From Marriage Equality to the U.S. Senate: My Conversation with Zach Wahls

Hey Everyone, this week’s episode is a good one.

I sit down with Zach Wahls — Iowa State Senator, LGBTQ+ advocate, author, and now Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate. You might remember him from that mic-drop 2011 testimony in the Iowa legislature defending marriage equality and talking about growing up with two moms. Yeah… that one. The video that went wildly viral before “going viral” was even really a thing.

We talk about what it’s like to have your life change overnight — how a college engineering student suddenly found himself at the center of a national conversation on equality… and how that moment pulled him from civil and environmental engineering into full-time advocacy.

Zach shares how he co-founded Scouts for Equality, took on anti-LGBT discrimination in the Boy Scouts of America, and eventually made the leap into elected office — winning a seat in the Iowa State Senate at just 27 years old. (He’s now 34 and still the youngest state senator in Iowa. Casual overachiever stuff.)

Big thanks to Zach for coming on and having a real conversation — about policy, politics, and the personal side of public service.

As always, thanks for tuning into Duke’s Download.
See you next week. 🎧

If you want to learn more or support Zach's campaign, head to zachwahls.com.

You can write to us at: Questions@DukesDownload.com

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