Combat pilot, 42, entering GOP presidential race, promises American 'turnaround,' homeland defense at borders
David Stuckenberg campaigning as Republican, will be in Iowa within days
David Stuckenberg has flown more than a 150 combat missions.
In just days, the 42-year-old Air Force Reserve major with a key role in the Texas Air National Guard, an entrepreneur who focuses on water scarcity, is entering the Republican presidential nominating contest with a blend of old-school conservatism and what he says will be a nimble, youthful approach to government — which he says needs a "turnaround."
He flew planes fast, and Stuckenberg is confident he can make up ground quickly in a crowded GOP field.
Stuckenberg of Tampa, Florida, acting director of strategic plans at HQ Texas Air National Guard, Camp Mabry (Austin), Texas, is also the cofounder and first CEO of Genesis Systems.
Stuckenberg plans several campaign stops in Iowa within the week. He's announcing his campaign in Plymouth, Massachusetts on Wednesday. After announcing his candidacy at the historic location, the Stuckenberg for President Iowa campaign will start in Le Mars, Iowa (a city in Plymouth County) with Major Stuckenberg buying lunch for the first 50 attendees at the Pizza Ranch at 11 Central Ave S., LeMars at noon Sunday.
"We are facing some extraordinary times and we need to unite our nation and prepare, I believe, America's military for major challenges that we are facing," Stuckenberg said in an interview. "If we don't do that in the next four years the prospect of recovery becomes less. I think we need results and not talk."
Stuckenberg spoke for well over an hour this weekend with The Iowa Mercury.
His priorities are securing the borders of the nation and jump-starting what Stuckenberg says is a challenged economy.
"People are starting to fear tyranny again, and that is not what America is about," Stuckenberg said. "No one should ever wake up fearful of our government. It's just not what this is meant and designed to be."
Stuckenberg is calling for an immediate 33 percent reduction of all income taxes. He also wants to eliminate the inheritance tax.
Stuckenberg is proposing a blended immigration plan, one that shuts down the borders, but accelerates vetting of immigrants.
"Let me just boil it to three words: stop, know and decide," Stuckenberg said.
Federal troops need to be deployed at the southern and northern borders on "day one" of a new administration, Stuckenberg said.
"I can't think of a mission that any person in the military would be more proud to take part in than the defense of the homeland," Stuckenberg said. "This is really what this is, this is part of the homeland defense mission that would be handled by the Northern Command."
The nation must then identify undocumented residents and stop slavery and sex trafficking, he said.
"This is the American thing to do, it's the right thing to do," he said.
But many undocumented residents must be deported based on criminal backgrounds and diseases, he said.
"We wouldn't just let somebody walk into our house, get milk out of our refrigerator, and go sit on our couch," Stuckenberg said. "That is what is happening."
Stuckenberg said he voted for former President Donald Trump in 2020. Today, he says Trump is part of a “luxury” class of political leaders. Stuckenberg, who grew up in poverty in Oklahoma, and started selling art door to door as a child to help his family, said his story is more relatable.
Stuckenberg is strongly anti-abortion, a position he volunteered is informed by his own mother’s decision to have at least one abortion before he was born. Stuckenberg said he mourns the loss of at least one sibling he never had the chance to know.
Stuckenberg grew up in Oklahoma. He earned his bachelor's degree from Central Missouri State in Warrensburg, Missouri, and went on to received a master's from George Washington University in Washington, D.C. and doctorate from King's College.
Stuckenberg and his wife, Shannon, have five children.
Douglas Burns, a fourth-generation Iowa journalist, is a member of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. Burns resides in Carroll, Iowa where his family operated The Carroll Times Herald for 93 years.
The Iowa Writers’ Collaborative
Douglas Burns, a fourth-generation Iowa journalist who lives in Carroll, is a member of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. Have you explored the variety of writers in the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative? They are from around the state and contribute commentary and feature stories of interest to those who care about Iowa. Please pick five you’d like to support by becoming paid. It helps keep them going. Enjoy:
Columnists
Nicole Baart: This Stays Here, Sioux Center
Laura Belin: Iowa Politics with Laura Belin, Windsor Heights
Doug Burns: The Iowa Mercury, Carroll
Dave Busiek: Dave Busiek on Media, Des Moines
Iowa Writers’ Collaborative, Roundup
Steph Copley: It Was Never a Dress, Johnston
Art Cullen: Art Cullen’s Notebook, Storm Lake
Suzanna de Baca: Dispatches from the Heartland, Huxley
Debra Engle: A Whole New World, Madison County
Arnold Garson: Second Thoughts, Okoboji and Sioux Falls
Julie Gammack: Julie Gammack’s Iowa Potluck, Des Moines and Okoboji
Joe Geha: Fern and Joe, Ames
Jody Gifford: Benign Inspiration, West Des Moines
Rob Gray: Rob Gray’s Area, Ankeny
Nik Heftman: The Seven Times, Los Angeles and Iowa
Beth Hoffman: In the Dirt, Lovilia
Dana James: New Black Iowa, Des Moines
Pat Kinney: View from Cedar Valley, Waterloo
Fern Kupfer: Fern and Joe, Ames
Robert Leonard: Deep Midwest: Politics and Culture, Bussey
Letters from Iowans, Iowa
Darcy Maulsby: Keepin’ It Rural, Calhoun County
Tar Macias: Hola Iowa, Iowa
Alison McGaughey, The Inquisitive Quad Citizen, Quad Cities
Kurt Meyer: Showing Up, St. Ansgar
Wini Moranville: Wini’s Food Stories, Des Moines
Jeff Morrison: Between Two Rivers, Cedar Rapids
Kyle Munson: Kyle Munson’s Main Street, Des Moines
Jane Nguyen: The Asian Iowan, West Des Moines
John Naughton: My Life, in Color, Des Moines
Chuck Offenburger: Iowa Boy Chuck Offenburger, Jefferson and Des Moines
Barry Piatt: Piatt on Politics Behind the Curtain, Washington, D.C.
Dave Price: Dave Price’s Perspective, Des Moines
Macey Spensley: The Midwest Creative, Norwalk
Larry Stone: Listening to the Land, Elkader
Mary Swander: Mary Swander’s Buggy Land, Kalona
Mary Swander: Mary Swander’s Emerging Voices, Kalona
Cheryl Tevis: Unfinished Business, Boone County
Ed Tibbetts: Along the Mississippi, Davenport
Teresa Zilk: Talking Good, Des Moines
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