State Senate District 14 Democratic incumbent Sarah Trone-Garriott is seeking re-election.

Trone-Garriott tells Raccoon Valley Radio that she didn’t grow up with intentions of becoming an Iowa State Senator. She was born in Minnesota, then moved to Iowa after her husband accepted a job at Drake University in Des Moines. Trone-Garriott reveals that the current Iowa State Senator at the time was administering bills that hurt the community, and that’s when she decided to become a voice for the residents, and beat Republican candidate Scott Cirksena in the 2020 General Election for then Senate District 22. 

Trone-Garriott acknowledges that she is a proponent of investing in mental health resources for Iowa schools, even before and especially after the January 4th shooting at Perry High School. She details that in 2023, she proposed a Medicaid bill for mental health support before a child has a diagnosis. Trone-Garriott illustrates that the bill would’ve allowed schools to give services to students as soon as a problem was detected, supplying more mental health professionals to work inside schools.

“When we’re talking about behavior issues, bullying, self-harm, suicide, or those really extreme threats like school shootings, we can prevent them if our kids get early invention and have access to help, and that is a priority for me.”

On the topic of arming teachers in classrooms, Trone-Garriott said it’s a huge liability, creating a great risk to everyone inside school buildings. She adds that it confuses law enforcement when they spot a person with a gun while entering a school during a dangerous situation. Other areas that Trone-Garriott would like to address if she is re-elected includes giving Iowans freedom with quality of life issues and improving Area Education Agencies system. 

She explains the reason she’s running for re-election is to continue to provide a voice to the people of Iowa. Trone-Garriott is running for re-election this year for Senate District 14 against Republican Candidate Mark Hanson. The November General Election is set to be held on Tuesday, November 5th.