Libertarian candidates have qualified for the general election ballot in three of Iowa’s four U.S. House districts.
A state party convention in early June nominated Nicholas Gluba in the first Congressional district, Marco Battaglia in the third, and Charles Aldrich in the fourth.
All three candidates spoke to Bleeding Heartland about their goals and priorities at the state capitol on July 29. That was the first day federal candidates who did not compete in a major-party primary could submit nominating papers to the Iowa Secretary of State’s office for the November 5 election.
CANDIDATES FOCUS ON DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN POLICY
Gluba, a city council member in Lone Tree (Johnson County), named three issues that are animating his campaign. First, the former Marine who served in Afghanistan supports “armed neutrality” to keep the U.S. out of foreign wars. He is also against eminent domain abuse, which he said has been “rampant” in Iowa and throughout the Midwest and country.
Another part of Gluba’s platform is “rebalancing” the powers of the federal government. He believes the executive branch has “unfairly” superseded the legislative and judicial branches to “write their own laws. I would like to see a rebalancing of those powers so nobody has to be absolutely terrified of who wins the executive branch.”
Battaglia highlighted the need for an independent investigation of the attempted assassination of Donald Trump at a Pennsylvania rally last month. He said the U.S. hasn’t seen “multiple system failures” on that scale since the September 11, 2001 attacks.
Additionally, he said it’s clear to him that across party lines, residents of the third district “are not interested in getting their sons and daughters taken to a war,” whether that be a foreign or civil war. Voters want “voices for peace at this time.” To that end, Battaglia supports U.S. withdrawal from the NATO alliance, which he considers “outdated” and possibly “leading us toward a global conflict.” He said Libertarians are “running to take back the people’s house for the people.” He has been a conscientious objector since the early 2000s but noted that many veterans are active in Libertarian politics as well.
For Aldrich, who like Gluba served in the Marines, important issues include changing the structure of the federal government. He believes the Constitution intended for individual states to fund the federal government, and for that reason would repeal the Sixteenth Amendment, which established an individual federal income tax. Aldrich thinks the income tax has given “too much power and authority” to the federal government.
In addition, Aldrich said the federal government is failing to do things the constitution requires of it, such as keeping track of who’s crossing foreign borders. Along the same lines, the U.S. Treasury “abdicated their authority” to print money to the Federal Reserve; he would change that. He also believes the federal government is unconstitutionally restricting the people’s right to keep and bear arms. In a statement posted on Facebook last month, Aldrich wrote that “Surveillance of the US people without a warrant is a violation of due process, and the federal government needs to be restricted from this activity.”
“FULL ACCESS TO WEAPONS” FOR AMERICANS NOT IN CUSTODY
Following Aldrich’s remarks, I asked the Libertarian candidate to clarify whether they oppose all federal gun regulations, including the ban on firearms possession by domestic abusers, which the U.S. Supreme Court recently upheld in a case known as United States v Rahimi.
Aldrich said that unless someone is in jail or prison, “they should have full access to weapons.” He disagrees with the Rahimi decision because if someone is in law enforcement, they need to be able to use guns. If an ex-partner filed a complaint and a judge ruled they shouldn’t have a gun, that person could lose their job.
Battaglia has worked as a correctional officer for the state of Iowa for nearly six years. He has been told that some people who were the victim in a domestic situation were charged as the abuser. For that reason, he agreed with Aldrich that people who are not in state custody should have access to weapons; otherwise “you could be putting victims at a detriment.”
Gluba added that the Libertarian Party is the only party that still has gun rights in their party platform. The national Republican Party removed references to firearms from their platform this summer. (The Iowa GOP platform adopted in 2022 did address the issue.)
MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT LIBERTARIANS
I asked each candidate to describe what they consider some of the biggest misconceptions about their party.
Gluba said many Republicans think Libertarians are “Democrats that want guns,” while Democrats feel Libertarians are “Republicans that want weed. We’re not; we’re an entirely separate thing.” Gluba said Libertarians “very, very strongly” believe in everyone’s civil liberties to do what they want, as long as others aren’t hurt. They also believe in “a small government that runs in a very efficient and fiscally responsible manner.”
