Articles Tagged: Election 2026

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds’ announcement that she will not seek another term in office creates an open seat for the 2026 election. It’s been nearly two decades since Iowa had a gubernatorial election without an incumbent. Here’s who is — and isn’t — running for the office.

Steen, a former state agency head, laid out top policy positions Monday during a meeting of the Warren County Republicans

Iowa U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst’s announcement that she will not seek a third term in office creates an open seat for the 2026 election. Not since 2014 — and only four times in nearly six decades — has a U.S. Senate election in Iowa been without an incumbent. Here’s who is — and isn’t — running for the seat.

Turek, a former Paralympic athlete, is one of five Democrats seeking the party’s nomination in Iowa’s 2026 U.S. Senate election.

Mitchell, a 28-year-old property developer from Clear Lake, becomes the second Republican to officially declare a campaign in Eastern Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District, which became an open-seat election last week when Republican incumbent Ashley Hinson announced her intention to run for the U.S. Senate.

Friday evening — just days after she entered the race for Iowa’s U.S. Senate seat — Iowa U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson received the endorsement of President Donald Trump.

Iowa U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson launched her bid for the U.S. Senate on Friday with a hometown rally in West Des Moines, kicking off a 99-county tour she says will mirror the storied grassroots tradition of Iowa GOP U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley while Republicans — including President Donald Trump — swiftly rally behind her campaign.

At a town hall Thursday, Democratic State Auditor Rob Sand was pressed to define how he would protect transgender Iowans’ rights — drawing the sharpest exchanges of the evening and setting the tone for a wide-ranging discussion on water quality, education, school vouchers, mental health and child care.

Iowa will now have open-seat elections for governor and the U.S. Senate for the first time in nearly six decades, and half of the state’s federal delegation likely will feature new representation after the 2026 elections.

How does Joni Ernst’s decision to not seek reelection impact Iowa’s 2026 elections?

Iowa state Sen. Charlie McClintock announced Thursday he will run for the open 2nd Congressional District seat in northeast Iowa, setting up what is expected to be a crowded Republican primary.

Also, state legislator Dave Jacoby endorses Zach Wahls in Democratic U.S. Senate race

U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, an Iraq War combat veteran and Iowa’s first woman elected to Congress, is expected to announce next month she will not seek reelection, leaving another hole in an Iowa seat that could have ripple effects down the ballot as Democrats look to the state for pickup opportunities.

This week on the podcast: Catelin Drey wins Western Iowa special election. Plus, highlights from Ashley Hinson’s annual fundraiser and Bernie Sanders in the Quad Cities.

Also in the notebook, a union group endorses Democratic Iowa attorney general candidate Nate Willems