Zachary Martin Nunn (born May 4, 1979) is an American politician and United States Air Force officer who has served as the U.S. representative for

Iowa's 3rd congressional district Iowa's 3rd congressional district is a List of United States congressional districts, congressional district in the U.S. state of Iowa that covers its southwestern quadrant, which roughly consists of an area stretching from Des Moines, Iowa, Des ...

since 2023. A member of the Republican Party, he was a member of the Iowa Senate for the 15th district from 2019 to 2023 and the

Iowa House of Representatives The Iowa House of Representatives is the lower house of the Iowa General Assembly, the upper house being the Iowa Senate. There are 100 seats in the Iowa House of Representatives, representing 100 single-member districts across the state, formed ...

for the 30th district from 2015 to 2019. Nunn ran for a seat in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

to represent

, successfully defeating incumbent Democrat Cindy Axne. He was re-elected in

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

Early life and education

Nunn was born on May 4, 1979, in Story City, Iowa, and raised in Altoona.Jonathan Krueger
Questionnaires: Iowa House District 30
'' The Des Moines Register'' (November 1, 2016). He graduated from Southeast Polk High School in 1998. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and international relations from

Drake University Drake University is a private university in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. The University offers over 140 undergraduate and graduate programs, including professional programs in business, education, Legal education, law, and pharmacy. Drake U ...

in 2002. He earned a Master of Science in military operational art and science from the Air Command and Staff College in 2004 and a Master of Studies in international security from Selwyn College, Cambridge, in 2007.

Career

Early career

Nunn was a member of the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

and later the Iowa Air National Guard. In 2021, he held the rank of lieutenant colonel and was commander of the 233rd Intelligence Squadron, 132nd Wing, Iowa Air National Guard. Nunn also worked as a cybersecurity consultant. On June 11, 2024, Nunn was promoted to the rank of

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

. Nunn was a member of the research staff for Sir Peter Bottomley, a member of the

British House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 memb ...

, in 2002. He was a member of U.S. senator

Chuck Grassley Charles Ernest Grassley (born September 17, 1933) is an American politician serving as the president pro tempore of the United States Senate since 2025, a role he also held from 2019 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Re ...

's legislative staff in 2004. Nunn was later director of cybersecurity policy for the

United States National Security Council The United States National Security Council (NSC) is the national security council used by the president of the United States for consideration of national security, military, and Foreign relations of the United States, foreign policy matter ...

during the Obama administration.

Iowa Legislature

Nunn was a member of the

from 2015 to 2019. He was a member of the Iowa Senate beginning in 2019.

U.S House of Representatives

Elections

2022

In 2021, Nunn announced his candidacy for

in the 2022 election against incumbent Cindy Axne, the only Democrat in Iowa's congressional delegation. The 3rd district, which covers central Iowa, became more rural and Republican-leaning after the 2020 redistricting cycle, taking in nine new

counties A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

.O. Kay Henderson
Axne says she's ready for 'most watched' U.S. house race in country
Radio Iowa (June 8, 2022). The race was considered among the nation's most competitive House races. Nunn was endorsed by

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

, Nikki Haley, and Tom Cotton, and easily won the June Republican primary election against two other candidates. Nunn won the 2022 election against Cindy Axne, with votes tallied at 156,237 (50.3%) to 154,084 (49.6%).

2024

On Sunday, November 3, the ''Des Moines Register'' released the final Iowa Poll, which suggested that Iowans preferred the Democrat to the Republican at 48% to 41%. Nunn won a second term, proving the Iowa Poll wrong. He defeated Democratic nominee Lanon Baccam, with votes tallied at 213,625 (51.9%) to 197,777 (48.1%).

Tenure

In April 2025, Nunn introduced bipartisan legislation designed to combat scams targeting older Americans. The Guarding Unprotected Aging Retirees from Deception Act, which is co-sponsored with Josh Gottheimer (D-New Jersey) and Scott Fitzgerald (R-Wisconsin), would give local law enforcement better access to tools to trace scammers' fraudulent activity. Nunn also introduced the Social Security Overpayment Relief Act, which would limit the ability of the Social Security Administration (SSA) to recover money overpaid due to errors on the part of the SSA. The SSA would no longer be able to demand repayment of over payments more than ten years old unless there is associated fraudulent activity. In May 2025, Nunn, along with Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) and Lauren Underwood (D-IL), introduced the bipartisan HEALTH for MOM Act, which aims to expand access to maternal healthcare in areas lacking maternity care.

Committee assignments

For the 119th Congress: * Committee on Agriculture ** Subcommittee on Commodity Markets, Digital Assets, and Rural Development ** Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities, Risk Management, and Credit * Committee on Financial Services ** Subcommittee on Capital Markets ** Subcommittee on National Security, Illicit Finance and International Financial Institutions ** Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology, and Artificial Intelligence * Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party

Political positions

''Axios'' described Nunn as having "carved out a niche as a vocal moderate on key issues".

Abortion

Nunn opposes abortion with exceptions, including life of the mother, rape, and incest. Nunn opposes a federal ban on abortion and believes this policy should be left up to the states. He has said that anyone should have access to tools to start a family, including IVF, fertility treatments, and adoption.

Infrastructure

Nunn opposes the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act, and said there was far too much waste in the law.

January 6

In an April 2022 appearance as a congressional candidate, Nunn said of the

January 6 United States Capitol attack On January 6, 2021, the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., was attacked by a mob of supporters of Donald Trump, President Donald Trump in an attempted self-coup,Multiple sources: * * * * * * * * * * * * * two months afte ...

, "If a bunch of middle Americans can overwhelm our Capitol, and the Capitol police, who are funded to the tune of billions of dollars, can't stop a bunch of middle-aged individuals from walking onto the floor, we have a serious problem with our nation's security." He expressed disapproval of the United States House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack, terming it a " Nancy Pelosi committee determined to find someone that they can hang a noose around."

Possible gubernatorial run

In April 2025, ''NOTUS'' reported that Nunn was considering running in the 2026 Iowa gubernatorial election. Incumbent Republican Governor Kim Reynolds is not running for re-election. As of May 2, Nunn announced he was not running for governor.

Electoral history

2014

2016

2018

2022

2024

Personal life

Nunn is married and has six children, including two who were adopted out of the foster care system.

References

External links

Congressman Zach Nunn
official U.S. House website * * * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Nunn, Zach 1979 births 21st-century members of the Iowa General Assembly 21st-century members of the United States House of Representatives 21st-century Roman Catholics Air Command and Staff College alumni Alumni of Selwyn College, Cambridge Catholic politicians from Iowa Drake University alumni Living people Obama administration personnel People from Altoona, Iowa People from Story City, Iowa Republican Party Iowa state senators Republican Party members of the Iowa House of Representatives Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Iowa United States Air Force officers United States National Security Council staffers