Nunn, Trone Garriott agree to 3rd District debate on Oct. 27

The candidates for Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District, Republican Zach Nunn and Democrat Sarah Trone Garriott, agreed  Thursday to participate in their only televised debate of the campaign.

After weeks of impasse on scheduling the event, the candidates agreed to debate at 9 p.m. Oct. 27 on KCCI. But the candidates continued to argue about why a debate wasn’t scheduled before now.

The race for Iowa’s 3rd District is among the most competitive in the country, according to political forecasters, and could play a key role in determining which party wins control of the U.S. House in 2026. KCCI confirmed the debate, which will take place one week before Election Day.

Trone Garriott, a state senator from West Des Moines, said in a statement, “I’ve been looking forward to this debate from the beginning, and I’m glad it’s happening.”

“I’ve held town halls in every county in this district, and I’ve heard the same things everywhere I go,” she said in a statement. “Families are paying too much for groceries, health care, and child care, and people are tired of politicians in Washington who look out for themselves. I’m excited to share my vision for change and how I’ll work hard for every Iowan, whether they agree with me or not. I’ll see you on October 27.”

Nunn, the incumbent Republican, said the debate will be a chance to show 3rd District voters the “clear choice between my record of delivering bipartisan results for all Iowans and my opponent’s radical record of wanting the largest tax increase in Iowa history and driving up costs for families and farmers.”

“Sarah Trone Garriott knows that record is hard to defend in front of Iowans, which is why she hid from this debate for more than a month, until nearly a third of voters in our district will have already cast their ballot,” Nunn said. “Iowans expect better. I said yes to this debate in September because Iowans deserve to hear from both candidates, and I stand ready to make my case on October 27.”

Prior to Thursday’s announcement, Iowa’s 3rd District was set to be the only congressional race in Iowa where candidates had not agreed to participate in a debate ahead of the Nov. 3 election.

On Wednesday, Nunn held a news conference after casting his ballot in early voting, where he told reporters his campaign “just said yes again to KCCI to do this on the 27th of October.”

“I wish we would have done this before early voting started, but as we turn out here today as one of the first candidates to vote, it’s important Iowans of all stripes get to hear from their candidates,” he said.

But Trone Garriott argued she had agreed to debate on Oct. 27 “weeks ago.”

Iowa Field Report, a conservative-aligned news organization, published an audio recording of staff members for the two campaigns on a call with KCCI staff, who failed to reach an agreement on when to debate. In the call, Nunn’s campaign advocated for debating on dates before or shortly after the start of early voting in Iowa on Oct. 14. Trone Garriott’s campaign pushed for dates in late October because of scheduling conflicts in early and mid-October.

In a news release Thursday, Trone Garriott’s staff wrote, “it’s clear that Nunn was lying about his availability during negotiations and playing political games in an attempt to distract from his flailing campaign.” Nunn’s campaign has argued they accepted every debate date offered before or during the first week of early voting, and said in a news release the 3rd District debate will be “the latest first debate of any race for governor, U.S. Senate or Congress in Iowa this cycle,” at a point after many Iowans have already voted.