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Republicans are fueling an attack on Iowa Democratic candidate Sarah Trone Garriott by pointing to her past op-eds — including her defense of a Wiccan-led statehouse prayer in which she argued “Jesus joined the Pagans” — in the state’s GOP-held at-large race.
Sarah Trone Garriott, a Lutheran minister running for the battleground seat held by Rep. Zach Nunn, R-Iowa, wrote an op-ed in the Des Moines Register in 2015 criticizing Christian lawmakers who boycotted a Wiccan-led state prayer service. This and other writings, including another op-ed in which he shared how the 9/11 terrorist attacks made him “aware of the rise of anti-Muslim bigotry and its harms,” have come under fire from the GOP as Republicans step up efforts to protect their House majority.
“Sarah Trone Garriott has once again wagged her finger at Iowans for not being raised enough to accept her Harvard values,” RNC spokesman Zachary Kraft said in a statement sent to Fox News Digital. “Trone Garriott better hope those spells and potions work if her campaign strategy is to oppose men in women’s sports and embrace new witchcraft.”
Garriott’s 2015 opinion piece titled, ‘Check the scriptures before you act on faith,’ criticized Iowa lawmakers for skipping a prayer led by a “cab witch,” saying they “didn’t look closely and honestly” at Christian scriptures when deciding to boycott.
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State Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott, D-West Des Moines, speaks during a debate on a bill in the Iowa Senate at the Statehouse in Des Moines, Iowa, on March 14, 2023. (Charlie Neibergall/AP)
Garriott’s spokesperson shared in a statement to Fox News Digital that the message behind his opinion piece was to ask fellow Christians to love everyone, including Pagans.
“As Sarah said, her faith in God calls her to follow Jesus’ example of loving your neighbor and spreading His grace to everyone, including those who have very different faith from her Christianity,” Garriott’s spokesperson said. “Scripture teaches the unconditional grace of Jesus, and that is the foundational belief of Sarah’s life and ministry.”
Wicca is a modern pagan tradition where members worship a Goddess and God and engage in witchcraft and rituals. One member of the Iowa House who boycotted told the Des Moines Register at the time that he felt uncomfortable “seeking guidance from the occult.”
One attorney told the Des Moines Register that he attended the request but turned away, saying he wondered what Jesus would do and felt compelled to do it that way.
Obviously, Christian elected officials should ask themselves, ‘What would Jesus do?’ when it comes to matters of budget and public safety,” wrote Garriott. But at the very least, as a Christian, I would appreciate it if they would actually question the written evidence of the life and teachings of Jesus before they claim to act in his name.
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Rudy Alderette’s altar in her Fresno, California home includes a cauldron with a pentagram, a wand, a chalice, images of Wiccan gods and goddesses and an incense holder. (Darrell Wong / Fresno Bee / Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Garriott wrote that “Christians in particular” should note that Jesus dealt with pagans throughout the New Testament, noting that Jesus always acted “from a place of grace and mercy,” and that he “did not turn his back” on the pagans he encountered.
He listed Mark 7:24-30, Luke 8:26-39, Matthew 15:21-28 and John 4:5-38 as examples of Jesus dealing with Gentiles. In those passages, Jesus is shown interacting with non-Jews but not participating in their religious practices.
Garriott next suggested that Jesus Christ was more concerned about the behavior of Christians than pagans.
“Instead, it was the hypocrisy of his own religion that Jesus challenged—not quietly,” writes Garriott.
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Congressman-elect Zach Nunn (R-IA) attends an orientation for newly elected members of the 118th US Congress, following the 2022 midterm elections, at the Hyatt Hotel in Washington, US, November 13, 2022. (REUTERS/Michael A. McCoy)
Nunn’s spokesman Mark Matava weighed in, dismissing the opinion piece as another example of Garriott’s strong “preaching” views.
“Sarah Trone Garriott has been teaching the people of Iowa for over a decade,” Matava said. “Choose a Christian school for your children and he calls it segregation. He represents your daughter in sports and calls it sexist. Get out of worshiping witchcraft and calling racism.”
Garriott has criticized the display of Christian symbols in political arenas, saying that America is “not a Christian nation,” but “all of us,” in a speech before his congregation.
In early April, RNC Research posted on X a clip of Garriott speaking in which he shared the “uncomfortable ways” in which Christianity is seen in politics. He asserted that the combination of the American flag and the cross is an example of how “threatening” Christianity has become.
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In another clip posted by RNC Research, Garriott said Iowa has “a long way to go” to ensure Iowans are truly represented.
“Mostly white, mostly Christian, mostly older men,” Garriott said. “We have great opportunities to get different types of people representing our community in those leadership positions.”
