Marco Battaglia

Marco Battaglia (Libertarian Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Iowa's 3rd Congressional District. He lost as a write-in in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Biography

A native of Iowa, Battaglia's career includes time spent in a variety of industries, including radio and finance. At the time of his entrance into the Congressional election, Battaglia was a Correctional Officer with five years of experience.^[1]

Education

Hoover High School
Bachelor's in media - University of Northern Iowa

Elections

2024

Iowa's 3rd Congressional District election, 2024 (June 4 Democratic primary)

Iowa's 3rd Congressional District election, 2024 (June 4 Republican primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House Iowa District 3

Incumbent Zach Nunn defeated Lanon Baccam and Marco Battaglia in the general election for U.S. House Iowa District 3 on November 5, 2024.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Zach Nunn (R)	51.8	213,746
	Lanon Baccam (D)	47.9	197,962
	Marco Battaglia (L) (Write-in)	0.0	0
	Other/Write-in votes	0.3	1,197

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 412,905
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Iowa District 3

Lanon Baccam defeated Melissa Vine in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Iowa District 3 on June 4, 2024.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Lanon Baccam	84.1	19,357
	Melissa Vine	15.8	3,642
	Other/Write-in votes	0.1	29

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 23,028
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Iowa District 3

Incumbent Zach Nunn advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Iowa District 3 on June 4, 2024.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Zach Nunn	98.3	21,103
	Other/Write-in votes	1.7	365

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 21,468
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Battaglia in this election.

2022

General election

General election for Lieutenant Governor of Iowa

Incumbent Adam Gregg defeated Eric Van Lancker and Marco Battaglia in the general election for Lieutenant Governor of Iowa on November 8, 2022.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Adam Gregg (R)	58.0	709,198
	Eric Van Lancker (D)	39.5	482,950
	Marco Battaglia (L)	2.4	28,998
	Other/Write-in votes	0.1	718

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,221,864
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2018

Attorney General election

See also: Iowa Attorney General election, 2018

General election

General election for Attorney General of Iowa

Incumbent Thomas John Miller defeated Marco Battaglia in the general election for Attorney General of Iowa on November 6, 2018.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Thomas John Miller (D)	76.5	880,531
	Marco Battaglia (L)	22.8	262,131
	Other/Write-in votes	0.7	8,237

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,150,899
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Attorney General of Iowa

Incumbent Thomas John Miller advanced from the Democratic primary for Attorney General of Iowa on June 5, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Thomas John Miller	100.0	157,483

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 157,483
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Gubernatorial election

See also: Iowa gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2018

General election

General election for Governor of Iowa

Incumbent Kim Reynolds defeated Fred Hubbell, Jake Porter, and Gary Siegwarth in the general election for Governor of Iowa on November 6, 2018.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Kim Reynolds (R)	50.3	667,275
	Fred Hubbell (D)	47.5	630,986
	Jake Porter (L)	1.6	21,426
	Gary Siegwarth (Clear Water Party of Iowa Party)	0.6	7,463
	Other/Write-in votes	0.0	488

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,327,638 (100.00% precincts reporting)
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Governor of Iowa

The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for Governor of Iowa on June 5, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Fred Hubbell	55.5	99,245
		Cathy Glasson	20.6	36,815
		John Norris	11.5	20,498
	Submit photo	Andy McGuire	5.3	9,404
		Nate Boulton	5.1	9,082
		Ross Wilburn	2.2	3,880

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 178,924
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Governor of Iowa

Incumbent Kim Reynolds advanced from the Republican primary for Governor of Iowa on June 5, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Kim Reynolds	100.0	94,118

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 94,118
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Ron Corbett (R)
Steven Ray (R)

Libertarian primary election

Libertarian primary for Governor of Iowa

Jake Porter defeated Marco Battaglia in the Libertarian primary for Governor of Iowa on June 5, 2018.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Jake Porter	58.4	991
	Marco Battaglia	41.6	705

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 1,696
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

Marco Battaglia did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2022

Marco Battaglia did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

2018

Ballotpedia survey responses

Marco Battaglia completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Battaglia's responses.

What would be your top three priorities, if elected?

