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Christian Schlaerth
Christian “He-Man” Schlaerth (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Iowa House of Representatives to represent District 9. He lost in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Schlaerth completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Christian Schlaerth was born in Buffalo, New York. He graduated from McQuaid Jesuit High School. He earned a bachelor's degree from LeMoyne College in 2003, a graduate degree from the University of Miami in 2007, and a Ph.D. from the University of Miami in 2014.[1] Schlaerth's professional experience includes serving as an associate professor at Waldorf University and as an adjunct professor of sociology at Miami-Dade College, Barry University and the University of Miami.[2]
Schlaerth has been affiliated with the following organizations:[1]
- Midwestern Sociological Society
- Southern Sociological Society
- Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences
- American Association of University Professors
- Atalanta Academy
- USA Rugby
- Miami Rugby Football Club
Elections
2024
See also: Iowa House of Representatives elections, 2024
General election
General election for Iowa House of Representatives District 9
Incumbent Henry Stone defeated Christian “He-Man” Schlaerth in the general election for Iowa House of Representatives District 9 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Henry Stone (R) | 73.2 | 11,744 |
 | Christian “He-Man” Schlaerth (D)  | 26.6 | 4,270 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 21 | ||
| Total votes: 16,035 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Iowa House of Representatives District 9
Christian “He-Man” Schlaerth advanced from the Democratic primary for Iowa House of Representatives District 9 on June 4, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Christian “He-Man” Schlaerth | 99.3 | 288 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.7 | 2 | ||
| Total votes: 290 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Iowa House of Representatives District 9
Incumbent Henry Stone advanced from the Republican primary for Iowa House of Representatives District 9 on June 4, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Henry Stone | 99.1 | 1,985 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.9 | 19 | ||
| Total votes: 2,004 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Campaign finance
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Schlaerth in this election.
2017
A special election for the position of Florida State Senate District 40 was held on September 26, 2017. Democrat Annette Taddeo, Republican Jose Felix Diaz, and independent Christian “He-Man” Schlaerth ran in the special election. Annette Taddeo won with 51.0 percent of the vote, flipping the seat from Republican to Democratic control.
There was a special primary election on July 25, 2017. Jose Felix Diaz won the Republican primary and Annette Taddeo won the Democratic primary.[3][4]
The filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was May 31, 2017.[5] Candidates who successfully filed to run in this election were Republicans Jose Felix Diaz, Alex Diaz de la Portilla, and Lorenzo Palomares; Democrats Ana Rivas Logan, Steve Smith, and Annette Taddeo; and independent Christian “He-Man” Schlaerth.[6] Smith withdrew from the race on June 6, 2017, after the Miami Herald reported that he had not been registered as a Democrat for at least a year before running, contradicting the oath he took when he filed to run.[7]
The seat became vacant following the resignation of Republican Frank Artiles. Artiles resigned on April 21, 2017, following a exchange where he used a racial slur in front of two black state senators, Audrey Gibson (D) and Perry Thurston (D).
For more on the political context of this race click here.
| Florida State Senate, District 40, Special Election, 2017 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Annette Taddeo |
51% | 22,656 | |
| Republican | Jose Felix Diaz | 47.2% | 20,987 | |
| Independent | Christian Schlaerth | 1.8% | 820 | |
| Total Votes | 44,463 | |||
| Source: Florida Department of State | ||||
| Florida State Senate, District 40 Democratic Primary, 2017 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
|
Annette Taddeo |
70.7% | 7,101 | ||
| Ana Rivas Logan | 29.3% | 2,941 | ||
| Total Votes | 10,042 | |||
| Source: Florida Department of State |
||||
| Florida State Senate, District 40 Republican Primary, 2017 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
|
Jose Felix Diaz |
57.8% | 7,678 | ||
| Alex Diaz de la Portilla | 25.6% | 3,398 | ||
| Lorenzo Palomares | 16.7% | 2,217 | ||
| Total Votes | 13,293 | |||
| Source: Florida Department of State |
||||
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Christian “He-Man” Schlaerth completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Schlaerth's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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The longer answer is that I am running because the ruling party in Iowa has far overstepped their mandate. They have gotten away from the will of the people and the legislature has continued to do the will of Governor Reynolds despite what the people of Iowa want and voiced.
