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.» 

«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 positions that skew to the far-left.

Books on display at Dog-Eared Books include American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten’s titled «Why Fascists Fear Teachers» and «How Fascism Works» by Yale progessor Jason Stanley.    (Fox News)

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Fox News Digital also reached out to Wahls after the event and did not receive a response. The bookstore did not provide a response either.

Wahls is vying to take over the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by junior Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, and if he were to win, would sit alongside longtime senior Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley. Wahls, a former Iowa Senate Minority Leader, is taking on a field of opponents for his upcoming primary race in June. Among his main contenders is Democrat State Rep. Josh Turek.

Before entering politics, Wahls went viral as a young adult after giving a speech in the Iowa legislature about growing up with two moms, amid efforts in the state to amend the portion of the state’s constitution tied to same-sex marriage. He and his novelist wife credit the event for their meeting.

Related Article

En una imagen capturada por una cámara sumergida a 500 metros de profundidad, científicos documentaron la presencia de un tiburón “dormilón” en aguas antárticas, un lugar donde hasta hace poco se creía poco habitual hallar a estos grandes depredadores.

La escena se desarrolló cerca de las islas Shetland del Sur, en un entorno donde las temperaturas del agua apenas superan el punto de congelación. El equipo del Centro de Investigación Oceánica Profunda Minderoo-UWA detectó a este tiburón gracias a una cámara instalada para monitorear la biodiversidad marina. Alan Jamieson, profesor de la Universidad de Australia Occidental y director del centro, recordó el asombro del grupo: “Todos nos quedamos perplejos, pensando: ‘No creo que haya tiburones en la Antártida’”, explicó a National Geographic.

Hasta ese momento, los registros de tiburones en la región se limitaban a aguas del Ártico y el Pacífico Norte, pero nunca tan al sur. El ejemplar, de entre dos y tres metros de longitud, pertenece al grupo de los tiburones dormilones, conocidos por su metabolismo extremadamente lento y su capacidad para vivir en ambientes hostiles.

La capacidad de los tiburones dormilones para soportar condiciones extremas se debe a una serie de adaptaciones únicas. Estos animales crecen menos de un centímetro al año y rara vez superan los cuatro kilómetros por hora de velocidad. Su bajo consumo energético les permite sobrevivir en entornos fríos y con escasez de alimento. Ese metabolismo reducido tiene ventajas claras. Al consumir muy poca energía, estos tiburones pueden sobrevivir en entornos donde el alimento es escaso y las temperaturas son extremadamente bajas.

La ciencia ha descubierto que sus tejidos contienen altas concentraciones de urea y N-óxido de trimetilamina (TMAO). La urea ayuda a mantener el equilibrio osmótico con el agua marina, aunque puede desestabilizar las proteínas del organismo. En ese punto, el TMAO actúa como estabilizador y permite que las proteínas funcionen a temperaturas cercanas al punto de congelación. “Aunque todos los tiburones tienen TMAO en su organismo, los tiburones dormilones tienen mucho más que la mayoría”, explicó el investigador Dave Ebert.

Otro aspecto sorprendente es la longevidad de estos animales. Estudios genéticos recientes han identificado duplicaciones en genes relacionados con la reparación del ADN y la protección contra el estrés oxidativo, un mecanismo que podría explicar por qué algunos tiburones de Groenlandia —parientes del ejemplar hallado— viven más de 400 años. Como la mayoría de los tiburones dormilones, este individuo puede haber estado vivo durante la era de Bellingshausen y James Clark Ross en el siglo XIX.

La cámara que permitió el hallazgo operaba en una zona donde una corriente de agua relativamente cálida fluye sobre el fondo marino. En este canal, la temperatura llegó a 1,27℃, lo que podría haber facilitado la presencia del tiburón en aguas tan australes.

El responsable de la investigación, Alan Jamieson, no oculta su incertidumbre: “Hay diferentes tipos de rareza en el mundo, y este tipo es absolutamente astronómico”, expresó. El propio Jamieson confesó que, en 25 años de carrera, solo había visto cuatro tiburones dormilones y nunca en la Antártida.

El hallazgo plantea interrogantes sobre la presencia de una posible población estable en el área. “Lo difícil es saber cuántos tiburones viven en aguas antárticas”, señaló Jamieson. Los científicos creen que la cámara pudo captar al tiburón porque se encontraba en una zona de agua ligeramente más cálida, lo que sugiere la existencia de corredores que permiten a estos animales explorar regiones más australes.

