Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth campaigned Monday for Republican Rep. Zach Nunn at the Iowa State Fair, joining a wave of Trump administration officials traveling to a state that has unexpectedly emerged as a key battleground in November's midterm elections.
"According to the lawyers, I'm only here in a personal capacity today," Hegseth said during a 19-minute appearance supporting Nunn. Nunn is seeking reelection in Iowa's 3rd Congressional District, which the nonpartisan Cook Political Report currently rates a tossup.
Hegseth added that accepting Nunn's invitation was "an absolute no-brainer," adding: "We need those reinforcements in Washington, D.C. We need him to continue to be there."
Hegseth: I have to say for the lawyers—I'm here in my personal capacity as a private citizen, a fellow American, and a fellow combat veteran, here to support Ed Gallrein pic.twitter.com/tHt1Rgrrby
— Acyn (@Acyn) May 18, 2026
The defense secretary is one of several senior administration officials who have recently visited Iowa, as The Wall Street Journal points out. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Small Business Administration chief Kelly Loeffler, Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer have also appeared in the state, the Journal reported.
The attention reflects an electoral landscape that has shifted since Trump carried Iowa by 13 points in 2024. Nonpartisan analysts now rate the governor's race and two of the state's four U.S. House contests as tossups, while the open Senate race has moved from "likely Republican" to "lean Republican."
Republican National Committee Chairman Joe Gruters underscored the stakes during a visit last week. "Iowa is ground zero for everything politics in the country," he told Radio Iowa, saying the party plans to direct resources toward the state's competitive congressional and Senate races.
Economic conditions have contributed to the tightening contests, with farmers facing high fuel and fertilizer costs alongside stagnant grain prices following Trump's embrace of tariffs, according to the Journal.
Hegseth used his appearance to emphasize Nunn's alignment with Trump while also defending the administration's military policies, including the Iran war. "There is a cost to doing very difficult things, to going out and defending your country and ensuring radical Islamist crazies don't get a nuclear weapon," he said. "I'm not willing to look my kids in the eye and say we had a chance to do something about it but didn't."
The defense secretary also said his "biggest job" is "to ensure that my department is properly funded," while arguing that the U.S. should avoid "fighting the dumb nation-building wars of the past."
