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by Ray Baccari
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Independent Dave Bushaw is one of four candidates running for Iowa's 2nd Congressional District on Nov. 3. He faces Republican Joe Mitchell, Democrat Lindsay James and Libertarian Rick Stewart. This is an open seat since Republican Congresswoman Ashely Hinson is instead running for the U.S. Senate.
During a one-on-one Beyond the Podium interview, Bushaw said he wants to give working-class voters a voice outside the two major political parties. The full interview is available below.
"We need working class representation in Congress," said Bushaw, a farmer and labor musician.
Bushaw said his political positions don't fit neatly into either major party.
"I wouldn't say that I lean either way," Bushaw said. "American politics has this thing about, like, we need to figure everything out. We need to put everybody in their tiny little box. Don't try putting me in a box."
On data centers, Bushaw described himself as "the only federal candidate" calling for a nationwide moratorium on "data centers for the use of AI and machine learning development."
He also wants communities to have more say over data center projects and their potential impacts.
"There should be as much local control as possible on what's coming into these communities as well as impact reports and community benefits agreements," Bushaw said.
On foreign policy, Bushaw called the war in Iran illegal and said Congress should use its powers to help bring it to an end.
"We need to have dialogue and dialogue can't happen when we're dropping bombs and they're shooting bombs back," Bushaw said. "We know exactly why they're here. It's the same damn playbook that they threw at us back in the early 2000s with the Afghanistan Iraq war, which was all based on the premise of lies."
On immigration, Bushaw called for a review of Immigration and Customs Enforcement's budget and broader changes to the country's immigration system.
"We need strong borders if we want to remain a country. But I don't like feds running around my backyard scooping up folks indiscriminately," Bushaw said.
Recent polling shows a close race between James and Mitchell. Bushaw rejected the idea that he is a spoiler candidate, saying his campaign is part of a growing independent movement.
"We need folks like me and folks across the country to stand up and say working class folks are going to be part of the dialogue and part of the growth of this independent movement," Bushaw said.
During the interview, Bushaw also said he opposes age limits for members of Congress but supports legalizing cannabis at the federal level, making daylight saving time permanent and expanding the U.S. House of Representatives beyond its current 435 members.
Bushaw also said he voted for Jill Stein in the 2024 presidential election and would not caucus with either Republicans or Democrats if elected.
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