Campaigns & Elections

Republican Party of Iowa Chairman Jeff Kaufmann kicked off a party fundraiser Friday by stressing to the crowd that Rob Sand, the Iowa State Auditor and only statewide elected Democrat, is “running away from his left-wing views” as he runs for governor in the 2026 election, which is more than 15 months away.

Iowa State Auditor Rob Sand, who’s running for Iowa governor in 2026, participated in his first day of RAGBRAI on Thursday, riding from Iowa Falls to Cedar Falls with Team Spare Tire out of the Iowa City/Coralville area. Once the ride was complete, Sand met with Cedar Falls Mayor Danny Laudick for a short tour of downtown.

Also in the notebook, another Republican has announced his candidacy for Congress in Western Iowa’s 4th District

Iowa state Rep. J.D. Scholten, a Democrat running for U.S. Senate, described himself as a “baseball-playing, monopoly-busting, beer-drinking, Bible-reading, working-class proud prairie populist from Sioux City, Iowa, and a sixth generation Iowan” when he spoke with dozens of people who turned out for a Cedar Rapids campaign event Tuesday evening.

Clint Twedt-Ball, who stepped down this summer after nearly 20 years at the helm of the nonprofit Matthew 25, launched a campaign Tuesday for the U.S. House seat currently held by Iowa Republican U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson.

Scott Jennings, a national conservative commentator and Republican political strategist, will headline Iowa Republican U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson’s fifth annual “BBQ Bash” campaign fundraiser Aug. 23 at Hawkeye Downs Speedway in Cedar Rapids.

As the headlining speaker of the Republican Party of Iowa’s Lincoln Dinner, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin told a crowd of more than 200 people how he became Virginia’s first statewide-elected Republican in 12 years and how Republicans can gain more ground in traditionally blue states.

Iowa City voters will elect three council members in November: two at-large seats and a representative of District B, which includes the east side of Iowa City.

Iowa Republican incumbents have outpaced their Democratic challengers in fundraising, according to recent campaign finance reports, as they gear up for competitive races and push to protect their narrow U.S. House majority.

Campaign fundraising from April through June in Iowa’s 2026 U.S. Senate election was competitive between some of the top candidates, according to new federal campaign reports filed Tuesday. But Republican incumbent U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst holds a hefty financial advantage over all challengers — should she choose to run for re-election.

A retired Army nurse and former dean of nursing at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids has filed paperwork to run as a Democrat to challenge Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson for Northeast Iowa's U.S. House seat in 2026.

Iowa state Rep. Lindsay James, a Democrat from Dubuque, said she is “seriously considering” launching a campaign to seek her party’s nomination to challenge Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson for Northeast Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District seat.