Lanon Baccam gets backing of US House Democrats' campaign arm in Iowa's 3rd District race

U.S. House Democrats' campaign arm is backing Lanon Baccam in Iowa's 3rd Congressional District, the group announced, as the party aims to unseat Republican U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn in November.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee added Baccam to their "Red to Blue" program, calling him a "top-tier candidate" and signaling he will have the group's resources at his disposal as he faces a primary challenge in a district that has recently been a toss-up in November.

Baccam, a former U.S. Department of Agriculture official and combat veteran, launched his campaign in November. Melissa Vine, a nonprofit leader and small business owner, is also running for the Democratic nomination in the district representing the Des Moines metro and much of southwest Iowa.

"At a time when the Republican majority has cemented their place as the least productive Congress in modern history, Iowans deserve a leader like Lanon, a combat veteran and public servant who’s spent his life serving his community," said Rep. Suzan DelBene, chair of the DCCC, in a statement. “While Zach Nunn pushes to restrict women’s reproductive freedoms and fails to deliver solutions to the challenges Iowans are facing, Lanon will bring effective, common sense leadership to Congress.”

Baccam said his campaign was "bringing along a strong coalition of grassroots support" in an effort to again flip the seat.

"The House majority runs through Iowa this year, and we have the momentum to flip this seat and start delivering for our communities who have been left behind by politicians like Zach Nunn," he said.

The nationally recognized Cook Political Report rates the 3rd District race as "lean Republican." Iowa's 3rd District and 1st District, represented by Republican U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, were both on the DCCC's 2023-24 "districts in play" list.

Iowa 3rd District: Democrat Lanon Baccam launches challenge to U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn

The DCCC endorsement and priority indicates that the national party intends to retake the competitive seat two years after Nunn unseated former U.S. Rep. Cindy Axne, a Democrat, amid a wave of Republican victories in Iowa.

And it represents a further consolidation of institutional support behind Baccam, who upon announcing his candidacy was endorsed by former Iowa governor and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, State Auditor Rob Sand and a slate of Democratic state legislators.

"Iowans are ready for change and we’re building the infrastructure to give them just that in November," Baccam said.

His campaign said in early January that he had raised $500,000 within seven weeks of formally jumping into the race. Campaign finance filings for the 3rd district. Full campaign finance reports for Baccam, Vine and Nunn must be filed by Jan. 31.

"D.C. elitists think they know better than Iowans — and we fully expect Iowans to have something to say on the matter," Kendyl Parker, Nunn's campaign manager, said in a statement. "No candidate should be anointed by out-of-touch bureaucrats, but the Democrats are more interested in coronating a king than serving Iowans. As a combat veteran, Zach is a fighter, bringing Iowa common sense to our nation’s capital every single day.  He’s raised more than $2.4 million and more than 21,500 donors have invested in his campaign, cementing that Iowans want Zach Nunn representing them.”

Galen Bacharier covers politics for the Register. Reach him at gbacharier@registermedia.com or (573) 219-7440, and follow him on Twitter @galenbacharier.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa elections: Lanon Baccam gets US House Democrats' campaign backing