DES MOINES, Iowa — Just one day after announcing he's challenging Congressman Zach Nunn for his seat, Democrat Lanon Baccam is making rounds in central Iowa for Veteran's Day and getting his message out.
Local 5's Chenue Her sat down with Baccam one-on-one to discuss what he hopes to bring to Iowa's 3rd Congressional District.
"It's been incredible. The amount of energy out there has been fantastic. The conversations I'm having are energizing," he said. "People are fired up. They are ready to see someone who represents them in Congress, someone like me who was born and raised in a small town in southeast Iowa."
A military veteran who most recently worked at the USDA under former Iowa governor and current Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, Baccam was born and raised in Mount Pleasant.
"It's an honor of mine to have their support and I think what they can see is a service-oriented mindset that is similar. At 16-years-old, I started talking to an Army recruiter, brought him home because I wanted to join the Army. I couldn't sign the papers on my own so they had to co-sign with me. I joined the National Guard at 17 and I served this country at a time of war," Baccam told Local 5.
Baccam was deployed to Afghanistan in 2004.
"Then, coming back, serving again at the USDA, most recently as the deputy chief of staff at the Department of Agriculture, working for Tom Vilsack, it's an incredible honor. Delivering on programs, finding solutions for America's farmers and ranchers [is], to me, my favorite part, working with veterans," he added.
As a first-generation immigrant, veteran and leader at the USDA, Baccam believes he would showcase Iowa's values on a national stage.
"This is a uniquely Iowa example here. My history and what my family has gone through, it's incredible. It was a Republican governor, Robert Ray, who led through compassion, not politics, to bring the Tai Dam people here. It was community organizations, church groups and individuals that helped settle the Tai Dam refugees in these communities across Iowa. It was the right thing to do. It wasn't Republican or Democrats. It was both," Baccam said.
"When I deployed to Afghanistan, we mobilized down in Fort Hood, Tex. It was 2004. My battle buddies knew I was a Democrat. They picked on me because of it, but it was okay because at the end of the day, when we were out in the field, I had their back and they had mine," he added. "And we knew that. If guys from the opposite ends of the political spectrum can come together to build a brotherhood, to defend this country at a time of war, we can do that again in Congress and right here in our communities. That's what I'm going to take with me to Congress."
Congressman Zach Nunn is also a combat veteran and is currently serving his first term in Washington after narrowly defeating incumbent Cindy Axne by just 2,145 votes.
His campaign manager shared the following statement with Local 5:
“We welcome Lanon back to Iowa from DC. While he may want to be anointed the nominee by his powerful friends in DC, I suspect Iowans will have other ideas, and he’ll first have to survive a growing primary including other Democrats — Melissa Vine and Tracy Limon. If he survives the primary, voters will have a clear choice between Zach - a thoughtful, independent and pragmatic representative for Iowans - and Lanon, a career Democrat political operative for Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton who will no doubt be a rubber stamp on their radical agenda he helped write.”
Nunn has already filed his 2024 Statement of Candidacy paperwork with the Federal Election Commission. Two other Democrats have also filed with the FEC candidacy paperwork with the FEC:Melissa Vine and Tracy Limon, though neither has publicly announced their campaign.
Next year's general election is scheduled for Nov. 5, 2024.
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