Lanon Baccam wins Democratic nomination in Iowa's 3rd District, will face US Rep. Zach Nunn
Lanon Baccam, a military veteran and former U.S. Department of Agriculture official, has won the Democratic nomination in Iowa's 3rd U.S. House District.
Baccam will face Republican U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn in November, in a race for the south-central seat that is expected to again be closely contested and watched nationally by both sides of the aisle.
The Associated Press called the race for Baccam over nonprofit leader and small business owner Melissa Vine just 20 minutes after polls closed Tuesday night across Iowa. With 100% of the vote in, Baccam led Vine 84% to 16%.
Baccam, who joined the Iowa National Guard at 17 and later deployed to Afghanistan, has worked on several Iowa-based Democratic campaigns, including President Joe Biden's in 2020, and worked at the USDA under former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack.
He is a Mount Pleasant native and the son of Tai Dam refugees who emigrated to the U.S. from Laos and lives in Des Moines with his wife and daughter.
“Over the next five months we have an opportunity to tell a story about what it means to be an Iowan and an American,” Baccam told the crowd at his watch party at the New Northwestern in Des Moines. “We're going to remind people of an incredible legacy that we can all be proud of.”
How Lanon Baccam secured the Democratic nomination in 3rd District
Baccam immediately emerged as the favored candidate by many elected Democrats in Iowa, endorsed by Vilsack as well as State Auditor Rob Sand and a slate of members in the Iowa House and Senate.
He later received the backing of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee — House Democrats' campaign arm — and the group placed the district among its "Red to Blue" list of high-priority seats this November.
He opted to keep a relatively low profile throughout the primary cycle, largely ignoring his opponent while holding meet-and-greets with supporters and groups across the district. His campaign held few publicly announced events open to the public and press.
Vine, who positioned herself as an outsider running to bring a single mother's perspective to Congress, failed to keep up with Baccam's fundraising and party support, while also facing an ethics complaint that resulted in a $500 fine.
Meanwhile, Baccam's campaign posted prolific fundraising numbers — more than $900,000 in the early months of 2024, the most of any Iowa congressional candidate and more than Nunn. He will head into the general election already well-financed, with more money expected to pour into the district in the coming months from both Democrats and Republicans.
Lanon Baccam says supporting him is a vote for 'principled' leadership
Baccam, addressing supporters shortly after his victory was called, said a vote for him was a vote "to restore principled and effective leadership." And he took a shot at Nunn, pointing to what he called his extreme positions on abortion and partisan stunts.
As he referenced his time deployed in Afghanistan, he pledged to build a coalition if victorious in November.
"If guys from opposite ends of the political spectrum can come together to build a brotherhood to defend this country at a time of war, then I know we can do that again, right here in our communities and in our country," Baccam said. "When I go to Congress, that's the mentality I'm going to take."
Christie Vilsack, former first lady of Iowa and wife of the U.S. secretary of agriculture, urged supporters to get behind him in the run-up to November.
“We’re here tonight because we know Lanon is going to stand up," Vilsack said. "He’s going to stand up for teachers. He’s going to stand up for working families. He’s going to stand up for veterans. I think it's time we stand up for him."
The chair of the Iowa Democratic Party congratulated Baccam in a statement, saying he was "poised to serve our state well."
"Ever since he announced his candidacy for Iowa’s 3rd congressional district he’s been laying out his plan to lower costs for Iowans, protect Social Security and Medicare and maintain reproductive rights for women," Rita Hart said.
And she said the district had been "poorly represented" by Nunn, who "has caved to MAGA priorities and failed to display any sort of leadership while serving in the least successful majority party in the U.S. House of Representatives in our nation's history."
Candidate Melissa Vine: 'We weren't supposed to make it this far'
At her campaign's watch party at Star Bar in Des Moines, Vine praised a small crowd of family, friends and volunteers for helping propel her candidacy.
"We weren't supposed to make it this far," Vine said. "I was supposed to have dropped out by now. Our opponent had 10 times as much money and the power of the establishment in D.C., but we pressed on. We pressed on, and that is because of all of you."
She said she hoped the campaign would pave the way for "more women, and more moms, and more people who are not represented in Congress" to run for office.
"I hope that we instilled in this district the importance of showing up in every space, for every person in every community, of being your authentic self and building an inclusive coalition that can move our party into the future," Vine said.
Zach Nunn campaign leaders criticize Lanon Baccam as 'paid political activist'
Nunn, an Air Force officer who lives in Bondurant with his wife and six children, is seeking his second term. He defeated former U.S. Rep. Cindy Axne, a Democrat, by just over 2,000 votes in 2022.
"Tonight, the Democrats’ messy primary finally came to a close," Nunn's campaign manager, Kendyl Parker, said in a statement. "Clinton, Pelosi, and Biden hand-selected their paid political activist, Lanon Baccam, to move to Iowa after years as a D.C. bureaucrat.
"We’re confident Iowans will reject Lanon and his former bosses’ tax-and-spend, open-border policies that he has made his life’s mission to defend. While Lanon tries to run from his past to deceive Iowans, Zach will continue to deliver results for families."
House Republicans' campaign arm, in a statement Tuesday, criticized Baccam while reiterating support for Nunn in the coming general election.
"Lanon Baccam is a paid political activist who has been making a desperate attempt to run from his political past, hide his extreme stances and lie to the voters of Iowa," said Mike Marinella, spokesperson for the National Republican Congressional Committee.
"National Democrats had to shuffle through every conceivable Iowa Democrat before they landed with this hyper-partisan extremist. Rep. Zach Nunn will have a resounding victory this November and continue delivering meaningful results for Iowans."
The nonpartisan Cook Political Report has Iowa's 3rd U.S. House District rated as a "lean Republican" seat heading into the summer.
Galen Bacharier covers the Statehouse & politics for the Register. Reach him at [email protected]m or (573) 219-7440, and follow him on Twitter @galenbacharier.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Lanon Baccam wins Democratic primary, will face Zach Nunn in Iowa