(RNS) — The Rev. Sarah Trone Garriott, a Lutheran minister and Democratic state senator in Iowa, has beaten Republican candidates in three state senate races going back to 2020. Next fall, she hopes to unseat GOP Congressman Zach Nunn in national midterm elections, too.
Garriott said she is motivated by the needs she sees in her district, but also a desire to reclaim what it means to be a follower of Jesus in politics.
“Faith has something to say to politics. And what we are seeing labeled as the faith perspective is not faithful to me,” Garriott said. “It does not reflect the teachings in the Scriptures that I read. It does not reflect my values. This is a really important moment for people of faith to be engaged in the public realm.”
When she first ran for state office, Garriott was something of a rarity as a white clergy person seeking office as a Democrat. She will be more rare if she wins next November: Since the 1970s, only three white clergy have been elected as Democrats, two of them Catholic priests: The Revs. Robert Drinan, who represented Massachusetts from 1971-81, and Robert John Cornell (Wisconsin, 1975-79). Bob Edgar, a United Methodist minister, represented Pennsylvania …