Polling Average
50%40%30%20%10%0%
35.4%
37.6%
Iowa Democratic Senate nominee?
$97.7K
JUN 9, 2026Primary Election
Party selects its nominee.
Overview
Current roleState Senator
PartyDemocratic
Political ideologyProgressive Democrat
Age34 years old (Jul 15, 1991)
GenderMale
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LocationIowa
BackgroundPolitician (Iowa State Senator)
EducationIowa City West High School (graduate)
Notable personal detailsZacharia (Zach) Wahls is an American politician, author, and LGBTQ-rights advocate who has served as a Democratic member of the Iowa Senate since 2019 and represented Iowa’s 43rd Senate District since 2023. He previously served as Iowa Senate Minority Leader from November 2020 to June 2023. Wahls has worked in community investment and development at GreenState Credit Union and co-founded Scouts for Equality, and he earned degrees from the University of Iowa and Princeton University.
SourcesShowHide
legis.iowa.goven.wikipedia.orgzachwahls.comgreateriowacity.comcfra.orgkcrg.comradioiowa.comtheatlantic.comiowapublicradio.orgnotus.orgcbsnews.comiowacapitaldispatch.comtimesrepublican.comtime.comapnews.comwarrencountyia.govthegazette.comlittlevillagemag.comwashingtonblade.comkcci.comlgbtqnation.comyahoo.comcrestonnews.comnationofchange.orgcongress.govjacobin.comforbes.comwesterniowatoday.comwashingtonpost.comaxios.comtranscripts.cnn.comfec.govjustfacts.votesmart.orgballotready.orgwikidata.orgsenate.govdocquery.fec.govgrassley.senate.govnunn.house.govoversightdemocrats.house.gov
Positions
LiberalConservative
Economy & Taxes
Supports tax relief targeted to middle-class families while opposing tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires, and advocates investing public funds in education, workforce training, child care, and other public services. Pledges to reduce the influence of corporate money in politics and prioritize spending on community investments rather than corporate tax giveaways.
Healthcare
Supports lowering the Medicare eligibility age, strengthening the Affordable Care Act to reduce premiums and out-of-pocket costs, taking on pharmaceutical companies to lower drug prices, and making major investments in mental health services, especially in rural areas.
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Immigration & Border
Supports securing the border and strengthening enforcement capacity while also backing reforms to asylum processing and creating earned legal status (a pathway for long-term residents). Advocates hiring more Border Patrol agents and immigration judges, enforcing employer verification, and deporting noncitizens who pose public-safety threats. Endorsed the bipartisan Border Act of 2024 as part of a broader reform approach.
Abortion & Reproductive Rights
The candidate supports protecting and expanding abortion and reproductive health access, including proposing a constitutional amendment to protect abortion rights and introducing bills to safeguard contraception and IVF access. He has opposed strict bans such as a six-week abortion ban and has framed reproductive decisions as private medical matters that government should not control.
Climate & Energy
Supports renewable energy development and expansion of wind and solar in Iowa, and backs policies to promote clean energy as an economic and rural jobs strategy. Emphasizes investment in renewables and clean-energy development but does not advance Green New Deal–style language or an explicit rapid fossil-fuel phase-out in cited materials.
Public Safety & Guns
Supports expanded background checks (including closing private-sale/gun-show loopholes) and maintaining permit-to-acquire requirements while identifying as a gun owner who respects the Second Amendment; has opposed permitless/constitutional-carry changes and sponsored police de-escalation training measures.
News
AINews Summary
Last updatedJan 10, 2026
Retiring Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, endorsed Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, on Saturday in the race to succeed her, a move Republicans are treating as a step toward locking down a high-profile open-seat contest as Democrats try to broaden the 2026 map.
legis.iowa.gov+39
Polls
Aggregation source: FiftyPlusOne
Endorsements
Iowa Democratic Senate nominee?
Endorsers of Zach Wahls for Iowa Democratic Senate nominee?
VoteVets
Public endorsement
VoteVets ran ads in the Iowa Senate primary featuring veteran endorsements that supported Zach Wahls.
northeast Iowa iron workers union
Labor organization
Northeast Iowa Iron Workers Union endorsed Zach Wahls for U.S. Senate in 2026.
Fundraising
Latest report: Cycle 2026Total raisedCash on hand
$3.7M
$2.8M
$1.8M
$917.8K
$0
2026
LatestYear
Total raised
Cash on hand
Total spent
Burn rate
Cycle 2026
$3.7M
$701.0K
$3.0M
$174.7K
Source: FEC