Dem Senate hopeful holds event at bookstore selling 'ABOLISH ICE' merch despite pledge to 'secure the border'

Dem Senate hopeful Zach Wahls told voters he believes in 'old Democratic values' and wants to 'secure the border,' but campaigned Saturday at a bookstore selling 'ABOLISH ICE' merch. Democrat Elections Dem Senate hopeful holds event at bookstore selling 'ABOLISH ICE' merch despite pledge to 'secure the border' 'I believe in the old Democratic values,' US Senate candidate from Iowa, Zach Wahls, tells voters By Alec Schemmel Fox News Published March 6, 2026 6:30am EST Facebook Twitter Threads Flipboard Comments Print Email Add Fox News on Google close Video Trump's 'these people are crazy' comment resonates with voters ahead of midterms Pittsburgh-based columnist Salena Zito discusses President Donald Trump's 'these people are crazy' remark from his State of the Union address. NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! A Democratic Senate hopeful in Iowa is pitching himself as a candidate who believes in the party's "old Democratic values." However, on Saturday, State Senator Zach Wahls hosted a campaign event at a radical activist bookstore, Dog-Eared Books, that has been vocal about abolishing ICE, financially supports anti-ICE nonprofits, holds drag story time for kids, and promotes books banned in schools for their sexually explicit content, among other far-left activism the store engages in. Fox News Digital asked Wahls ahead of the event if he was aware of the bookstore's radical track record and whether he regretted holding a campaign event there, but Wahls never responded. Meanwhile, Wahls' campaign website promises Iowans he will work to "secure the border and fix our broken immigration system," and in posts on social media he has insisted that the nation must have an immigration system based on "law and order." Democratic Iowa State Sen. Zach Wahls (right) next to an image of Dog-Eared Books located in Ames, Iowa. (Getty Images/Fox News) "I believe in the old Democratic values of hard work and family, not handouts for billionaires and insiders," Wahls also touts in a campaign video pinned to the top of his X account.Video obtained by Fox News Digital from outside the Ames, Iowa, bookstore where Wahls held his campaign meet-and-greet event at alongside his novelist wife, titled "Reading and Running: A conversation with Zach Wahls and Chloe Angyal," showed at least one sign right next to the front entrance reading "ICE IS NOT WELCOME HERE" in bold capital letters. The store has hosted events for Wahls' wife in the past prior to Saturday, and sells her romance novels. In the wake of the federal agent-involved shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, the bookstore created a logo of a dog in sunglasses holding a protest sign that reads "ABOLISH ICE," and even put it on a stickler the store is selling on its website. Following the shootings of Good and Pretti, the store also pledged to donate 25% of its sales to a network of mostly anonymous philanthropic groups called the Immigrant Rapid Response Fund. Some of the groups that have been publicly reported to be affiliated with the fund, include anti-ICE groups like the George Soros-funded Headwaters Foundation for Justice, which says it "believe[s] in a future without ICE," and the Black Collective Foundation Minnesota. DEMOCRAT IN KEY SENATE PRIMARY SAYS SHE ‘REGRETS’ VOTE ON LAKEN RILEY ACT, DRAWS GOP BACKLASH "Do not retreat. Do not back down. Double Down," Lulete Mola, president and co-founder of the group, said following the ICE shootings in Minneapolis, according to Inside Philanthropy. A sign reading "ICE IS NOT WELCOME HERE" sits in the window right next to the door at Dog-Eared Books on the night U.S. Senate candidate from Iowa held a campaign event there to meet with constituents. (Fox News)Besides being staunchly anti-ICE, the bookstore where Wahls held his meet-and-greet event on Saturday also has a history of supporting child gender transitions and has worked against Republican lawmakers' efforts aimed at protecting women by removing "gender identity" from the state's list of protected classes under Iowa's civil rights laws.Dog-Eared Books also has a history of holding drag story time events for kids, including one that featured a 14-year-old teenage drag queen, and touts selling "banned" books that are frequently removed from school districts due to what critics deem is non-age appropriate sexually explicit content. Among them being sold is "All Boys Aren't Blue," by George Johnson, which Dog-Eared books notes on social media is "one of the most frequently banned books in Iowa," and "Gender Queer," by Maia Kobabe, a book widely banned in schools for its' graphic sexual imagery. Meanwhile, the store has also exhibited alignment with radical anti-Israel folks, claiming in a Facebook event post for a "Tattoos For Palestine" event that Israel is "committing a Genocide" with its actions that followed the attacks of Oct. 7, 2023. And, a web page on the bookstore's website, encourages people to join their letter-writing campaign to lawmakers, aimed at promoting its values that include "No human is illegal. All people deserve access to reproductive healthcare. Healthcare is a human right," and other policy positio