KEOTA — Grant D. Hill, a Keota resident, nonprofit director and registered sex offender with a felony theft conviction, has announced his candidacy for Iowa House District 88 as a Republican.
Hill, 28, says his personal experiences with the criminal justice system have shaped his campaign’s focus on second chances, personal accountability and community empowerment.
Hill is the founder of 1 Love Legacy, a nonprofit that promotes rehabilitation and self-improvement. His 22-point platform includes proposals to expand healthcare access, protect Iowa seniors, cap property tax increases on family farms passed to the next generation, and increase mental health resources.
“Iowa’s seniors, working families, and rural communities deserve better — not more bureaucracy,” Hill said in a campaign news release. “We need transparent government, affordable care, and common-sense protections for those who built this state.”
Hill openly acknowledged his criminal history, which includes a felony theft conviction in 2017 and two misdemeanor sex offenses in 2021. He is currently listed on Iowa’s sex offender registry.
In 2021, Hill was charged with third-degree sexual abuse in Johnson County. The charge was reduced to assault with intent to commit sexual abuse following a guilty plea. The incident occurred while Hill was general manager of an Iowa City business, and police said he touched the genitals of a person he was training.
Earlier that same year, he was charged with indecent exposure after police said he exposed himself to a 13-year-old at a fitness gym in Iowa City. He entered an Alford plea in that case, maintaining his innocence while acknowledging sufficient evidence existed for a conviction.
The theft conviction stems from a 2018 incident in Tama County involving stolen merchandise from a Dollar General store. Court records show Hill has paid more than $13,300, including $1,038 in restitution, and remains on a monthly payment plan with a balance of $507.25 in court costs.
He served about two years and nine months in prison.
“I’ve made mistakes,” Hill said. “But I’ve also done the work — in treatment, in community service, and through faith — to grow. My past doesn’t define me. It drives me.”
Hill made international headlines earlier this year after he filed to run for the U.S. House race against Rep. Marianette Miller-Meeks, when British tabloid Daily Mail ran a story calling him a “rising star” that included details of his criminal past. Soon after the story published, Hill told the Southeast Iowa Union that the filing was a mistake and he had intended to file for the statehouse seat.
The Iowa House District 88 election is slated for November 2026, with primaries set for June 2026. The seat is currently held by Republican Helena Hayes of Mahaska County, who has not yet announced whether she will seek re-election.
The seat covers all of Keokuk County, the northern portion of Jefferson County but not including the city of Fairfield, and eastern Mahaska County that includes the city of Oskaloosa.