De momento, no existen datos suficientes para determinar si se trata de una aparición aislada o del indicio de una comunidad poco conocida. Como concluyó el propio Jamieson: “El descubrimiento de un tiburón dormilón en aguas antárticas sugiere que realmente no hay ningún lugar en el océano donde los tiburones no puedan sobrevivir”.

An increasing number of voters disapprove of the job the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, or ICE, is doing, with nearly half wanting Congress to reduce its funding.

That’s according to a new Fox News poll conducted before President Trump announced on Thursday that he will nominate Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., to replace Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem.

The survey finds nearly 6 in 10 voters disapprove of ICE’s performance, while about 4 in 10 approve. This is the highest disapproval rating recorded, up 7 points since last fall and 17 points since the question was first asked in 2018.

Nearly twice as many voters strongly disapprove as strongly approve.

The increase in disapproval can mostly be attributed to voters under age 30 (+17 points more disapproving than in September), independents (+13), men (+11) and Democrats (+8).

«This isn’t a complicated story,» says Republican pollster Daron Shaw, who helps run the Fox News Poll with Democratic counterpart Chris Anderson. «ICE’s tactics in Minneapolis, along with negative news coverage, have caused a sharp drop in approval, especially among independents and members of the out-party.»

Meanwhile, large majorities of MAGA supporters (94% approve), very conservative voters (87% approve) and Republicans (83%) back ICE.

When asked about funding the agency, nearly half (46%) said reduce it. The other half wants to increase funding (20%), keep at current levels (18%) or fund at current levels but with new restrictions (16%).

FOX NEWS POLL: VIEWS ARE DIVIDED ON US ACTION AGAINST IRAN

Majorities of Democrats (77%) and independents (59%) want to defund ICE while Republicans would prefer to at least keep it at its current level (37%) if not increase it (43%).

Today, voters are slightly more likely to feel the Trump administration’s immigration policies have made the U.S. safer (42% safer vs. 37% less safe) than they did last June, when they were split on the matter (39% each). Overall, 2 in 10 say the policies don’t make a difference to safety.

But when looking at immigration from an economic lens, more voters think the administration’s policies are hurting the economy (49%) than helping it (33%). Two in 10 (17%) say they haven’t had an effect on the economy.

Majorities of Republicans are more likely to say the immigration policies have made the U.S. safer (82%) and helped the economy (66%), while it’s the opposite for Democrats (62% less safe, 83% hurt). A majority of independents think the economy is being hurt (57%) but are more divided on safety: 27% safer, 40% less safe, 33% no difference.

Views on what to do about illegal immigration remain nuanced. Two-thirds favor allowing illegal immigrants who have jobs in the U.S. to stay and apply for legal status (67% favor, 33% oppose). On the other hand, 6 in 10 favor deporting immigrants who are here illegally back to their home countries (59% favor, 40% oppose). 

Among voters favoring deportation, 53% would support immigrants who live here illegally but have jobs to stay and apply for legal status.

Majorities of Hispanic voters favor allowing illegal immigrants with jobs to stay (74% favor), disagree with deportations (56% oppose) and disapprove of ICE (58%).

CLICK HERE FOR CROSSTABS AND TOPLINE

Big picture, border security and immigration remain President Trump’s best issues. Border security continues to be his only net positive job rating with 52% approving and 48% disapproving. While his handling of immigration stands at 47% approve and 53% disapprove, it is a slight improvement since the last recording in January when it was 45-55%.

The president’s ratings on other issues remain underwater: jobs (43% approve, 56% disapprove), taxes (40-59%), foreign policy (40-60%), economy (38-61%), healthcare (38-61%), tariffs (36-63%), and cost of living (32-67%).

Conducted Feb. 28 to March 2, 2026, under the direction of Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R), this Fox News survey includes interviews with a sample of 1,004 registered voters randomly selected from a national voter file. Respondents spoke with live interviewers on landlines (104) and cellphones (642) or completed the survey online after receiving a text (258). Results based on the full sample have a margin of sampling error of ±3 percentage points. Sampling error for results among subgroups is higher. In addition to sampling error, question wording and order can influence results. Weights are generally applied to age, race, education and area variables to ensure the demographics are representative of the registered voter population. Sources for developing weight targets include the most recent American Community Survey, Fox News Voter Analysis and voter file data.