Nathan Sage: From Trailer Park to Iraq and Back — A Marine Veteran’s Fight for Iowa’s Senate Seat

When Nathan Sage announced his Democratic primary campaign for Iowa’s U.S. Senate seat in April 2025, the National Republican Senatorial Committee dismissed him as just another “radical Democrat” trying to unseat incumbent Senator Joni Ernst. But Republican operatives might want to look closer at Sage’s biography — because it reads like a textbook case of the veteran Democrat strategy that’s been outperforming expectations across swing states.

Sage, 40, grew up in a trailer park in Mason City, Iowa, in the shadows of a meatpacking plant. His father was a U.S. Air Force veteran who worked in a rubber and plastics factory until he died of cancer in 2007. His mother worked as a daycare teacher and certified nursing assistant before succumbing to leukemia in 2022. When Sage was five years old, his father was arrested for bouncing a $50 check while trying to buy school clothes for Nathan and his sister. “We grew up poor,” Sage says in his campaign launch video, “but I still believed in this country.”

After graduating from Mason City High School in 2003, Sage enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps. He rose to the rank of Corporal, deployed twice to Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom, and served as a mechanic with the 1st Maintenance Battalion, 1st Marine Logistics Group, providing security for Camp Al Taqaddum. He later joined the U.S. Army, serving from 2008 to 2013, completing a third Iraq deployment. After his military service, he used his GI Bill benefits to earn a journalism degree from Kansas State University while working nights as a screen printer to support his family — then returned to Iowa to work in radio before becoming Executive Director of the Knoxville Chamber of Commerce.

Iowa hasn’t elected a Democrat to the Senate since Tom Harkin won reelection in 2008. The state has trended sharply Republican over the past decade, with Donald Trump carrying Iowa by 8.2 points in 2020 and 13 points in 2024. Republicans now control both Senate seats, the governor’s mansion, and the state legislature. For Democrats, winning back Iowa seems nearly impossible using traditional strategies.

But veteran Democrats have a different playbook. When Ernst announced in May 2025 that she would not seek a third term — after facing criticism for comments about Medicare cuts and political pressure from Trump allies — Democrats suddenly had an open seat opportunity in a state that has rejected establishment Democratic candidates for years. Sage’s working-class veteran profile offers something Iowa voters haven’t seen from Democrats recently: authenticity that transcends partisan messaging.

The evidence suggests this approach can work. In February 2025, Democrat Mike Zimmer flipped an Iowa state Senate district that Trump had carried by 25 points just three months earlier, winning by 4 points. Zimmer’s victory demonstrated that Iowa voters will cross party lines for candidates who emphasize local issues, economic populism, and authentic connection to working-class struggles. Sage is betting his military service, small-business leadership, and trailer-park upbringing create that same crossover appeal at the federal level.

Nathan Sage embodies exactly the candidate profile that VoteVets has been recruiting since 2006: working-class combat veterans with authentic community ties who can articulate economic populism without partisan rigidity. While VoteVets has not yet formally endorsed Sage (endorsements typically come later in election cycles), his candidacy represents the organization’s core theory of change — that military service provides credibility on national security while working-class backgrounds provide authenticity on kitchen-table economics.

VoteVets has invested heavily in building veteran candidate pipelines for 2026, committing $1 million between 2025 and 2028 to recruit and support 100+ veteran candidates nationwide. The organization’s success rate speaks for itself. In 2024, VoteVets-backed Marine veteran Ruben Gallego won Arizona’s Senate seat despite being outspent, running 8 points ahead of Kamala Harris with independents. In 2018, VoteVets helped elect 41 veteran Democrats to the House during the Blue Wave, flipping districts that conventional wisdom said were unwinnable.

Sage’s campaign follows the VoteVets playbook precisely. He emphasizes his mechanic background and trailer-park upbringing to connect with rural and working-class voters who have abandoned Democrats. He highlights his combat deployments and military leadership to establish national security credibility. He runs a grassroots, low-budget campaign that prioritizes direct voter contact over expensive media buys. And critically, he’s willing to criticize both parties — Sage refused to commit to supporting Chuck Schumer for Senate Democratic leader, saying he’d need to “get to know him better first,” a calculated move to establish independence from Washington establishment.

Sage’s campaign strategy deliberately rejects the consultant-driven, big-money approach that has failed Iowa Democrats in recent cycles. Instead of hiring expensive political operatives from Washington, Sage is running a lean, grassroots operation focused on direct voter engagement. “I don’t want to talk to Iowans, I want to listen to Iowans,” Sage told Radio Iowa. “I want to understand what they’re going through, what are the problems they’re facing, what things can be done at the federal level to make their lives better right now. Not 10 years from now, 20 years from now. Right now.”

