(SBA) - Dave Dawson is seeking election to represent Iowa’s 4th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. A former state legislator and longtime Woodbury County prosecutor, Dawson said his experience has shaped his commitment to public service and his interest in expanding access to affordable health care, strengthening rural communities, supporting family farms and lowering costs for Iowa families.
The following are Dawson’s responses to questions submitted by the Sergeant Bluff Advocate.
(Q) - Please introduce yourself to our readers. What experiences in your personal life, career and public service have best prepared you to represent Iowa’s 4th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives?
(A) - I was born in Cherokee and raised in Washta, known as the “Coldest Spot in Iowa.” I now live in Lawton with my wife, and we have three children. From my upbringing in a family agricultural business to nearly two decades serving as a prosecutor for the Woodbury County Attorney’s Office, I have always put people first. I have prosecuted drug dealers, sex offenders, and child abusers, and I have twice argued and won cases before the Iowa Supreme Court to protect vulnerable children and strengthen Iowa families. I am a former state legislator with a proven bipartisan record serving from 2013 to 2016 in the Iowa House from Woodbury County.
(Q) - Why are you seeking election to Congress, and what would be your three highest priorities for Iowa’s 4th District if elected?
(A) - I decided to run for Congress to restore health care funding for Iowa’s most vulnerable citizens, including abused children who need mental health care, disabled Iowans who need services to remain in their homes, seniors who need affordable prescription drugs, and rural Iowans who need access to affordable care close to home. My top three priorities are making health care more accessible and affordable, investing in rural communities, and working to increase incomes and competition to make things more affordable for Iowa families.
(Q) - Federal spending and the national debt remain significant concerns for many voters. What specific steps do you believe Congress should take to address the federal budget and national debt, and where should — or shouldn’t — spending be reduced?
(A) - I support a balanced budget amendment so Congress has to pay for things as expenditures are made and not continue adding to the now over $40 trillion national debt. I support eliminating duplicative services, and I will insist on rooting out any fraud, waste or abuse of federal programs. I further support reversing the 2025 tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires, who were doing just fine in the current economy and did not need another tax break. Those tax cuts to top income earners added trillions of dollars to the national debt and were not needed. Finally, I support voting to end the war in Iran as the billions of dollars already spent on the war could be better used fixing roads, bridges and our ailing health care system in America.
(Q) - Agriculture is central to the economy of Iowa’s 4th District. What should the federal government’s role be in supporting farmers, strengthening agricultural markets, expanding trade opportunities and protecting family farms?
(A) - The illegal tariffs imposed this past year hurt Iowa farmers by driving away seed markets, lowering commodity prices, reducing incomes, and raising prices of farm inputs like fertilizer. These policies have impacted all of Iowa’s economy by driving up food prices. I grew up in a small town in a family with a farm background, and I still live in a small town. We need Congress to invest in rural communities by expanding broadband, funding repairs to roads and bridges, and strengthening family farms. Congress must pass a long-term farm bill to stabilize the ag economy and support year-round E15.
(Q) - Small businesses and locally owned companies are important to communities throughout western Iowa. What federal policies would you support to help small businesses contend with rising costs, workforce shortages, taxes and regulatory burdens?
(A) - I support expansion of small business administration loans, USDA loans, and land-acquisition programs to help new business and beginning farmers get started, and I support tougher enforcement of anti-monopoly laws against the corporate processors and consolidators that have squeezed family farms for decades. I will also push for federal infrastructure investment that prioritizes the bridges, roads, and water systems in rural Iowa that have been overlooked for too long to ensure small town businesses thrive.
(Q) - Rural communities continue to face challenges involving access to health care, including hospitals, physicians, mental health services and emergency care. What actions should Congress take to improve access to affordable health care in rural Iowa while addressing the cost of care?
(A) - Congress should reverse the health care cuts passed in 2025, which impact many rural hospitals, clinics, and nursing homes. I support a law to create a public health care option to compete with private insurance and to make health care more accessible and affordable. This public option would not be mandatory, but it would be available to provide universal health care to everyone who wanted it, regardless of whether you switched jobs, moved states, or became temporarily unemployed, and it would ensure no one ever went bankrupt trying to access health care. If we could have this public health care option, then we could work to lower prescription drug costs, expand rural healthcare access, and invest in medical research that saves lives, as well as keep rural hospitals and nursing homes open and ensure mental health services are available close to home.
(Q) - Immigration and border security continue to be major issues before Congress. What changes, if any, would you support regarding border security, legal immigration, enforcement of existing immigration laws and the status of undocumented immigrants already living in the United States?
(A) - As a prosecutor for 19 years, I support the rule of law. No one should enter the U.S. without authorization, so we need immigration enforcement against criminals who break the law. The executive branch has not followed the law by unilaterally revoking persons with lawful status, including refugees, asylum seekers, students with visas, and persons with temporary work permits, and ICE actions have resulted in deaths of citizens. The executive branch needs to follow the constitution to ensure due process and equal protection. Congress needs to reform immigration laws to ensure adequate workforce.
(Q) - Social Security and Medicare are particularly important to older Iowans, while concerns remain about their long-term financial stability. What would you do in Congress to protect these programs for current recipients while making them sustainable for future generations?
(A) - I oppose any cut, privatization scheme, or benefit reduction to Social Security or Medicare. I will fight to ensure annual cost-of-living adjustments actually keep up with the real prices Iowa seniors pay at the grocery store, the pharmacy, and the gas pump. I support lifting the Social Security payroll tax cap so the wealthiest Americans pay into the system at the same rate as everyone else, which would keep the trust fund solvent for generations. I will oppose any effort to gut the Social Security Administration’s staff or close field offices, which would make it harder for the seniors, disabled Iowans, and survivors who depend on these benefits to actually access them.
(Q) - Residents of smaller Iowa communities often believe Washington policymakers give too much attention to large metropolitan areas and too little to rural America. What specific federal issues affecting communities such as Sergeant Bluff, Salix, Sloan and other towns in western Iowa would you make a priority?
(A) - I grew up in a small town in Iowa and currently live in a small town in Iowa, so I know the challenges rural families face. I will work to expand broadband, repair roads and bridges, strengthen family farms, make housing more affordable, and support small businesses, all to keep our communities strong. I support federal investment in high-speed broadband so every Iowa town has the same access as our cities.
(Q) - Political polarization has made bipartisan cooperation increasingly difficult in Washington. If elected, how would you work with members of the opposing party, and on what issues do you believe Republicans and Democrats should be able to find common ground for the benefit of Iowa’s 4th District?
(A) - As a former state legislator, I earned a reputation as a bi-partisan problem solver. I will work with any elected official in any party to improve the lives of my constituents, regardless of their political background. I believe there is bi-partisan support for ending the influence of corporate PACs in our elections; imposing term limits for members of Congress; and banning members of Congress from trading individual stocks. We do not need corporate donors drowning out the voices of Iowans and we do not need career politicians enriching themselves at the expense of their constituents.
Contact email: info@davedawsonforiowa.com
