A Libertarian congressional candidate in Iowa's 3rd District says incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. urged him to drop out of the race before Republicans challenged his ballot access. Marco Battaglia could be removed from the ballot Monday, June 15, when a three-person state panel is set to hear the challenge.
Battaglia said Nunn and Annie Kuhle reached out to ask to meet, and he invited Nunn to his house for a conversation about debates, forums and town halls in every county in the district. Battaglia said the discussion turned to his campaign, with Nunn and Kuhle asking him to drop out while also raising concerns that his petition signatures had been gathered improperly.
He said he told them to show him evidence. If they could, Battaglia said, he would reconsider his position. He said he did not believe there was any truth to the claim that his petitions were tied to Democratic dark money. Kuhle said she met with Battaglia to tell him she believed there was strong evidence that the signatures were collected by dark-money outside groups with ties to the Democratic Party, and that she planned to challenge the petitions and investigate how they were gathered.
Nunn's campaign said it believes Battaglia submitted signatures gathered by an outside group that could amount to an illegal in-kind contribution under federal law. Kuhle and Wes Enos filed two challenges against Battaglia, saying he should be disqualified for failing to submit enough valid signatures and that his affidavit of candidacy and nominating papers do not match his legal name, Mark T. Andersen. Kuhle said no offer, inducement or thing of value was ever proposed or provided in exchange for withdrawing the nomination petitions.
The dispute comes as Nunn prepares for another competitive general election against Democratic state Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott, with the district again expected to be closely fought. Nunn won election in 2022 by less than a percentage point, or about 2,144 votes, and won reelection in 2024 by 3.8 percentage points, or about 15,782 votes. The Cook Political Report rates the district as a toss-up, and Battaglia is one of three Libertarian candidates Republicans are challenging at Monday's hearing. The panel's decision will determine whether he stays on the ballot in a race where even a small third-party share could matter.