This listening-first approach mirrors successful veteran Democrat campaigns in other red-leaning states. It recognizes that working-class voters — particularly in rural areas — feel ignored by both parties and respond to candidates who demonstrate genuine interest in their struggles rather than arriving with predetermined solutions. Sage’s background as Executive Director of the Knoxville Chamber of Commerce gives him credibility with small business owners and economic development leaders, allowing him to bridge the urban-rural divide that has fractured Iowa politics.

Sage is also leveraging his veteran status to criticize Ernst’s record on Veterans Affairs issues. When Elon Musk’s DOGE team proposed cuts to VA healthcare budgets, Sage attacked Ernst for insufficient pushback. “I think she’s been towing the line for Republicans and doing exactly what she’s been told to do,” Sage said, “hoping that she gets something out of it, either corporate backing or more billionaire money.” This attack is particularly potent because Ernst herself is a veteran (Army National Guard), creating a veteran-versus-veteran contrast that highlights policy differences rather than questioning service credentials.

Sage faces a competitive Democratic primary against several Iowa state legislators. State Rep. J.D. Scholten, who nearly defeated far-right Congressman Steve King in 2018 in Iowa’s deeply conservative 4th District, announced his Senate bid in September 2025 and brings name recognition and proven fundraising ability. State Sen. Zach Wahls from Coralville and State Rep. Josh Turek from Council Bluffs are also running. Former state legislator Bob Krause, president of the Veterans National Recovery Center, switched from a congressional race to enter the Senate primary in September 2025.

But Sage has two strategic advantages. First, he entered the race earliest — launching in April 2025 before Ernst announced her retirement — giving him months of organizing time. Second, his unconventional profile could appeal to Democratic primary voters looking for a candidate who can actually win in November rather than simply representing the party’s ideological base. In the 2024 presidential election, Iowa Democrats saw their traditional coalition collapse as working-class voters fled the party. Sage represents a course correction: a candidate whose biography naturally communicates economic populism and whose military service provides immunity to “weak on defense” attacks.

The general election path is challenging but possible. Republicans will likely nominate a strong candidate to replace Ernst — potential candidates include Congresswoman Ashley Hinson, former state senator Jim Carlin, and former acting U.S. Attorney General Matt Whitaker. But 2026 could provide favorable national winds for Democrats. Historically, the president’s party loses seats in midterm elections, and if Trump’s tariff policies create economic pain or if his administration struggles with governance, Iowa voters could punish Republicans while rewarding a veteran Democrat who emphasizes independence from party establishments.

Sage’s core campaign message fuses working-class economic populism with military-tested leadership credibility. His launch video doesn’t open with policy proposals or partisan attacks — it opens with his father getting arrested for a bounced $50 check. This framing immediately establishes Sage as someone who understands poverty, economic struggle, and the rigged system that traps working families. When he pivots to criticizing “billionaires,” “corporations,” and “politicians,” the critique carries authenticity because he’s speaking from lived experience rather than consultant-crafted messaging.

On specific policy, Sage emphasizes healthcare cost reduction, tax cuts for working families, and strengthening workers’ rights. He supports the PRO Act to expand labor organizing protections. He attacks corporate tax breaks while proposing relief for small businesses and family farmers. He frames trade policy around protecting Iowa manufacturing jobs and agricultural exports. Critically, he connects these economic issues to his chamber of commerce experience, demonstrating he understands business challenges while still prioritizing worker interests.

His military credentials provide cover for traditionally Democratic positions on social issues. Sage can advocate for healthcare expansion, reproductive rights, and democratic reforms while his combat veteran status immunizes him from “radical liberal” attacks that sink other Democratic candidates in red states. This is the core VoteVets theory: military service doesn’t guarantee victory, but it neutralizes attacks and creates space for substantive policy debate rather than culture war caricature.

Sage’s candidacy has implications far beyond Iowa’s Senate race. If he wins the primary and runs competitively in the general election — even in defeat — he will validate the “unconventional veteran” model for recruiting Democratic candidates in deep-red states. This matters because Democrats desperately need a strategy for competing outside coastal metros and college towns. The party cannot afford to write off entire states as unwinnable.

VoteVets’ recruitment strategy for 2026 deliberately targets red states with veteran candidates who can build crossover coalitions. In addition to Sage in Iowa, the organization is supporting veteran Democrats in competitive House races across rural districts in Colorado, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and California. The theory is simple: military service provides cultural credibility that allows Democrats to be heard on economic issues in communities where partisan Democratic brands are toxic.

The 2024 election proved this model works. Ruben Gallego won Arizona running 8 points ahead of Harris. Elissa Slotkin won Michigan despite Trump’s victory. Both leveraged military credentials to build independent voter coalitions. If Sage can replicate even 75% of that overperformance in Iowa — running just 10 points better than Harris’s 13-point loss — he makes the race competitive and forces Republicans to defend what should be a safe seat. That alone shifts national Senate dynamics and validates continued Democratic investment in veteran recruitment.

