Iowa Senate Minority Leader Zach Wahls, D-Coralville, announced his reelection campaign for Senate District 43 on Wednesday. 

Wahls was first elected to the Iowa Senate in 2018 and was elected to lead the Democratic caucus in 2020. Wahls is currently running unopposed. 

“My political career began when I gave a speech fighting for my two moms and the freedom for all Iowans to marry. Yet today, too many of our freedoms are still under attack by these same conservative, reactionary forces,” Wahls said in a press release shared on Wednesday. 

Wahls gained national fame as a University of Iowa senior for speaking during an Iowa House hearing in opposition to a bill that would end civil unions in Iowa. 

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One of his goals is to restore a Democratic majority in the Senate, he said. Democrats have been out of the majority in both chambers since the 2016 election as Iowa voters have trended Republican. He critiqued efforts of the Republican majority to restrict abortion access and remove journalists from press row in the Senate. 

Wahls defeated Libertarian candidate Carl Krambrek in his 2018 election. No Republican or third-party candidate has announced plans to seek election to District 43. 

“Our hardworking teachers face a slew of restrictions on their profession and how they teach our kids. Even our most fundamental right – the right to vote in a free and fair election – is threatened by conservative lawmakers and their conspiracies,” Wahls said. 

Wahls currently serves on the Agriculture Senate Committee and is the ranking member of  the Rules and Administration Senate Committee.

Senate District 43 contains Coralville, North Liberty, Solon, several Iowa City neighborhoods, and rural northeast Johnson County.