Iowa Dem candidate links faith to political violence, warns against public religion in 2023
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A Democratic House candidate running in a battleground seat in southwest Iowa linked faith to political violence while warning against religion in public life, according to audio recordings reviewed by Fox News Digital.
“We have seen religious and political violence continue to increase in our public spaces,” said Democratic Alliance candidate Sarah Trone Garriott in her 2023 speech at a Methodist church. “It’s just something that’s in our face and something that we’re very concerned about, and something that feels very scary right now.”
Trone Garriott, a state legislator and Lutheran minister, is vying to defeat Rep. Zach Nunn, R-Iowa, in the November midterm elections. Before launching a House bid, Trone Garriott made himself a fierce opponent of Christian nationalism — a term some conservatives have argued critics have used to paint other Christians as violent and hostile to democracy.
In the speech, Trone Garriott said “it’s a good thing to talk about religion and politics together” and spoke well about living by one’s faith in their community. However, he has repeatedly expressed discomfort with the sight of public displays of Christianity and suggested that it is something that should be removed.
The Rev. Sarah Trone Garriott, a Lutheran pastor and former Iowa state senator, warned of the rise of public displays of faith in a 2023 speech. (Photo by Krysta Fauria/AP)
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The image of a woman holding a sign with the phrase “one nation under God, indivisible” found in the Pledge of Allegiance, according to Trone Garriott, was one of the few “unpleasant ways that faith and political power have collided.” The Iowa Democrat also drew attention to Christian demonstrations at one of President Donald Trump’s rallies and during the Jan. 6 in the US Capitol.
“This is not a nation of Christians. It is our nation,” Trone Garriott told the congregation. “Spaces and processes should be for all people, and we need to work to remind people of that.”
As a state senator, Trone Garriott said he intentionally sought opening prayers that did not come from “a wide variety of African-American Christians,” but from atheist, secular and other non-Christian perspectives.
Trone Garriott also spoke negatively about parents’ rights in education and private Christian schools. He suspected that both were caused by anti-racism in the integration of public schools where parents wanted to create a “White enclave” for their children.
“So maybe some of these things sound familiar today,” Trone Garriott said in his remarks. “It’s nothing new.”
The Iowa Democrat then went on to include White men in his criticism of the law banning gay men from women’s sports or preventing children from reading sexually explicit material. He strongly opposes a bill that would bar men from women’s sports while serving in the state Senate.
“It’s written that there is a threat against women and white men have a responsibility to protect women from threats,” said Trone Garriott.
Trone Garriott’s campaign did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
California girls athletes protest the inclusion of girls sports at a postseason meet at Yorba Linda High School on Saturday, May 10, 2025. (Courtesy of Sophia Lorey)
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Nunn, who is seeking a third term in November, criticized Trone Garriott’s comments in a video that also appeared in a statement on Fox News Digital.
“I was raised by Iowans who went to church every week and showed up to their neighbors,” Nunn said. “Sarah Trone Garriott can’t walk into a church without giving a lecture about how their faith is threatened and their schools are racist.”
“He has made it clear that the values that Iowa families live by every day are what he is against,” he added.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), the campaign arm of House Democrats, said Trone Garriott is working to unite Iowans in the 3rd Congressional District and condemns political violence.
Rep. Zach Nunn, R-Iowa, strongly criticized Democratic candidate Sarah Trone Garriott’s comments, saying they don’t fit the principles of the districts she wants to represent. (Michael A. McCoy/Reuters)
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“Sarah is a mother and pastor who has served her community as a hospital chaplain and parish priest – the public expression of her faith has guided Sarah’s life and continues to this day,” DCCC spokeswoman Katie Smith said. “Sarah has always criticized political violence but it rears its ugly head and she will always work to bring Iowans together.”
The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates the race for the Republican-held seat as “a toss-up.”