Addiction and Mental Health Rehabilitation and an end to the backlog on rape test kits.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I want to help rein in the war on drugs so that we may better work together against the opioid issues and addiction struggles. I want to insure that the justice system is accessible to all in Iowa.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

I am directly inspired by personages of historical significance, including Frederic Bastiat, Filippo Mazzei, Sir William Blackstone, Frederick Douglass, and former Iowa Governor Harold Hughes. I've spent over a year campaigning, listening to citizens, and meeting with county attorneys, law enforcement, farmers, and business owners. I've met with press all over the state and answered all questions from the left and the right and everywhere in between. I would look to follow the positive examples that I have seen among people in these various positions. JFK and RFK have always been a significant influence on my political activity.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

The Law, Book by FrÃ©dÃ©ric Bastiat would be a great place to start. Commentaries on the Laws of England: Book I, II, III, and IV by William Blackstone. A Nation of Immigrants from JFK, which references the words of Filippo Mazzei that directly influenced our countries founding documents. Anything by Thomas Sowell or Walter E. Williams I generally find thought provoking.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Accountability, integrity, honesty, availability, empathy, vision.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

I have the ability to bring together people from different political parties and from different walks of life. I have done it my whole life within my own family and friends. I have vast knowledge of the law and of the history of our type of government and the ability to put forth simple and direct changes and direction.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

To provide legal advice to the states employees and to ensure that the law is accessible to all Iowans and that the system of justice is always functioning in a manner that does more good than harm. I think that the most important function is to be a resource to the residents of Iowa and to protect the public through criminal and protection efforts.

What legacy would you like to leave?

I would like it to be said that I stood up to fraud and corruption and that I helped to modernize the office in such away that it helped to maximize the civil liberties and the civil rights of all of those in our state.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

November 3, 1998. Jesse Ventura won the office of Governor, without being a Democrat or a Republican, and he only spent $250,000â€”money he raised by selling $22 t-shirts and accepting $50 donations from his supporters. I was 13 years old and this opened my eyes to the fact that there were politics beyond the duopoly.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My first job for someone besides family, was at a movie theater in Johnston, Iowa. I was 16 when I was first hired in 2001 and I had the job intermittently until I graduated from the University of Northern Iowa in 2008.

What happened on your most awkward date?

I was pulled over by the police and carded and searched for no apparent reason.

What is your favorite holiday? Why?

My favorite holiday has always been Halloween. I love jacket weather and the aspect of being able to dress up be silly. I also love going to the apple orchards and pumpkin patches. Music, film, and style that seems appropriate for Halloween has always been among my favorite year-round.

What is your favorite book? Why?

My first favorite book was Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. This was and is due to the exploration of complex human nature as well as the relevant matter of colonialism.

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

Frank Castle and Jackie Estacado have been longtime favorites.

What is your favorite thing in your home or apartment? Why?

My library(and the media therein) or my bass guitars would have to be my favorite possessions.

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

The recurring theme from Disney's Robin Hood.

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

It has been a struggle to find balance between professional pursuits and family and friends. I strive to do better at it.

What qualities does this office possess that makes it a unique and important part of the state government?

The ability to introduce legislation is huge.

What responsibilities of this office do you personally consider the most important?

The ability to provide legal advice and to oversee various state agencies, and of course the ability to introduce legislation.

Are there any little-known powers or responsibilities held by this office that you believe more people should be aware of?

It appears to me that very few Iowans understand the role of the office as defined in Iowa Code or that many know that the office has the power to introduce legislation. There is even a special office in the capital for the Attorney General to work on legislation.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for holders of this office to have previous experience in government or politics?

I have seen people do well in office that have experience in political office and I have seen people do well in office that have little or no political office experience. Life experience and experiences in the private sector are the most important. Politician was never intended to be a career in this country.

What kind of skills or expertise do you believe would be the most helpful for the holders of this office to possess?

Intelligence, communication, and brevity.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

The following issue statements were found on Battaglia's official campaign website. For a full list of issues, click here.

“

Medical Freedon
It is absurd that in Iowa you can turn on any form of media and tune into programming that gets above average viewer-ship and be encouraged to imbibe substances that are harming us in great numbers while at the same time people are being locked up for possessing substances that provide positive results for them. You can walk a few blocks, in most populated parts of the state, and purchase items that are easily provable to be of great danger but it is still taboo, and worse yet criminal, to use certain substances as medicine. When you stop and think about it do you not want to change this? Should we not have some sensible and measurable form of justice in this state? We lock people up, fine them, and make it hard for them to find work because they possessed the wrong substance and perhaps used it in a recreational manner? Or worse yet even if they used it as medication? I believe that in this country that you should have the right to decide what type of medical care that you want. Iowans let us reestablish our right to choose our own medical practice and practitioner; lets re-establish the freedom for citizens of Iowa to practice their own forms of medical care, and lets give Iowans back freedom to purchase medications and treatments without a prescription.

