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The race for Iowa governor currently includes Democratic nominee Rob Sand, Republican nominee Zach Lahn and Libertarian candidate Nicholas Gluba.

Gluba, a Lone Tree resident, serves on the Lone Tree City Council. He is a former U.S. Marine, serving from 2006 to 2012, and currently works as a production lead at Whirlpool in North Liberty while also working as a chef.

Although Gluba is the Libertarian nominee, he is not currently on the November ballot after the State Objection Panel ruled that his running mate, Jules Cutler, failed to file her affidavit of candidacy by the deadline.

Gluba, however, argues that is not the complete story. Before this edition went to print, he was awaiting a judge's decision on his lawsuit seeking to restore his candidacy to the ballot.

The News recently sat down with Gluba to discuss the ballot challenge, his campaign for governor, his views on the Libertarian Party, his previous congressional campaign, his employment at Whirlpool and other issues.

Why he was removed from the ballot

The filing deadline for Iowa's gubernatorial race was June 2. According to the State Objection Panel, lieutenant governor candidate Jules Cutler did not submit her affidavit of candidacy before the deadline. Gluba, however, said election officials told them that only his affidavit was required.

"Jules Cutler, my running mate for lieutenant governor, tried to submit her affidavit, but the clerk told her, 'Oh no, we don't need that.' Then, about a week later, on June 9, we received an email notifying us that an objection had been filed because Jules had not turned in the affidavit. We had attempted to submit it, but we were told it wasn't necessary."

After being told the affidavit was unnecessary, Cutler placed it back in her purse. On June 9, the campaign was notified that an objection had been filed because the affidavit had not been submitted. Gluba said they responded by explaining they had attempted to file the paperwork but were told it was not needed.

On June 15, nearly two weeks after filing their paperwork, the panel officially removed Gluba and Cutler from the ballot. They responded by filing an appeal and a lawsuit seeking to have their names restored before the November election.

The case is now awaiting a court decision.

Gluba also said he later learned that the Secretary of State's Office was working with and advising the objectors during the case. He referenced a comment from the district court judge, who reportedly said, "This smells bad."

According to Gluba, the court was expected to issue its ruling Tuesday evening, after The News' publication deadline.

Running for Congress

This is not Gluba's first campaign for public office.

In 2024, he ran for Iowa's 1st Congressional District, which includes Iowa City, Davenport, Burlington, Clinton, Keokuk, parts of the Quad Cities and several counties, including Washington and Johnson.

During that race, he challenged Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Democrat Christina Bohannan.

However, due to legal changes involving the Libertarian Party, Gluba was removed from the ballot and instead ran as a write-in candidate.

In a 2024 interview with The News' Cheryl Allen, Gluba explained what happened.

"Unfortunately, the law had changed, which we weren't aware of, because we don't have people that just sit there and read Iowa code all the time. We have other jobs, you know."

During last week's interview, Gluba expanded on what occurred.

"We went before the objections panel, and the original objection was that we hadn't held county conventions, even though we had proof that we did. The day before the hearing, the objection changed to claiming our county conventions were invalid because they were held on the same day as the caucuses. They made that change just minutes before the deadline."

He said the experience taught him the importance of having a constitutional lawyer who could focus on Iowa election law.

"What we've learned is that we really needed someone who could dedicate the time to studying Iowa's election laws, particularly Chapters 42 through 45. We had someone helping us with that, but he eventually decided he couldn't continue and he wasn't an actual constitutional lawyer."

Why he is running for governor

Gluba said he decided to seek Iowa's highest office because he felt someone needed to step forward.

  "I saw things happening in my community, across Iowa and throughout the country, and I felt somebody needed to step up and do something about it. I thought, 'If not me, then who?'"

He also outlined what he believes separates him from the Democratic and Republican candidates.

"One of the biggest differences is that both major parties support higher tax rates for data centers, while I support a full moratorium on new data centers. I was at a data center protest in Ames two weeks ago, and I've also focused heavily on removing AI-powered camera systems, such as Flock cameras and automatic license plate readers, because I believe they violate Fourth Amendment protections against warrantless searches and seizures."

He also pointed to eminent domain as another major issue.

