Hi John, it’s Sarah. Service means everything to me, and I’ve felt this calling my whole life — as a minister, mother, nonprofit leader, and now State Senator.

In a moment, I'm going to ask you to chip in to my campaign for Congress, but first I want to tell you my story, what service means to me, and why I’m running to represent IA-03 in Washington. But if you’re short on time, please consider chipping in to my campaign here →

Early on, my call to service led me to travel across the country to join AmeriCorps. I arrived in Gallup, New Mexico, with only what I could bring with me. I quickly got settled in and dedicated a year of my life to supporting victims of domestic violence as a VISTA program volunteer.

That experience supporting people at their most vulnerable changed me and led me to work as a chaplain at a children’s hospital, where I helped families navigate some of the most challenging moments in their lives. This work deeply inspired me to enter ministry, and I became an ordained Lutheran pastor serving a small community in rural Virginia.

When I came to Iowa, I was called to serve a suburban community in Des Moines. After a few years, I decided it was time to take my ministry out from behind the church walls and into the community, to help those I saw struggling day by day. Working with a local food pantry network, I bring communities together across faiths to address food insecurity in the Des Moines area, all while preaching in communities across Iowa on the weekends.

But in 2020, I saw firsthand how my elected officials weren’t serving my community. When my Republican State Senator was trying to ban abortion at six weeks, I confronted him in the state capital, asking about the effect of his bill on a woman with an ectopic pregnancy. He told me he wasn’t a doctor and he didn’t even know what an ectopic pregnancy was.

I realized then that to solve the problems facing my friends, family, and neighbors, I needed to run for public office myself. So I did — and won, successfully flipping a Republican-held seat in the Iowa State Senate.

In the State Senate, I championed access to affordable healthcare, increased support for public schools, access to quality childcare, and advocated for protecting reproductive rights. After redistricting broke up my seat in 2022, I chose to take on the Republican State Senate President because he was using his position to bully teachers, and someone needed to take him on. I beat him, flipping that seat from red to blue before running for re-election in 2024 and winning, even as Donald Trump carried my district.

And now, my call to service continues: I’m running for Congress to ensure Iowans, too often ignored by the Washington elite, finally have a voice in D.C. I’ll fight to keep lawmakers out of women’s personal healthcare decisions. And I will do everything in my power to lower costs for hardworking Iowans. Because that’s what service means to me: When people in my community feel left behind, I stand up.

Thank you for reading this through, John. Your support means a lot.

- Sarah