29 Facts About Zach Wahls

Zacharia Wahls was born on July 15,1991 and is an American politician.

Zach Wahls serves in the Iowa Senate for the 43rd District.

Zach Wahls is the son of two lesbian women and was conceived using artificial insemination.

Zach Wahls was born on July 15,1991, to his biological mother Terry Wahls, an internal medicine physician.

Zach Wahls has a younger sister who shares the same sperm donor and parents.

Zach Wahls was raised as a Unitarian Universalist and identifies himself as a member of that church.

Zach Wahls has said that having lesbian parents caused occasional problems during his school years when he found it difficult to explain to his peers or found that some of them were forbidden to socialize with him.

Zach Wahls was sometimes teased and sometimes bullied because of his parents' relationship.

Zach Wahls played quarterback on the football team and participated in speech and debate.

Zach Wahls graduated from Iowa City West High School in 2009.

Zach Wahls entered the University of Iowa that fall, withdrawing shortly thereafter to promote his book, written with the assistance of Bruce Littlefield.

Zach Wahls's mothers married in 2009 following the legalization of same-sex marriage in Iowa.

Zach Wahls wrote a weekly column for The Daily Iowan, a daily student newspaper, and studied for a time in India.

Zach Wahls was, in his own words, "not much of an activist" before he went viral in 2011.

On January 31,2011, Zach Wahls addressed the Iowa House Judiciary Committee in a public hearing on a proposed constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage in Iowa.

Zach Wahls withdrew from the University of Iowa in the fall of 2011, turning his focus to writing a book with Bruce Littlefield, and promoting said book.

Zach Wahls has served as co-chair for "The Outspoken Generation," the Family Equality Council's national youth advocacy initiative involving the young adult children of LGBT parents.

Zach Wahls spoke there in April 2013 under the auspices of several academic departments, beginning his remarks by reading a statement on Catholic teaching on marriage and parenting as required by the school administration.

An Eagle Scout, Zach Wahls targeted the Boy Scouts of America's ban on gays and lesbians as scout leaders.

In September, Zach Wahls delivered a speech at the 2012 Democratic National Convention in which he thanked President Obama for "put[ting] his political future on the line" in supporting same-sex marriage.

Zach Wahls completed his degree at the University of Iowa in May 2016 and enrolled in the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University.

Zach Wahls was a delegate for Hillary Clinton at the 2016 Democratic National Convention.

Zach Wahls announced on December 21,2017, that he would run in the 2018 election for Iowa Senate district 37.

Zach Wahls traveled between New Jersey and Iowa City during his Iowa Senate campaign, changing his residence from Iowa City to Coralville immediately prior to announcing his bid for the Iowa Senate.

Zach Wahls won the general election on November 6 and was sworn in on January 14,2019.

Zach Wahls was elected by his Democratic colleagues to be Senate minority leader for the 2021 session after Janet Petersen retired as leader.

Zach Wahls stepped down as Senate Minority Leader on June 7,2023, following disagreement with Senate Democratic colleagues over firing two long-time Iowa Senate Democrat staff members.

In 2019, Zach Wahls announced his engagement to journalist Chloe Angyal.

Angyal wrote an article in 2011 for the blog Feministing entitled "Marry Me, Zach Wahls" which led to the two meeting and later starting a relationship.