Articles Tagged: Election 2026

Candidates for governor, U.S. Senate and more are participating in the state’s time-honored tradition of greeting Iowans at the State Fair.

Jackie Norris, a Des Moines school board member and former chief of staff to Michelle Obama, becomes the fourth Democrat running in Iowa’s 2026 U.S. Senate election.

Iowa Democratic U.S. Senate candidate J.D. Scholten held a campaign event Monday at a central Iowa farm to highlight his federal agriculture policy proposals.

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

This week on the podcast, more on the deportation of an Eastern Iowa man, what happened at the Family Leader’s annual event, and another batch of new Congressional candidates.

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.

The 2026 elections were top of mind during the annual Family Leadership Summit Friday as speakers and conservative lawmakers stressed the importance of electing pro-life candidates to office and commending President Donald Trump for his actions during the first few months of his second term.

“While the encouragement and momentum have been phenomenal, the fundraising simply hasn’t reached the level necessary to run a competitive campaign at this time.”

Also, new congressional candidate Taylor Wettach announces his early fundraising figures

A handful of Iowa Republican lawmakers have announced they are backing U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra's run for governor.

Taylor Wettach will face fellow Democrat Christina Bohannan in Eastern Iowa’s District 1 primary election next year.

Matt Windschitl, the Iowa House Majority Leader and a lawmaker since 2007, is running in what may be an open seat race, as GOP incumbent Randy Feenstra is considering a gubernatorial bid.

Two months after launching his bid to try to unseat Iowa Republican U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson, former U.S. Attorney Kevin Techau of Cedar Rapids announced Monday he is suspending his congressional campaign, citing poor fundraising.

This week on the podcast, Donald Trump returns to Iowa, Rob Sand is going on tour, and a Western Iowa Republican primary field grows. Listen for a recap in this week in Iowa politics.