Nunn, RFK Jr. Push Libertarian to Drop Iowa House Race
Republican U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. personally urged Libertarian candidate Marco Battaglia to drop out of the race for Iowa's 3rd Congressional District before Republicans formally challenged his ballot eligibility. The challenge centers on allegations that Battaglia's petition signatures were improperly gathered by outside dark-money groups, potentially violating federal campaign finance laws.
Why is Zach Nunn challenging Marco Battaglia's petition signatures?
Annie Kuhle, a Republican strategist advising Nunn's campaign, and Wes Enos, Nunn's deputy chief of staff, filed two challenges against Battaglia's candidacy. They argue he should be disqualified for failing to submit enough valid signatures and for using a name on his nominating papers that does not match his legal name, Mark T. Andersen.
The Nunn campaign suspects an outside group gathered the bulk of Battaglia's signatures between May 23 and May 29, just before the filing deadline. Under Federal Election Commission rules, if someone is paid to collect signatures, that service counts as an in-kind contribution. Campaign officials say the value of gathering those signatures would easily exceed the federal $3,500 cap on such contributions.
Kuhle said she met with Battaglia to inform him of her concerns and her plans to investigate the signature collection. She believes there is