Fayette County Native Running for Congress

A Fayette County native who was a small-scale farmer before working on Bernie Sanders’ 2020 presidential campaign is launching his own campaign for congress. 

Thirty-one-year-old Dave Bushaw is running as an independent in Iowa’s second district, which is currently represented by 2026 U.S. Senate candidate Ashley Hinson, a Republican.

And Bushaw says among the four congressional districts in Iowa, the second district has the highest percentage of independent or “no party” voters. Edward Gillette of Valley Junction – a member of the Greenback-Labor Party – was elected to the U.S. House in 1878 – that was the last time Iowans elected someone who was not a member of either the Democratic or Republican Parties to serve in congress.

When he was 19, Bushaw bought four acres of land near Hawkeye and grew squash on his “Solidarity Fields” farm for several years. He’s still living on the farm, and for the past five years has worked as a Midwest organizer for United Today, Stronger Tomorrow – a group that’s focused on economic issues in rural areas. He has stepped down from that position to run for office.

In 2019 and 2020, Bushaw worked for Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign in Iowa, South Carolina and Nevada.

Bushaw says he’ll use that approach to find grassroots supporters for his own campaign rather than bombard people with text messages begging for campaign donations. He will host his first campaign rally on Saturday, November 22nd at the Fayette County Fairgrounds in his hometown of West Union.

story courtesy of Radio Iowa; photo courtesy of Bushaw for Congress/FB