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Zach Wahls: “I will never vote to raise the retirement age. I will never…”

Featuring: Zach Wahls, Democratic | Iowa Senate, District 43

IOWA POLITICS: KCCI hosts US Senate primary debate between Democrats Josh Turek, Zach Wahls

Published May 15, 2026 | Video Starts at 26:32

And for anyone watching at home, let me be very clear as your United States Senator, I will never vote to raise the retirement age. I will never vote to cut benefits to Social Security. and that is my promise to you as a man and as your next United States senator. All right. We need to take a short break here. (26:32–26:39)

CLAIM

Asserts a commitment to not raise the retirement age or cut Social Security benefits.

This is an excerpt from a raw transcript. The assertions have not been audited or verified. Tap the video to view the source footage and understand the context.

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Zach Wahls

“We also have to end the war in Iran.”
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“You have four companies that control 85% of the meat packing when it comes to beef.”
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“Elon Musk spent $300 million influencing the 2024 election.”
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“Early in the Trump administration, Elon Musk and Doge took their chainsaw to the federal government. And one of the programs that they axed…”
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“We need to defeat Ashley Henson and stop Donald Trump's assault on our democracy.”
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“I have won the respect of those voters as an advocate for marriage equality here in our state.”
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“I'm proud to have won the support of 27 labor unions representing 30,000 hard working blue collar Iowans.”
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“Polls show I am the strongest candidate to win.”
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“I definitely have beaten plenty of Republicans and my races have been really proud to have the chance to represent and win elections in…”
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“Our economy has been rigged, [and] we have seen billionaires corrupt our politics.”
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“We have to reverse the tariffs that have been plaguing our economy for the last 15 months.”
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“We see the concentration in our economy, only a handful of corporations dominating these industries.”
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“Ashley Hinson has rubber stamped [the war in Iran] that Donald Trump started.”
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“This one company from Utah purchased 15 parks across the state and three in my district.”
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“I was able to build a bipartisan coalition and pass a bill out of the Iowa Senate as a freshman legislator, 48 to 0.”
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“I was very proud to endorse Senator Bernie Sanders call for a 5% wealth tax on fortunes worth a billion dollars and more.”
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“Most Iowans already pay wealth taxes. They're called property taxes.”
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“With that wealth tax, what we can do is expand Medicare to make sure that it includes dental, vision and hearing.”
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“We can make sure that childcare does not cost more than 7% of a person's income.”
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“I was very proud earlier this year to release my Keep the Promise act, which would scrap the cap on the income that is paid for wealthiest…”
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“I would have fought for a bill that would have allowed rates on households earning more than $250,000 a year to rise back to where they were…”
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“We have to overturn Citizens United, pass common sense term limits, and make sure that we end the ability of members of Congress or the…”
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“With this 5% wealth tax, the specific plan that Senator Sanders has put forward that I have endorsed, we can absolutely shore up Medicare…”
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“Scrapping the cap is going to extend the lifespan of Social Security by decades.”
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“A public option which would allow people to buy into Medicare, would bring more competition. It would lower costs. It would expand coverage.”
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“I support lowering the Medicare enrollment age to 55 and making sure that we expand the coverage of Medicare to include vision, dental…”
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“I'm also proud to be a Day one co sponsor of the proact, which will make it easier for Iowans to organize their workplaces.”
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“Reversing the Medicaid cuts that we've talked about at some length is one of the most important things that we can do. And we can do that…”
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“We also need to make sure that we are understanding there are unique challenges in our rural communities.”
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“In the United States Senate, I will fight to protect maternal health and reproductive rights for every Iowa woman.”
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“We need to make sure that we are not just doing that, but codifying the right to contraception, codifying the right to technologies like…”
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“I will push to defund these clinics to make sure that they are not receiving taxpayer support because Iowa women deserve to have access to…”
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“I will, as your United States Senator, be a day one co-sponsor of a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United.”
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“I promise to only serve two terms in the United States Senate if elected.”
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“No member of Congress can own, trade, sell stocks, cryptocurrency, or game. All these prediction markets will be in office.”
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“I'll lead by example in all three of those because that's how you win people's trust back.”
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“We all know that we have an economy that has been rigged for the billionaires.”
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