Iowa House District 9 did not have a challenger to the incumbent, and I was asked if I was interested in running. After talking with some of the people in the district and consulting with my partner, we decided it was the right time to challenge the power structure currently making laws in Iowa.
No one should run unopposed – politicians need to be held accountable for their actions and the decisions they make in office. Decidedly, many of the laws that have been passed in Iowa have been detrimental to the average Iowan.
I pledge to Iowa that I will not accept money from corporations, PACs, or special interest groups. Big money in politics is the root of the common person’s problems, and I refuse to be a party to it. I will not be bought, and vow to listen to and serve the people of Iowa.
I am an idealist, and that will never change.- Iowa’s minimum wage has not risen since 2009, when the federal minimum wage was increased to $7.25. In the ensuing period we have seen prices of everyday goods and necessities increase in the United States and in Iowa. Housing costs have far outpaced inflation. Groceries have gone up 18% since 2021. The average American cannot afford the average car. There is no place in the United States that a person can survive working full-time on a minimum wage job, and this includes Iowa. What are we to do? Well, we need to raise the minimum wage, rollback legislation that preempts municipalities from requiring a living wage, rollback legislation that prevents localities from experimenting universal basic income programs.
- Since the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health decision, many states have begun to rollback and eliminate a woman’s right to choose to devastating effects to many women’s lives. Iowa has been no exception, where there is currently a 6-week abortion ban, with Republicans pushing to outlaw abortion in total. If elected, I pledge to rollback these draconian bans on a woman’s right to choose something that had been the law of the land since Roe v. Wade. These bans have only taken us backwards, and we need to be taking society forwards.
- First, there was Gov. Reynolds’ voucher program. Many families that choose to send their children to private schools typically do not need the help to pay for the tuition. Second, by giving tuition vouchers to those parents, we are taking money from public schools, which inevitably need it. Public education serves a common good, and taking steps towards privatizing it harms that common good. The second piece of legislation that was passed, most recently, were the ill-conceived AEA reforms. The reforms are leading to budget cuts for AEAs which provide education services for a variety of special needs students. We need to work to rollback these two reforms, while maintaining the increase in wages for teachers.
Public Education - Keep it public and improve it.
Women's Reproductive Freedom - Let those very important decisions remain between a woman and her doctor.
Protect Labor Unions
Legalize Recreational Marijuana - Keep those tax dollars in Iowa and use them for good.
My mentor in graduate school, Dr. John Murphy.
Both of them were activists, have an unflinching belief in the good of humanity, and have taught me a lot.
Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Theodore Roosevelt.
Inequality for All by Robert Reich (film)
I am an idealist.
I care. I really do. It is the only reason I am running. I believe we are in this life together, and we make society better by helping those with less.
2. Climate Change: we are seeing the effects now, yet no one is doing anything about it. Those most impacted, farmers, know this, yet government has done nothing.
No, because sometimes they become detached from the people they are elected by and begin to ignore them.
Mental health was not on my radar when I started this campaign, but after talking with the sheriffs, it is something I will work on if elected.
I also like the story of Paliacci: A man goes to a doctor and says "Doctor, I am so sad. I am distraught and in pain. My heart hurts, please help me." The doctor responds "I have the perfect prescription for you. the great Paliacci is in town, you need to go see his show.." The man breaks down crying even more and says "...but I am Paliacci."
2nd: Repeal the 6-week abortion ban. That will depend on who else gets elected to the legislature.
American Center for Freethought Equality
Planned Parenthood of Iowa
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
See also
2024 Elections
External links
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Candidate Iowa House of Representatives District 9 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on October 15, 2024
- ↑ Sun Sentinel, "He-Man to compete in state Senate race," May 31, 2017
- ↑ Florida Department of State, Florida Election Watch," accessed July 25, 2017
- ↑ Florida Politics, "Jose Felix Diaz defeats Alex Diaz de la Portilla, will face Annette Taddeo in general election," July 25, 2017
- ↑ Florida Department of State, "Notice of Special Election for the Office of State Senate, District 40," accessed May 10, 2017
- ↑ SaintPetersBlog, "Jose Felix Diaz, six others qualify to run in SD 40 special election," May 31, 2017
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
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