Iowa’s rural communities have swung heavily Republican over the past decade, but military veterans maintain unique cultural standing across party lines in these areas. According to U.S. Census data, Iowa has approximately 210,000 veterans — 9.2% of the adult population, higher than the national average of 6.8%. These veterans and their families represent a politically significant bloc, particularly in rural counties where military service is deeply embedded in community identity.

Sage’s campaign strategy explicitly targets veteran communities by emphasizing his combat service, his work helping veterans transition to civilian employment through the chamber of commerce, and his criticism of Republicans who vote for military budgets but cut VA benefits. When Trump’s DOGE proposals threatened VA staff cuts, Sage immediately framed it as a betrayal of service members. “Somebody needs to step up for the people that built this country, working for this country,” Sage told Radio Iowa. “All they get out of it is trying to survive instead of thriving.”

This messaging creates cognitive dissonance for Republican-leaning veterans who support Trump but depend on VA healthcare and benefits. It’s exactly the kind of targeted persuasion that can flip 3-5% of voters in purple districts — enough to make a race competitive even in unfavorable terrain. Sage isn’t trying to win 51% of Iowans. He’s trying to win 95% of Democrats, 65% of independents, and 15% of Republicans — a coalition built on economic populism and veteran credibility rather than partisan loyalty.

While VoteVets has not yet formally endorsed Nathan Sage, his candidacy aligns perfectly with the organization’s 18-year track record of supporting working-class veteran Democrats who can compete in conservative terrain. VoteVets’ endorsement typically comes after Democratic primaries conclude, allowing the organization to avoid internal party conflicts while still providing critical general election support.

Sage’s profile matches VoteVets’ ideal candidate criteria precisely. He’s a combat veteran with documented deployments to Iraq’s most dangerous areas. He comes from working-class roots and maintained connection to those communities throughout his post-military career. He’s running a grassroots campaign that prioritizes voter contact over expensive media. He emphasizes economic populism over cultural progressivism. And critically, he’s competing in a red state where conventional Democratic candidates fail but where veteran credentials can create crossover appeal.

VoteVets Chairman Jon Soltz, an Iraq War veteran himself, has repeatedly stated the organization’s mission: “elect Veterans to public office and hold public officials accountable for their words and actions that impact America’s 21st century service members, Veterans, and their families.” Sage’s campaign against Republican candidates who vote for defense budgets but cut VA benefits while supporting Trump’s chaotic governance fits VoteVets’ accountability framework perfectly.

The organization’s support typically includes independent expenditure advertising highlighting military service, grassroots organizing through veteran networks, fundraising email campaigns to VoteVets’ 1.5 million member list, and strategic communications support. In 2024, VoteVets spent over $100,000 supporting Ruben Gallego in Arizona and invested similarly in other competitive races. If Sage wins the Iowa primary, expect VoteVets to make him a top-tier investment for 2026.

Nathan Sage’s campaign for Iowa’s Senate seat represents a critical test of the veteran Democrat strategy in deep-red America. If a Marine combat veteran who grew up in a trailer park, worked as a mechanic and sports broadcaster, and now leads a small-town chamber of commerce can compete with Republicans in a state Trump won by 13 points, then Democrats have a roadmap for rebuilding competitiveness across rural and working-class America.

The alternative — continuing to run establishment Democrats who lose by 20 points while writing off entire states — guarantees permanent Republican Senate majorities and cedes vast swaths of the country to one-party rule. VoteVets understands this existential challenge and has committed resources to recruiting and supporting exactly the kind of unconventional veteran candidates who can break through partisan polarization.

Sage faces long odds. The Democratic primary is competitive. The general election opponent will be well-funded and formidable. Iowa’s political geography favors Republicans. But long odds aren’t impossible odds, and veteran Democrats have proven they can defy conventional wisdom. Ruben Gallego won Arizona. Tammy Duckworth won Illinois. Sherrod Brown held Ohio for three terms before finally losing in 2024. Tim Walz won rural Minnesota districts before becoming governor and VP nominee. The pattern is clear: military service combined with economic populism creates competitive races in places Democrats otherwise cannot win.

Nathan Sage may not win Iowa’s Senate seat in 2026. But his willingness to run this race, his grassroots campaign strategy, and his authentic working-class veteran profile represent exactly what Democrats need to remain competitive as a national party. VoteVets built its reputation on recruiting candidates like Sage, candidates who understand that strength and service aren’t Republican values — they’re American values. And in 2026, Iowa voters will get to decide whether those values still matter more than partisan tribalism.