At Soapbox, libertarian congressional candidate Marco Battaglia defends position on ballot

Marco Battaglia defended his right to appear on the ballot Sunday at the Des Moines Register's Political Soapbox at the Iowa State Fair.

Battaglia is one of three Libertarian Party candidates running for Congress in Iowa. He is running in the 3rd District, which covers much of southern and central Iowa, including most of the Des Moines metro area. He is challenging first-time Republican Rep. Zach Nunn and Democratic nominee Lanon Baccam.

Battaglia and the two other libertarian Congressional candidates have had their had their legitimacy challenged, with the complaint alleging the Libertarian Party of Iowa didn't follow the proper procedures to qualify for the ballot.

"We had conventions," he told reporters after the Soapbox. "We just couldn't have 99 events overnight."

Battaglia said he'd prefer the challenges to be dropped, but said he was ready to fight to appear on the ballot. The challenges eventually will be heard by a three-member State Objection Panel, which decides challenges to candidates' placed on the Iowa ballot. A date for that hearing has not been set.

Besides addressing the challenge — which he referred to as the "elephant in the open air of the fair" — Battaglia also highlighted the importance of liberty, referencing his mother who immigrated from Italy as a child with her parents.

"My mother came from Italy through Ellis Island," he said. "My family came with a toddler for our Constitution and our Bill of Rights."

Battaglia also went after Gov. Kim Reynolds and Attorney General Breanna Bird for their fentanyl policies.

"This one hits close to home for me," he said. "I know a farmer who was very badly electrocuted. He's in constant pain, like hell without fentanyl, and Bird is trying to make it harder to get."

Bird supported a bill in 2023 that increased penalties for fentanyl possession, manufacture and sale. Battaglia criticized a part of the bill that increased penalties for fentanyl testing strips, since they're classified as drug paraphernalia. The strips are use to detect fentanyl in drugs, which can prevent accidental overdoses.

"You can get charged for having a test kit," Battaglia said. "That's insane. You're trying to be safe, and you can get arrested. We should leave people just trying to survive alone."

Battaglia also spoke about wanting to end the Federal Reserve, saying it would be the only way to bring down inflation. As Battaglia told reporters, ending the Federal Reserve has been an idea since 1913, and Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Kentucky, introduced a bill to do that in May.

Battaglia summed his mentality in the phrase: "don't hurt people, and don't take their stuff." He said this phrase applies to issues like eminent domain, which he said has been abused in Iowa, but also to drug possession and immigration.

The overall message of his speech was about liberty, and how he plans to defend it if elected.

"If we don't stand up for our rights, they don't exist," he said. "And I don't see enough people standing up."

Ryan Magalh?es is a reporter for the Register. Reach them at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Libertarian candidate Marco Battaglia defends right to appear on ballot