Battaglia mentioned that Republicans and Democrats and Bernie Sanders (an independent who caucuses with Democrats) worked together on legislation to audit the Federal Reserve, which reflected Libertarian Party positions about that body. “I don’t think we’re as divided as we think we are,” he concluded.
Another misguided idea Battaglia has encountered in Iowa relates to impaired waterways, soil loss, and air pollution. “There’s nothing Libertarian about hurting someone else or another living thing or their property, unless it’s in self-defense,” he said. If his neighbor does something that’s detrimental to his family’s health, “they need to be held responsible for that.” If someone is dumping chemicals downstream and hurting someone else’s livelihood, or preventing others from using water recreationally, the U.S. should “hold the source polluters accountable.” Battaglia favors bringing many troops stationed overseas back to this country, and putting them to work on projects that address water and air quality and “regenerate our soil.”
Battaglia cited Iowa’s high cancer rate as evidence that water and air pollution and soil loss pose “a bigger threat to Iowans” than anyone in Russia, China, Ukraine, Israel, “name a country.” He emphasized that “the Libertarian Party does not stand for doing harm to your neighbor or their property.” Property rights are a core tenet for the party. It’s not true that Libertarians want to “let corporations trample over everyone.” Battaglia recently attended a meeting of Iowa Driftless Water Defenders, a new nonprofit seeking to protect Iowa waters.
Aldrich thinks the biggest misconception about Libertarians is that they are mainly concerned with “legalizing pot.” That was an issue during the 1970s, when no state had legalized marijuana. But now 26 states have legalized its use in some form. Aldrich said, “We want people to be able to live their life their way, without excessive government force in their life.” Letting people live with minimal government interference encompasses a lot of issues.
Aldrich attributes Iowa’s soil loss to “monoculture” of corn and soybeans. He thinks “the federal government should not be dictating what farmers grow.” He also doesn’t support federal subsidies for business or corporate research. Rather, businesses should develop and manufacture their products without government assistance, as he did with his own company that makes precision tape measures, Aldrich Engineer.
AGAINST RESTRICTIONS ON HEMP
Iowa Libertarians opposed the legislation enacted this year that restricted consumable hemp products and in Battaglia’s words, “rekindled the war on hemp.” He has loved ones who had been using CBD or THC products and are directly harmed by that law. He suggested that Governor Kim Reynolds, who signed the measure, didn’t understand basic facts about the beverages that will be banned.
Battaglia noted that U.S. Senator Harold Hughes, who had previously served as Iowa governor, introduced legislation to legalize cannabis in 1971—before the Libertarian Party existed. He thinks families would be safer now if that effort had succeeded. Battaglia criticized Iowa’s current medical cannabidiol program, because “the government has created a de facto monopoly,” making the available CBD products more expensive.
Aldrich described himself as “very much pro-hemp.” He argued that more hemp production would replenish Iowa’s soil while needing less water and fewer applications of pesticides or herbicides. He asserted that each acre of hemp “can replace ten acres of other crops,” because the outer portion can be used for animal feed, and the inner section has fiber for making textiles or building materials. The seeds can be used for oils that have medicinal value, or to manufacture biodiesel that contains more units of energy than corn ethanol.
LIBERTARIANS DON’T VIEW THEMSELVES AS SPOILERS
In his opening remarks, Aldrich challenged the idea that Libertarians can’t win elections. He noted that Greene County Attorney Thomas Laehn has been elected to partisan office in Iowa as a Libertarian.
I asked about the idea that Libertarian candidates are wasting their time running for Congress, since they can only be spoilers. In several recent Iowa Congressional races (such as the third district in 2018 and 2020, and the first district in 2010), third-party candidates received more votes than the margin between the Democratic and Republican candidates.
Gluba said, “I’ve won already,” alluding to his successful campaign for nonpartisan office in Lone Tree. He later mentioned that he has strong name ID in the Quad Cities, because one of his great uncles, Bill Gluba, is a former mayor of Davenport. Scott County, containing the Quad Cities, has the largest population in IA-01.
