money. The debate ended a weeks-long scheduling stalemate. It had been the only congressional race with no debate scheduled until the campaigns struck a deal Oct. 15. The 21-county district includes Des Moines, its suburbs and much of rural south-central Iowa, and the race is among the most closely watched congressional contests in the nation, one that could help determine which party controls Congress.