Nastiness in Iowa Congressional Race Exposes a 'Progressive Pastor' and Her Shameless Media Enablers

There are a lot of House races to watch on Election Night, and among them is the Iowa 3rd Congressional District race, which features two-term Republican Rep. Zach Nunn and the Democrat nominee, Sarah Trone Garriott.

Though polling has been scarce, Cook Political has it rated as a "lean D" district. Their race analysis is behind a paywall, but the Des Moines Register recapped what was written about it:

While GOP Rep. Zach Nunn is "one of his party's stronger incumbents," [Cook Political Report House Editor Erin] Covey wrote that the political headwinds facing Republicans and the strength of Democrats at the top of the ticket could still leave him vulnerable against Democratic state Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott.

Among the issues the Nunn campaign has criticized Trone Garriott over is her pro-trans stance, which includes voting against protecting women's sports. Nunn has run ads about it, the topic was discussed at this week's debate, and the best Trone Garriott has been able to do is deny her own record.

The Congressional Leadership Fund (CLF) PAC has also run ads in this race, and one of them, a 30-second clip, included several residents describing Trone Garriott's position on so-called transgender rights as "dangerous" for the kids in the 3rd District. At the end of it, Dallas Center Iowa City Council member Shellie Flockhart (seen in the thumbnail image below) asserted: "Sarah Trone Garriott is just plain dangerous."

Watch:

Flockhart, 55, pleaded guilty to charges related to child endangerment and driving under the influence after authorities said she drove drunk with two of her children in the car in 2017. Flockhart provided a one-page statement to The Washington Post with conditions for its use that would violate The Post’s editorial standards.

[...]

In podcast interviews last year, Flockhart acknowledged her history of drugs and alcohol addiction and said she went to rehab earlier in her life and found God. She said she has counseled other people with similar histories.

Right on cue, almost as if coordinated, Trone Garriott, who is also a "progressive pastor," pounced and seized on the report that attacked a voter and potential constituent. Trone Garriott, who undoubtedly has preached about forgiveness and redemption, used Flockhart's admitted "grave mistake," for which she has spent nearly a decade atoning according to her Christian faith, against her and Nunn:

Paid actors, corrupt politicians, and now this. This is who Zach Nunn has speaking for him in his ads. https://t.co/onGv60Bm5f

— Sarah Trone Garriott (@SarahforIowa) October 24, 2026

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) did, too, as part of a gleeful social media pile-on involving other media outlets and political commentators. Not a single one of them, though, including Trone Garriott and the DCCC, responded to the accusations in the CLF video because of course they didn't.

Here's where it gets good, though. Flockhart is not backing down. The Daily Wire published a piece she wrote in which she talked about what happened - and didn't let up on her criticisms of Trone Garriott from the ad:

Nearly a decade ago, I was charged with driving while intoxicated with my kids in the car. It was serious. It was wrong. I took full responsibility, entered recovery, and by the grace of God, have been continuously sober ever since. This is not a secret that I’ve kept close to the chest. In fact, I have spoken about this openly for years.

[...]

For a moment I considered backing down. Then I remembered what that would actually mean. It would make the cruel ones louder. It would tell every person clawing their way back from a dark place that they will never be “good enough.” It would teach my own kids the wrong lesson.

[...]

Sarah Trone Garriott claims to be a minister who cares about people. Her campaign treated a woman, a mother, who is nearly a decade into recovery, as a disposable distraction.

[...]

They want us to believe that one past mistake erases every step anyone in recovery has taken since. I refuse. I will keep speaking the truth. I will keep letting God lead. And I will vote for candidates who respond with character instead of cruelty.

Flockhart is also using her X account to further expose Trone Garriott and The Washington Post for a conveniently timed hit piece that targeted a voter in hopes of blunting a candidate's inconvenient truths about his opponent:

Hey, @SarahforIowa A pastor’s job is grace and healing—not weaponizing a 10-year-old OWI against someone with a decade of sobriety. That’s not accountability. That’s spiritual abuse. https://t.co/5zyUMbQDAK

— Shellie Flockhart (@shelFlockhart) October 24, 2026

If you’ve ever made a grave mistake, don’t let Sarah Trone Garriott tell you America doesn’t offer second chances. Her decision to attack me—and by extension the entire recovery community—is deeply disappointing. I appeared in that commercial unpaid and willingly. I’m not a candidate. I’m a mom, mentor, and advocate who has been transparent about my past. I only speak to what is documented and on the record. Iowans aren’t dumb. We check the Iowa Legislature site. Votes go through committees, subcommittees, the House, and the Senate. Sarah Trone Garriott’s votes are public. She voted against protecting girls’ bathrooms and locker rooms. She voted against keeping biological males out of girls’ sports. She tried to make me the distraction. Guess what, Sarah—I’m not on the ballot. You are!

— Shellie Flockhart (@shelFlockhart) October 25, 2026

@TorunnSinclair @wapo @FenitN @LauraBeveridge7 They are corrupt and do not allow free speech unless you agree with them.

— Shellie Flockhart (@shelFlockhart) October 25, 2026

Rep. Nunn, too, has also gotten involved and torched Trone Garriott, saying he couldn't believe he was having to explain the Bible and redemption to a pastor who he said should know better:

I needed to address this. For anyone struggling with addiction, you are not alone. Visit: https://t.co/xHljdGJShV https://t.co/0fSOjizNGO

— Zach Nunn (@NunnForCongress) October 26, 2026

Simply put, the Democrats are telling voters who they are again - and voters should believe them and vote accordingly.

Editor's Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump's America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.

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