Battaglia previously ran for Des Moines city council. Although he wasn’t elected to that office—finishing third out of seven candidates—he made a lot of connections and “stood up for my neighbors.” He said one goal for the party is maintaining major-party status. For that to happen, the Libertarian nominee for president, Chase Oliver, needs to receive at least 2 percent of the vote in November.
Libertarians gained major-party status in Iowa following the 2016 presidential election but lost it after the party’s nominee for governor fell below the 2 percent threshold in 2018. The Libertarian candidate for president didn’t hit 2 percent in Iowa in 2020 either, but the party regained major-party status after Rick Stewart received 2.37 percent of the vote for governor in 2022. (Battaglia was his running mate that year.)
Aldrich said he’d already been accused of being a spoiler once. It was news to me that he ran for U.S. Senate in Minnesota in 2008, finishing fourth with just under 14,000 votes (0.48 percent). Democrat Al Franken defeated Republican incumbent Norm Coleman in that election by a few hundred votes out of nearly 2.9 million ballots cast.
As for whether his candidacy affected the outcome of that race, Aldrich said, “maybe I did, maybe I didn’t. But people who voted for me had a reason to vote for me.” He wants the same thing this year: to give an option to those who want someone other than the two major candidates, and want to get the federal government out of their lives.
ALL CANDIDATES OPPOSE ABORTION BANS
July 29 was the first day the state could fully enforce Iowa’s near-total abortion ban, so I asked the Libertarian candidates where they stand on that issue. The national party’s current platform is silent on that topic. The 2018 Libertarian platform declared, “Recognizing that abortion is a sensitive issue and that people can hold good-faith views on all sides, we believe that government should be kept out of the matter, leaving the question to each person for their conscientious consideration.”
Many Libertarian candidates have been pro-choice, including the party’s last three presidential nominees, Gary Johnson (2012 and 2016), Jo Jorgensen (2020), and Oliver this year. On the other hand, some of the party’s standard bearers have been vehemently anti-abortion, including presidential nominees Ron Paul in 1988 and Bob Barr in 2008.
The Libertarians running for Congress in Iowa this year oppose abortion bans. Gluba said he doesn’t personally favor abortion. “However, it is not my job to say whether a woman or a family needs to have an abortion for medical reasons, or—we as a party don’t believe that we have the authority to say that. We’re Libertarians. We’re naturally anti-authoritarian beliefs.”
Battaglia cited Dr. Lee Heib, the Libertarian candidate for Iowa governor in 2014. She said it’s not a politician’s place to decide this issue. “I’m passionate that the best way we can get to fewer abortions, regardless of where you stand on any policy, is sound economics and easy access to birth control,” Battaglia said.
Aldrich was succinct: “My idea on abortions is, this is a medical procedure that is between a person needing medical help and a medical practitioner. The government should not be involved in that. There should be no laws on it.”
All three Libertarian candidates for Congress are scheduled to speak at the Des Moines Register’s Political Soapbox during the Iowa State Fair. Gluba will be there at noon on Saturday, August 10. The Libertarian presidential nominee Oliver will be on the soapbox at 4:30 PM on the same day. On Sunday, August 11, Battaglia will speak at 2:15 PM and Aldrich at 3:00 PM.
To follow Gluba’s campaign: Facebook, X/Twitter (email and phone contacts listed here)
To follow Battaglia’s campaign: website, Facebook, X/Twitter (other contacts listed here)
To follow Aldrich’s campaign: Facebook (other contacts listed here)
This map shows Iowa’s Congressional districts. The other candidates on the ballot in IA-01 are Democrat Christina Bohannan and Republican incumbent Mariannette Miller-Meeks. The other candidates on the ballot in IA-03 are Democrat Lanon Baccam and GOP incumbent Zach Nunn. The other candidates on the ballot in IA-04 are Democrat Ryan Melton and GOP incumbent Randy Feenstra.
