--- title: Zach Wahls Is Running for Office in Iowa description: The 26-year-old went viral years ago for defending his two mothers and same-sex marriage. canonical: https://time.com/5079852/zach-wahls-moms-running-office/ author: Alana Abramson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-12-27T00:25:44.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T18:41:04.597Z article:section: Politics og:title: Son Who Went Viral Defending His 2 Moms Is Running for Office og:description: Zach Wahls announced his candidacy the day of his mothers' 21st anniversary og:url: https://time.com/5079852/zach-wahls-moms-running-office/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6ba36f7946e39600/6988f68ccf40a8a969c4ac1a/zachwahls.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Family Equality Council's Night At The Pier Gala og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Son Who Went Viral Defending His 2 Moms Is Running for Office twitter:description: Zach Wahls announced his candidacy the day of his mothers' 21st anniversary twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6ba36f7946e39600/6988f68ccf40a8a969c4ac1a/zachwahls.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Son Who Defend His 2 Moms in Viral YouTube Video Is Running for Office  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Dec 27, 2017 12:25 AM UTC  Zach Wahls, Executive director Jennifer Chrisler, Hostetter-Habib Family Award winner Mary T. Keane, and Event chair Nick Scandalios attend the Family Equality Concil's Night at Pier 60 on April 25, 2011 in New York City. (Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images) Zach Wahls, Executive director Jennifer Chrisler, Hostetter-Habib Family Award winner Mary T. Keane, and Event chair Nick Scandalios attend the Family Equality Concil's Night at Pier 60 on April 25, 2011 in New York City. (Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images)Cindy Ord—Getty Images  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Dec 27, 2017 12:25 AM UTC The man who went viral six years ago for his impassioned defense of his two mothers and same-sex marriage is launching his own political career in his native Iowa. [Zach Wahls](http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/12/02/iowa-teens-gay-marriage-speech-leads-to-social-media-celebrity/), 26, announced last week that he was running as a Democratic candidate for Iowa’s 37th State Senate District in 2018. “This is an all-hands-on-deck moment that will determine the future of our state for generations to come, and I feel responsible for doing my part. Our state has a choice to make,” Wahls explained in his [announcement speech](https://www.zachwahlsforiowa.com/announcement-speech-full-text/) of his decision. The incumbent, Democrat Bob Dvorsky, had announced last summer he would forego reelection. Wahls gained [national notoriety](http://healthland.time.com/2011/12/19/love-makes-a-family-what-christmas-cards-and-gay-marriage-have-in-common/) in 2011 when he spoke about his two mothers in front of the Iowa legislature about a resolution designed to end civil unions. “Our family really isn’t so different from any other Iowa family,” he said at the time. “We just hope for equal and fair treatment from our government … the sexual orientation of my parents has had zero effect on the content of my character.” In 2012, he [published](http://healthland.time.com/2012/04/26/my-two-moms-why-zach-wahls-used-to-wish-he-didnt-have-lesbian-parents/), _My Two Moms: Lessons of Love, Strength and What Makes a Family.”_ “When the video of my speech took off, I was reminded that my family was not alone,” Wahls said in his announcement of the viral attention his 2011 speech gained. Wahls noted that the day he had picked to announce his candidacy was also the day of his mothers’ twenty first anniversary. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5079852/zach-wahls-moms-running-office/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5079852/zach-wahls-moms-running-office/"},"headline":"Son Who Defend His 2 Moms in Viral YouTube Video Is Running for Office","datePublished":"2017-12-27T00:25:44.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T18:41:04.597Z","description":"Zach Wahls, 26, is running for Iowa State Senate","url":"https://time.com/5079852/zach-wahls-moms-running-office/","keywords":["2018 Elections","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6ba36f7946e39600/6988f68ccf40a8a969c4ac1a/zachwahls.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alana Abramson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6ba36f7946e39600/6988f68ccf40a8a969c4ac1a/zachwahls.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Family Equality Council's Night At The Pier Gala","caption":"Family Equality Council's Night At The Pier Gala","creditText":"Cindy Ord—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/2018-elections/","name":"2018 Elections"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5079852/zach-wahls-moms-running-office/","name":"Son Who Defend His 2 Moms in Viral YouTube Video Is Running for Office"}}]}] ```