Agricultural Freedom
It seems the current political establishment has no problem with cronyism or corporate welfare. Cronyism plus corporate welfare sets up ideal conditions for crony capitalism. Iowans have been conditioned to accept that it is OK for their leaders to influence and create markets even when there is no clear benefit to a majority of Iowans. These leaders are happy to take credit when a back-room deal has been struck between leaders and national or multinational corporations. They express joy when the concept of eminent domain is abused to pad their or their business partners pocketbooks. I think that it is great when innovative new companies decide to locate in Iowa. I think it is great when the most possible Iowans can find good work for good pay. I do think that we need to take a long hard look at our appointed leadership and at our policies to ensure that, as far as the governance is concerned, that we have a fair playing field for a local start-up and a multinational corporation alike. When our current political leaders want to seek funding they start saying things like, “we are feeding the world”, “ we are fueling the world”, and they start talking about large hog or chicken operations without differentiating between them and a traditional family run farm. The truth is a majority of Iowans now work in industries like medicine, banking and insurance and that due to increased crony capitalism it is becoming harder and harder for a young Iowan to enter the farming business. I believe that this type of crony capitalism can be easily seen in agriculture but I believe that these principles can be applied to state business in general. My fellow Iowans I ask of you to give agricultural freedom a chance.

Economic Freedom
I believe that in order for the largest number of Iowans to be able to prosper and pursue their vision of happiness that we need to keep a balanced budget and to reduce the debts that we are passing on to our children and to future Iowans. The Governor and her protege before her, have left us with state tax receipts that are running about $100 million short of expectations through May 31. This is unacceptable. Short term and haphazard cuts are detrimental to Iowans and are no answers to our problems. Governor Kim Reynolds plans to use money from the state’s “Economic Emergency Fund” to ensure the state budget is balanced when the books are officially closed on the current state fiscal year. Governor Reynolds said “everything has to be on the table”, when she and the Republican-led Legislature work next session to come up with revisions. Now, historically what this means from a Democrat or a Republican is more taxing, followed by more spending. I would work to ensure that what this means is simplified taxation and cuts to waste and corporate welfare as opposed to cuts to education or safety net programs that Iowans currently depend on. The key to moving Iowans out of a reliance on the safety net is not to leave them out in the cold, but to put Iowa on the forefront on a move to sound money and on the front-lines in the battle to end financial tyranny.^[2]

”

—Marco Battaglia^[3]

Campaign finance summary

Ballotpedia Logo Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

Marco Battaglia campaign contribution history
Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024*	U.S. House Iowa District 3	Lost general	$0	N/A**
2022	Lieutenant Governor of Iowa	Lost general	$0	$0
Grand total			$0	N/A**
Sources: OpenSecrets, Federal Elections Commission *This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

External links

Search Google News for this topic

Candidate

U.S. House Iowa District 3

Personal

Footnotes

↑ Marco Battaglia for Governor, "About," accessed November 12, 2017
↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
↑ Marco Battaglia for Governor, "My Platform- Give Freedom a Chance!" accessed November 12, 2017

[show]

Iowa's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Joni Ernst (R)

Chuck Grassley (R)

Representatives

District 1

Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R)

District 2

Ashley Hinson (R)

District 3

Zach Nunn (R)

District 4

Randy Feenstra (R)

Republican Party (6)

[1] Marco Battaglia for Governor, "About," accessed November 12, 2017

[quotedisclaimer-2] Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.

[3] Marco Battaglia for Governor, "My Platform- Give Freedom a Chance!" accessed November 12, 2017

[1]

[2]

[3]

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Marco Battaglia

Biography

Education

Elections

2024

General election

General election for U.S. House Iowa District 3

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Iowa District 3

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Iowa District 3

Endorsements

2022

General election

General election for Lieutenant Governor of Iowa

2018

Attorney General election

General election

General election for Attorney General of Iowa

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Attorney General of Iowa

Gubernatorial election

General election

General election for Governor of Iowa

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Governor of Iowa

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Governor of Iowa

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Libertarian primary election

Libertarian primary for Governor of Iowa

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

2022

2018

Ballotpedia survey responses

Campaign finance summary

See also

External links

Footnotes

Information about voting

2024 Elections

2024 Election analysis

2025 Elections

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Public Policy

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