In Iowa's new House District 91, voters to choose between conservative pastor and LGBTQ activist
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Come Nov. 8, voters in Iowa's new House District 91 will have the choice of two starkly opposing candidates: Republican Brad Sherman, a conservative Christian pastor who opposes same-sex marriage, and Democrat Elle Wyant, a transgender woman and LGBTQ activist.
Sherman, 67, was the top pick among six Republican candidates in Tuesday's primary election. He received 55.5% of the vote, or 1,436 ballots, from voters spanning across rural Iowa County and portions of Johnson County.
Wyant, 46, received a similar number of votes — 1,480 — but was the only candidate to file in the Democratic primary. She is a salesperson with UPS Cargo and board member of OneIowa, a nonprofit advocating for LGBTQ rights.
The two first-time candidates are competing to represent a district created as a result of redistricting in the 2020 U.S. Census. The area encompasses several small Iowa communities, including Marengo, Ladora, Williamsburg, Millersburg, Parnell, North English, Oxford and Swisher.
More: Meet the 6 Republicans vying for Iowa and Johnson County's new House District 91
Sherman's campaign website focuses on his beliefs about national issues in American politics. He is an advocate of the Second Amendment who opposes gun control, opposes abortion rights, and argues for limited federal government.
In an interview Tuesday evening, Sherman said he is thankful to God for volunteers sent his way in the campaign. He also said he's laid out the issues that are important to him.
"My guiding principle (that) I've said over and over is that my rights come from God, not government. The purpose of government is to protect those rights," Sherman said.
Sherman vastly outraised his five Republican opponents, bringing in $25,411 for his campaign between Jan. 1, 2021 and May 14, 2022. That included $1,000 from former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.
Sherman is among a wave of Republican candidates ahead of the midterm election who are claiming, falsely, that Joe Biden did not win the November 2020 presidential election. His website says those election results were based on "massive fraud and cheating."
The pastor at Solid Rock Church in Coralville also argues that religion should play a larger role in the U.S. government and schools.
"The attempted removal of all things Christian from public life that we see today, which has unfortunately been quite successful, is a direct violation of the First Amendment," Sherman argues on his campaign website.
In an earlier interview with the Press-Citizen, Sherman said he does hope to help address smaller issues affecting House District 91, like access to broadband internet. He was happy to see Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds use federal funds to improve broadband access in Iowa, having seen the effects of poor internet connection firsthand.
More: Meet Elle Wyant of Marengo, an LGBT activist running for Iowa House District 91
Wyant could not be reached for comment Tuesday evening.
In a news release, she said she wants to help Iowans live up to the "Iowa Nice" reputation by building communities where everyone has the space to be "fearlessly authentic." She said she'd also like to see Iowa increase initiatives for rural economic development, a key issue for the district.
"We can make this district into the kind of district that we want. Fresh," she said.
She told the Press-Citizen that she is concerned about bills being introduced in the Iowa Legislature targeting the LGBTQ community, including one signed by the governor that bans transgender women from participating in sports.
Sherman said he doesn't plan to focus on same-sex marriage in his campaign.
"That's more of a religious and moral issue. It's not a political issue, and shouldn't become one," he said.
More: Johnson County races collect $700,000 ahead of June 7 primary. Here's how much candidates raised
Cleo Krejci covers education for the Iowa City Press-Citizen. You can reach her at ckrejci@press-citizen.com.
This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Voters to choose between pastor, LGBTQ activist in House District 91
