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Campaign Almanac: Democrat Wade Dooley launches campaign for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture
Also, Sioux City Republican running for Congress secures the endorsement of former Gov. Terry Branstad
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Sixth-generation farmer Wade Dooley of central Iowa announced he is seeking the Democratic nomination for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture in 2026.
Dooley, who owns a crop management business and operates his family’s farm northwest of Marshalltown, says he is running to refocus the Iowa Department of Agriculture on listening to the needs of farmers and communities over “the priorities of big business and political insiders.”
“We have so much potential here in Iowa — we have the best soils, the most innovative people, and some of the most advanced technology on the planet. We have communities that, with a little support, could flourish and grow. We have water systems that, with care and effort, can be clean, safe, and fun for all,” Dooley said in a statement Tuesday. “Instead of helping our communities grow and family farms succeed, leadership in Des Moines has been more concerned with helping big businesses and political insiders who are doing just fine.”
Over the past decade, Dooley has focused on implementing sustainable practices on his family’s farm, including no-till farming and oxbow restoration along the Iowa River.
His announcement comes a day after clean water advocate and author Chris Jones announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination in the race. Republican Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig, a former Monsanto lobbyist, is seeking a third term after first being elected in 2018.
The primary election is June 2.
McGowan touts Branstad endorsement
Chris McGowan, a Republican candidate for Iowa’s 4th Congressional District, announced Monday he has secured the endorsement of former GOP Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad.
"As a senior in high school, Chris McGowan stepped into my office for the very first time to promote National 4-H Week. Since that time, we have worked together on numerous initiatives and economic development projects," Branstad said in a statement.
McGowan, 59, president of the Siouxland Chamber of Commerce, is competing with three other Republicans for the nomination. He said he was "honored and humbled" to have the support of the "longest serving governor in American history."
Former Iowa House Majority Leader Matt Windschitl of Missouri Valley, Iowa Tea Party founder Ryan Rhodes of Ames and software consultant Christian Schlaefer of Lakota are also seeking the Republican nomination for the 4th District seat held by U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra, who is running for governor this year.
Former state Rep. Dave Dawson of Lawton, Storm Lake stay-at-home mom and former education assistant Ashley WolfTornabane, and Sutherland nurse Stephanie Steiner are running as Democrats.
Independent candidate Dave Bushaw rolls out policy platform
Independent congressional candidate Dave Bushaw on Tuesday released his first comprehensive set of policy proposals and legislative priorities, centering his 2026 bid for Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District on sweeping changes to health care, worker protections and government accountability.
Bushaw, a musician and farmland owner from Fayette County, is seeking to enter a crowded and competitive race to succeed Republican U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson, of Marion, who is running for U.S. Senate. Three Republicans and five Democrats are pursuing their parties’ nominations in the district, which spans much of northeast Iowa.
Bushaw’s most far-reaching proposal calls for eliminating private health insurance premiums, co-pays and deductibles and replacing them with a payroll tax to fund a universal, publicly administered health care system.
“They say the only things guaranteed are death and taxes,” Bushaw said in a statement. “In the richest country on earth, we can guarantee a little bit more than that for our hardworking people.”
Bushaw frames premiums, co-payments and deductibles as “private taxes” imposed by for-profit insurers, arguing they leave tens of millions of Americans uninsured or underinsured. He notes Americans spend about $13,000 per person annually on health care, despite lagging outcomes compared with other developed nations. In Iowa, he said, more than 150,000 residents lack health coverage.
Under his plan, Bushaw supports a single-payer “Medicare for All” system administered through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, endorsing the approach championed by U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders.
In addition to health care, Bushaw is proposing a package of labor reforms aimed at strengthening worker protections. His platform calls for stiffer penalties for employers who violate labor laws, closing loopholes that allow worker misclassification, extending federal labor protections to farmworkers and ending “right to work” laws. He also backs expanding early childhood education and child care through existing pre-K and Head Start programs.
Bushaw’s government reform agenda includes banning stock trading by members of Congress, creating a national system of citizen-initiated ballot referendums and conducting a federal audit of COVID-19 relief spending.
He is calling for an independent investigation into roughly $350 billion distributed through the American Rescue Plan Act’s State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund, along with legal consequences for officials found to have misused the money. Bushaw said he previously worked on community efforts in Iowa that challenged local uses of pandemic relief funds.
“Too many elected officials in Iowa and across the country took taxpayer money meant for frontline workers and emergency response systems and redirected it toward pet projects that had nothing to do with pandemic recovery,” he said.
Bushaw announced his campaign in November and says his policy agenda is shaped by more than a decade of community and political organizing.
Republicans seeking their party’s nomination in the 2nd District are state Rep. Shannon Lundgren of Peosta, former state lawmaker and Trump administration appointee Joe Mitchell of Clear Lake and state Sen. Charlie McClintock of Alburnett. Democrats in the race are state Rep. Lindsay James of Dubuque, former nursing dean Kathy Dolter of Asbury, Cedar Rapids nonprofit co-founder Clint Twedt-Ball, Boone hotel manager Guy Morgan and former state park manager Don Primus of Steamboat Rock.
Gazette-Lee Des Moines Bureau
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