In 2021, a state senator stood before the Iowa Senate and recited a Muslim prayer—while also being an ordained Lutheran minister. The moment didn't just turn heads in Des Moines; it sent shockwaves through the international Muslim community and sparked a firestorm that still burns today.
That senator is Sarah Trone Garriott, and she’s now locked in one of the most hotly contested congressional races in America. Her opponent, Republican Rep. Zach Nunn, isn’t letting anyone forget what she did.
Garriott’s prayer focused on the names and characteristics of Allah. She explained: "We can all benefit as people of faith and as citizens to grow stronger as a community." But her real message came later, when she sat down with British Muslim TV and revealed her deeper motive.
"The Senate begins every day with prayer. And they almost always share Christian prayers," Garriott said. "For me, it’s really important to make sure that the diverse religious communities here and in Des Moines get to have their voice heard." She even pledged to only recite prayers from non-Christian traditions.
Iowa is 93% Protestant, Catholic, or unaffiliated. Muslims make up less than 1% of the state's population. Yet Garriott argued that Muslims face discrimination and that her prayer was a tool to combat it. "I just think there is some horrible animosity towards our Muslim neighbors," she said.
This wasn't an isolated gesture. Garriott has repeatedly voiced concern about homogeneity in representation—especially among White Christian men. "It’s not a very diverse group of leaders. We don’t have people from many religious backgrounds—it’s mostly white, mostly Christian," she said in another interview.
Her opponent didn't hold back. At a campaign event, Nunn fired back: "I don't need a lecture from someone who pretends to preach from the pulpit while at the same time telling Americans that they're too white and too racist."
One Republican strategist called the move shameful. "It is downright shameful to go on a foreign television show and call Americans racist and backwards," said Zach Kraft, an RNC spokesperson.
Garriott didn't respond to questions about whether lawmakers should represent beliefs not their own—or whether such efforts risk looking disingenuous. But the political stakes are crystal clear. Nunn won his last race by just 3.9%. This district, Iowa's third, is ranked among the 16 most competitive in the country for 2026.
