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FIRST ON FOX — A Democrat running for Congress in Iowa admitted to feeling “uncomfortable” by the whiteness of her hometown in Minnesota after returning from a stay in New Mexico years ago.
Sarah Trone Garriott, 47, who is running unopposed in the Democratic primary for one of the most competitive congressional districts in the country, is coming under fire for her comments as she seeks to unseat incumbent Rep. Zach Nunn, R-Iowa.
“Yeah, I remember the first time I came back to northern Minnesota to visit, and I was kind of shocked at how many white people there were,” Trone Garriott recalled of the area of the U.S. where she grew up in a resurfaced podcast episode released nearly a decade ago.
“The feeling was very different. I was like ‘whoa,’ and again I was uncomfortable in a different way,” she added.
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State Senator Sarah Trone Garriott, a Democrat from Iowa and U.S. congressional candidate, works behind the counter at the West Des Moines United Methodist stand during the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines, Iowa, US, on Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025. (Scott Morgan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
About 78% of Iowa’s third congressional district that Trone Garriott wants to represent in Congress is white, according to a breakdown by DataUSA.
Republicans argue the candidate’s past and recent comments are out of step with the district’s demographics.
“Every time Sarah Trone Garriott’s handlers let her loose, the wicked witch of woke finds a new way to insult Iowans,” Zach Kraft, a spokesperson for the Republican National Committee, said.
“We haven’t even reached the general election yet, and she has already managed to call nearly every person in the state racist, sexist, and bigoted,” he added.
Trone Garriott’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment on previous remarks. Nunn’s campaign also did not respond when reached about his competitor’s comments.
According to the Cook Political Report, Iowa’s 3rd congressional district is among the 16 “toss-up” races in the 2026 midterms, with a slight R+2 lean.
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State Senator Sarah Trone Garriott, a Democrat from Iowa and U.S. congressional candidate, right, greets attendees at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines, Iowa, on Aug. 13, 2025. (Scott Morgan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Nine years after Trone Garriott recorded the podcast interview, her comments highlight a wariness of homogeneity and underscore the candidate’s belief that representation should be tied to demographics.
In a separate interview with the University of Iowa in 2022, Trone Garriott hinted at support for demographic mandates and quotas for positions within the government, like those she learned about after meeting with legislators from Kosovo.
“They actually have quotas, and I know that’s a dirty word for some people, but they have requirements of how many people from different ethnic backgrounds, religious minorities — and gender balance is part of their structure,” Trone Garriott said of the Balkan nation.
“And so, there’s kind of a preference for those folks that are underrepresented to be in government. Which I think is really important to bring those voices out,” she added.
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State Sen. and candidate for Iowa’s 3rd congressional district Sarah Trone Garriott speaks during the Polk County Democrats’ spring dinner on April 7, 2026, in Des Moines. (Cody Scanlan/USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
Trone Garriott was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. After earning her undergraduate degree in Duluth, Minnesota, she went on to obtain a Master of Theological Studies from the Harvard Divinity School, and a Master of Divinity from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago.
She worked as a volunteer with the anti-poverty program under AmeriCorps VISTA in New Mexico — where she was apparently awoken to the ‘whiteness’ of her Minnesotan hometown.
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Trone Garriott began her career as an ordained minister for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), spending time in ministry in Pennsylvania, Chicago, Virginia and finally Iowa.
From there, Trone Garriott embarked on a political career in the Iowa State Senate, where she has served since 2021. She announced a bid last year to unseat Rep. Nunn in the state’s third congressional district.
