On a humid Saturday in August 2025, the city of Davenport, Iowa, played host to an event that would ripple well beyond its borders. U.S. Senator Ruben Gallego, a Democrat from Arizona and the first Latino senator to represent his state, stood before an audience of about 180 Democrats. The town hall, organized by the Iowa Democratic Party, was more than just another campaign stop—it was a barometer of the political anxieties, hopes, and frustrations that define the current American moment.
Gallego’s Iowa visit was part of a broader two-day tour, including a stop at the iconic Iowa State Fair and a visit to the JBS meatpacking plant in Marshalltown. He made it clear from the outset: “I’m here to help Democrats win back seats in the 2026 midterms, not to run for president in 2028.” That statement, according to the Des Moines Register, was meant to tamp down speculation about his national ambitions. But the issues raised at the town hall—ranging from healthcare to foreign policy and the lingering shadow of Jeffrey Epstein—were anything but parochial.
Healthcare, always a flashpoint, took center stage early. Gallego did not mince words when discussing President Donald Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill,” a piece of legislation that Iowa’s entire Republican congressional delegation had backed. “We are now sicker and poorer because of Donald Trump,” Gallego declared, his voice echoing in the hall. “We are now sicker and poorer because of Rep. Miller-Meeks. We are now going to be sicker and poorer—and dead, according to Sen. Ernst—because they made that choice.”
The law in question, as Gallego explained, would cut federal Medicaid spending by an estimated $911 billion over the next decade. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office projects that 10 million Americans could lose their insurance by 2034 as a result. The same analysis suggests the bill would add $3.4 trillion to the national debt over ten years. For Gallego, these numbers weren’t mere abstractions—they were a direct assault on the wellbeing of working-class families.
Republican officials, for their part, were quick to push back. Iowa GOP spokesperson Jade Cichy called Gallego a “foul-mouthed radical” and accused him of disrespecting Iowa traditions. “Instead of trying to launch a presidential campaign, Ruben should be in Arizona—a state that voted for President Trump’s agenda—explaining why he voted against the largest tax cut in American history, including no tax on tips and overtime,” she stated. Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks added, “Iowans see through empty visits from out-of-state politicians like Gallego. In Congress, I have secured historic tax cuts for hardworking families, farmers, and small businesses, helped lower prices and strengthened our borders, policies every Democrat voted against.”
But the town hall’s scope extended far beyond domestic policy. When a local Democrat, Taelor Denton, pressed Gallego on the United States’ continued aid to Israel amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza, the senator’s answer was personal and nuanced. Denton, who said she had friends in Gaza, asked, “I’m watching it every single day unfold and I know that my tax dollars are going toward that. And every single day I feel like I’m screaming into the void asking for some representatives to care, and I’m wondering why you skipped the vote that would have blocked aid to Israel.”
Gallego explained he missed the Senate vote because he was on paternity leave after the birth of his seven-week-old son. “Thank you for caring,” he told Denton. Then, he pivoted to policy: “The escalation that’s happening next does warrant a review of what we’re doing and how we’re doing it. Especially now that [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu is expanding to occupy Gaza, I do think that we have to condition our aid on Israel and the use of weapons. And so I think you’re unhappy with me and with the Democratic Party ... but my position has always kind of been evolving with the situation.”
Before the event, Gallego told reporters there were ways to ensure Israel’s security while also requiring that humanitarian aid be allowed into Gaza. “Anybody that’s been in war, you have a responsibility both for taking care of yourself, your Marines, the mission, and at the same time, the civilian population. Netanyahu is failing at that right now, and they need to allow the trucks in.” Denton’s response afterward was blunt: “It is the same kind of wishy-washy bulls--- that we’ve been dealing with the last two years that keeps Gazans in this state of perpetual violence and suffering. And there are no real hard lines that any of these Democrats are willing to draw.”
The question of redistricting and partisan gerrymandering also surfaced, reflecting a national debate with deep implications. With former President Trump urging Republican-led states like Texas to redraw political boundaries in their favor, Gallego was asked whether Democrats should respond in kind. His answer was unequivocal: “There should be no unilateral disarmament at all.” He lamented that Democrats had failed to pass anti-gerrymandering legislation when they controlled Congress during President Biden’s term. “I wish last cycle, when we had control of the House and the Senate and the White House, we should have passed legislation to get big money out of politics and stop partisan gerrymandering. There’s a couple of Democrats that refused to join us. They refused to modify the filibuster to do it, and now we’re all paying for the results of it.”
Gallego’s remarks resonated with some in the room, but for others, they were a reminder of the party’s internal divisions and missed opportunities. “Why do they need to do this? Why are politicians choosing the voters instead of the voters choosing the politician?” he asked, before answering his own question: “You know when that happens? When your policies suck.”
The specter of Jeffrey Epstein—whose death in a New York jail cell in 2019 continues to fuel conspiracy theories—also loomed large. An audience member asked if Gallego was “keeping the pressure on” to spur the Trump administration to release more information about Epstein. “Yes, we are,” he replied. “Because it’s also just weird. Isn’t it weird? And every American knows it. It’s just something odd about it. It just smells bad. How do you go from eight to 10 years talking, ‘Epstein, Epstein, Epstein, Epstein’ and ‘release the files, release the files’ and then you get in power and you’re like ‘yeah, no files there.’” Gallego underscored, “But let’s remember who the true victim is here. It’s not the rich dudes. It’s not Trump. It’s those girls.”
The call for transparency on the Epstein files echoed in the pages of the Sheboygan Press that weekend. One letter, penned by Ryan Holzem, urged, “Every name, every flight log, every sealed file should be released to the public. No more protecting the rich. No more protecting the powerful. Whether Bill Clinton, Donald Trump or anyone else is in the files, we deserve to know the truth.” Holzem’s plea was clear: “If we’re against corruption and want to drain the swamp, then that must include everyone, at all levels, left or right. This is about protecting children.”
Another letter, from Cal Potter, voiced alarm about what he saw as “democracy under siege.” Potter warned of executive overreach, attacks on free speech, and the dismantling of public services. “The reaction to this present purge on democracy should not be silence, but speaking up, and remembering who we elect to public office really does make a difference.”
Gallego’s Iowa tour, then, was more than a party-building exercise. It was a snapshot of a nation wrestling with questions of justice, representation, and the obligations of power. As the 2026 midterms approach, these debates—about healthcare, foreign aid, transparency, and democracy itself—are certain to shape not only the next election, but the character of the nation for years to come.
