3rd District Democrat Lanon Baccam highlights military service in first general election ad

Democratic congressional candidate Lanon Baccam is highlighting his military service in his campaign's first general election ad ahead of his matchup against Republican U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn.

Baccam, the Democratic nominee in the 3rd Congressional District, which includes the Des Moines metro and central and southern Iowa, launched the ad, titled "Seventeen," on Wednesday.

In the 30-second ad, Baccam stands in front of his childhood home in Mount Pleasant and recounts the story of how he persuaded his parents, Tai Dam refugees who emigrated from Laos, to let him join the military as a teenager.

"At 17 years old, I walked through that door with a National Guard recruiter," Baccam says. "I wasn't old enough to enlist and needed my parents' signatures to join."

More: Lanon Baccam wins Democratic nomination in Iowa's 3rd District, will face US Rep. Zach Nunn

The campaign ad displays a series of photos of Baccam in uniform before showing more recent footage of the candidate walking through a construction site in a hard hat, talking with Iowans at a diner and walking down the street.

"After 9/11, I left community college to volunteer for active duty, then deployed to Afghanistan," Baccam says in the ad. "Came home, helped my fellow veterans find jobs and served Iowa at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Now I'm running for Congress. I approve this message because I swore an oath to protect our rights and freedoms, and I always will."

Baccam served as a combat engineer in the Iowa National Guard from 1998 to 2006, where he earned the rank of corporal. He was deployed to Afghanistan in 2004.

After serving in the military, Baccam worked in various roles at the U.S. Department of Agriculture under Secretary Tom Vilsack during the administrations of presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden. He has also worked on Iowa Democratic political campaigns, including serving as deputy state director for Biden's 2020 presidential run.

Baccam, who lives in Des Moines with his wife and daughter, is a first-time candidate for political office. He defeated fellow Democrat Melissa Vine in Iowa's June primary election.

The 3rd District is on national Democrats' list of Republican-held targets they hope to flip in November's election as they seek to retake the U.S. House of Representatives.

Nunn, who is in his first term in Congress after winning election in 2022, is also a military veteran. He has served 20 years in the U.S. Air Force and deployed overseas three times as an intelligence officer, flying more than 700 combat hours, according to his congressional biography. He was promoted to the rank of colonel in the U.S. Air Force Reserve in June.

Baccam's campaign said the ad is part of a six-figure campaign across broadcast and cable television in the Des Moines media market, as well as online.

Baccam has raised more money than Nunn during the last three fundraising quarters. He took in $1.3 million to Nunn's $1 million in the most recent quarter, which ran from April 1 through June 30. However, Nunn had $2.44 million in the bank at the end of the quarter compared to Baccam's $2.42 million.

More: Christina Bohannan, Lanon Baccam outraise Republican opponents in bids for Congress

A Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll from June found 55% of likely voters in the 3rd District preferred a Republican, 40% preferred a Democrat and 5% were not sure.

Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on Twitter at @sgrubermiller.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: 3rd District candidate Lanon Baccam highlights military service in ad