Tommy Hexter, 24, is running for Iowa House of Representatives District 53 this November against six-time Republican incumbent Dean Fisher, 67, Hexter announced Thursday.
Hexter, a Democrat, faces a challenge in the district, which comprises Tama and Poweshiek Counties, where democrats haven’t won a state house election in over twelve years.
Seeking to overcome this challenge, Hexter said he will run an unorthodox campaign that targets voters left outside the political process.
“I’m not going to be a traditional politician,” he said.
Hexter said national Democrats have avoided connecting with working-class voters and become “very comfortable representing the educated and elite.” Hexter said he will promote policies that support working-class residents, but also the non-working-class, which he said includes people with disabilities, elderly residents and people reliant on public services.
“If we only engage the people who are currently voting, we’re going to continue seeing the kind of state government that is leading to the hollowing out of rural communities and leaving people behind,” Hexter said.
In 2020, during his final year at Grinnell College, Hexter was elected as commissioner for the Poweshiek County Soil and Water Conservation District. In 2018, he co-founded Farm House at the College to create a living space for students interested in sustainable agriculture.
Since 2022, Hexter has worked as a rural organizer for the Iowa Farmers Union.
Hexter also serves as executive director of Grinnell Farm to Table (GFTT), also known as Local Foods Connection, an organization that provides locally-sourced food to low-income families in Poweshiek County.
In his role delivering foods directly to families, Hexter said he’s met residents facing rising utility costs, food insecurity or difficulty with Medicare.
“They [residents] are immediately telling me about all these problems they are facing that are struggles for their very survival,” he said.
In 2021, 39% of Poweshiek and Tama residents struggled to afford basic living expenses according to United for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed (ALICE). From 2019 to 2021, the number of Poweshiek and Tama residents in this classification has risen by 17% and 22% respectively.
Hexter said he will host campaign events at the same apartment complexes and senior homes he’s traveled to as part of GFTT, as well as branching into Tama County communities.
“The way that I’m going to represent people is by going there and listening,” he said. “I’m not going to host traditional campaign events. I’m going to go where people haven’t been voting in high numbers. That’s where I’m going to door-knock.”
Hexter said he supports investment in public schools, area education agencies (AEAs), and resources for students with disabilities. Hexter criticized Fisher’s support of H.F. 68, which created private school vouchers in Iowa, and H.F. 2616, which allows school districts to seek private contracts for education services previously provided by AEAs.
Hexter also said he supports Summer EBT, a federal childhood nutrition program established in 2022 that provides low-income families $40 per child per month to help with food costs in the summer. Iowa is one of 12 states that opted-out of the program for 2024, with Governor Kim Reynolds citing the program’s lack of nutrition focus, Iowa’s high childhood obesity levels and the existence of other Iowa programs tackling food insecurity.
“I’m not proposing bankrupting our state. I propose running our government like a business, where they reinvest in the necessary resources and also resources that promote rural development,” he said.
Additionally, Hexter said he supports programs like the Butchery Innovation and Revitalization Fund, a $1 million fund for small-scale meat processing projects.
“I believe in rural people and rural spaces,” Hexter said. “I’m running for food access. I’m running for farmers.”
Hexter said he’d been considering running since the Poweshiek County Democratic Party asked him to run on Jan. 15, the night of the GOP’s Iowa Caucuses.
“I knew the whole time that I wasn’t going to say no,” he said about the request.
Hexter later publicly floated the idea of his candidacy at a Feb. 19 event with North Carolina’s Anderson Clayton, 26, the country’s youngest state party chair. Hexter said her enthusiasm for bringing young people into Democratic Party leadership convinced him to commit to running against Fisher.
Hexter also said he hopes Grinnell College students understand the power of their vote in Iowa elections, including in District 53.
“I want to see Iowa investing in Iowa again,” he said. “I’m a young person here who believes that Iowa has a beautiful future for many young people, and I want to help make that happen.”
