T-R PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY — Republican House District 52 candidate David Blom, who was officially nominated during a special convention shortly beforehand, addresses the audience gathered for the annual Marshall County GOP BBQ Fundraiser at the American Legion in Marshalltown on Thursday evening.

David Blom, a 26-year-old union sheet metal worker at Raymon Enterprises in Albion who resides in Marshalltown, said he spent a lot of time recruiting a worthy challenger willing to take on two-term Democratic Rep. Sue Cahill in the 2024 election, but they all had good excuses — young kids at home or teenagers involved in school activities.

“I realized I didn’t have any of those great excuses and was willing to put in the work to make sure Marshalltown had effective representation, and so I was like ‘OK, I’ve gotta be willing to step up and throw my name in the ring,'” Blom said.

Blom was formally designated as the Republican nominee for the House District 52 seat, which comprises Marshalltown and roughly the southeast quadrant of the county, during a special convention before the annual Marshall County GOP BBQ fundraiser on Thursday night and, after being introduced by Rep. Taylor Collins (R-Mediapolis), spoke briefly during the event about his goals at the statehouse if he were to be elected in November. Currently, all of the county level offices in Marshall County are held by Republicans, and the party controls both chambers of the Iowa Legislature along with the governor’s office.

The son of a public school teacher and a structural engineer, Blom attended MHS for three years and earned a degree from Marshalltown Community College while serving as a clerk for Rep. Dean Fisher (R-Montour) and then briefly moved to Minnesota to further his education before returning to Marshalltown after the pandemic hit in 2020. He described his opponent as “a nice person who has done some wonderful things,” but Blom felt that Cahill has mostly voted with her party in Des Moines and aligned herself with the agenda of President Joe Biden.

Union workers have noticeably shifted toward the GOP in recent years, especially in light of the ascension of former President Donald Trump as the party’s standard bearer, and Blom said he would seek to bring a pro-labor outlook to his seat if elected in November.

“I think it’s important to be able to listen to all sides and make compromises. I know Marshalltown has industries big and small, and they need a voice in Des Moines, but there’s the working class families (where) sometimes both parents work two jobs in order to make the house payment, especially with inflation, and so I don’t want to take any more taxes than we have to from them. So that’s important to me,” he said. “Because then you’ve also got single moms working two jobs. So they’re trying to make ends meet, and they need a voice in Des Moines. So I feel like the Republican coalition has grown quite a bit.”

As someone with experience both in a homeschool and public school setting, Blom is appreciative of the knowledge he gained from both, and he identified one of his top issues as supporting educators — citing even the relatively small example of his mother receiving treats from the local PTA — especially those feeling burnout from “the whole political environment.”

“I want to make sure that the resources from the state are actually making it to the classroom,” he said.

He felt the legislature’s move to raise teacher base pay was a strong step in the right direction, and Blom also hopes to keep taxes low for working families dealing with “inflation and the Biden economy.” As a member of the party in charge, he would seek to give Marshalltown “a seat at the table” in Des Moines to protect local jobs and bring new businesses and employment opportunities here.

Blom can be reached at voteblom@gmail.com, and he plans to hold more events and introduce himself to prospective voters ahead of the Nov. 5 general election. He’s also working on establishing social media pages for his campaign.

Most of all, he hopes to present himself as an advocate for Marshalltown through and through, recalling a recent door knocking experience with two men, one of whom lived in California.

“California might have the big businesses where you can go and work 80 hours a week and make lots of money on a job, but Marshalltown also has great job opportunities that are expanding,” Blom said. And it’s the sort of place where you want to come and you want to live and work but also raise your family here.”

When reached by the T-R Friday, Cahill said she welcomed the opportunity to face a challenger for the first time since her initial race in 2020, when she defeated Republican Tony Reed.

“Having an opponent will bring to light the differences in our views on education, reproductive health care, mental health issues, taxes and meeting the needs of everyday Iowans. I am ready to campaign and bring my experience to the Iowa House on issues of importance that affect Marshall County residents everyday,” she said. “And not just for a few residents, but Veterans, families, students, business owners, hourly workers, those who attend a different church than I attend, or and those who love whoever they love. All Iowans deserve respect for their civil rights and I will work to protect them.”