"Another issue is eminent domain. We drafted an anti-eminent domain bill that would have prevented its use for private projects like the carbon sequestration pipeline. It passed both the Iowa House and Senate but was vetoed by Gov. Kim Reynolds."

Data centers

Data centers have become a growing topic of debate across Iowa, and Gluba said he opposes expanding them under current conditions.

"Our infrastructure isn't equipped to support large data centers, and when they're built, they can drive up electricity and water costs for nearby communities. I wouldn't have an issue with them if they generated their own power and didn't rely on eminent domain, but many people are already struggling with rising costs and can't afford even higher utility bills."

Minimum wage

Gluba also discussed wages and organized labor, saying he supports unions.

"I'm very pro-union because I believe workers should be able to organize and bargain for higher wages. Wages are ultimately an agreement between an employee and an employer, and unions give workers more leverage in those negotiations."

Job market

Gluba said employment statistics do not always reflect the realities facing workers.

"Employment numbers may look strong on paper, but they don't tell the whole story. Iowa's unemployment rate is higher than its historical average, and many people have had to replace full-time jobs with multiple part-time jobs. That lowers the unemployment rate, but it leaves many workers underemployed rather than fully employed."

He also pointed to the closure of employers such as EPC.

"Employment numbers may look strong on paper, but they don't tell the whole story. After employers like EPC closed, many people had to replace full-time jobs with multiple part-time jobs just to pay their bills. That may lower the unemployment rate, but it leaves many workers underemployed rather than fully employed."

The Libertarian Party

Gluba described the Libertarian Party as one centered on individual freedom.

"To sum it up, the Libertarian Party fundamentally believes people should have the rights, liberties and freedoms to do whatever they choose, as long as it doesn't infringe on the rights, liberties or freedoms of anyone else. Essentially, if you're at home or on your own property, you should be free to do what makes you happy, so long as it doesn't harm your neighbor."

Challenges involving Libertarian candidates

Gluba said several Libertarian candidates have recently faced efforts to remove them from the ballot.

According to Gluba, U.S. House candidates Rick Stewart and Marco Battaglia were contacted directly by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and asked to withdraw from their races.

Party differences

Gluba said he had previously belonged to both major political parties but eventually became dissatisfied with each.

"I've been a member of both major parties before, and I saw too many similarities between how they function and what they campaign on. I eventually decided I couldn't be part of either party any longer."

He added, "Both parties continue to increase debt, raise taxes and, in my view, limit certain rights. I've been involved with libertarian-leaning caucuses in both parties, but after watching elected officials govern much like their predecessors, regardless of party, I became disillusioned with both the Republican and Democratic parties."

Serving on the Lone Tree City Council

Gluba has served on the Lone Tree City Council since 2024 after initially being appointed to fill a vacancy. He was elected to a full term last fall and will serve through 2029.

He said serving on the council has provided valuable experience.

"Those roles definitely introduced me to politics and helped me learn parliamentary procedure and how government functions. Serving on the East Central Iowa Council of Governments board also gave me experience in how to effectively govern."

Housing in Lone Tree

Gluba believes one of Lone Tree's biggest needs is more affordable housing.

"We need affordable housing. For a long time, Lone Tree attracted people because it was a less expensive place to live than Iowa City. Now, housing prices aren't much lower than places like Coralville or North Liberty, so it's become harder to attract people to the community."

Goals if elected

If elected governor, Gluba said his top priorities would be signing an anti-eminent domain bill, investing existing state funds into water-quality improvements and strengthening Iowa's public education system.

"I would like to reintroduce our eminent domain bill that Thomas Lane wrote. We already know it can pass the House and it can pass the Senate. We just need a governor in there that can sign it."

"I would like to redistribute already existing funds into water quality efforts throughout the state of Iowa. We have a plan that will actually integrate the Minnesota and Wisconsin Water Quality Acts adjusted to the water issues that are present in Iowa."

"Another major one I have is our public education system. We need to strengthen their abilities to educate our students. When I was going to school here in Iowa, we were number one and since then, we have dropped to number 26. We need to get with our teachers and work with them to get us back into the number one position again."