County guides
- Scott CountyDavenport, Bettendorf, Eldridge, LeClaire, Blue Grass, Walcott, Buffalo, Princeton, Long Grove
- Linn CountyCedar Rapids, Marion, Hiawatha, Robins, Mount Vernon, Lisbon, Center Point, Ely, Fairfax, Palo, Springville
- Polk CountyDes Moines, West Des Moines, Ankeny, Urbandale, Johnston, Altoona, Clive, Grimes, Windsor Heights, Pleasant Hill, Bondurant, Polk City, Mitchellville, Runnells, Elkhart, Alleman, Sheldahl
- Johnson CountyIowa City, Coralville, North Liberty, Tiffin, University Heights, Solon, Swisher, Hills, Lone Tree, Oxford, Shueyville, West Branch (part)
Not listed? Ask us to cover your county, and use the races below in the meantime.
Who is running statewide in Iowa in 2026
- U.S. Senator
- Josh Turek, Ashley Hinson and Thomas Laehn
- Governor / Lieutenant Governor
- Rob Sand / Dave Muhlbauer and Zach Lahn / Derek Wulf
- Secretary of State
- Ryan Peterman and Paul D. Pate
- Attorney General
- Nate Willems and Brenna Bird
- Auditor of State
- Taylor Wettach and Chris Cournoyer
- Treasurer of State
- John Norwood and Roby Smith
- Secretary of Agriculture
- Chris Jones and Mike Naig
Statewide races
U.S. Senator
Vote for oneOpen seat: Sen. Joni Ernst is not running again.
Josh Turek
Seems like good people (best choice in this race) DemocratCalls himself a "common-sense" Democrat and won't take corporate PAC money. Wants to ban members of Congress and their spouses from trading stock, and is endorsed by Tom Harkin, the Iowa Federation of Labor and the state teachers' union.
Sources: Campaign platform, Campaign endorsements, Wikipedia
Ashley Hinson
Not good people RepublicanEndorsed by Donald Trump, and her campaign says she is "working alongside President Trump." In September 2026 a watchdog filed a House ethics complaint asking whether she used her office to help her husband's insurance trade group; her campaign says his role there was unpaid.
Sources: Wikipedia, Campaign site, Iowa Starting Line
Thomas Laehn
Not enough info LibertarianGreene County's attorney and the first Libertarian elected to a partisan office in Iowa. Says Congress has let presidents of both parties take its power, and that Republicans in Congress "are more loyal to Trump than they are to their own institution." Calls the carbon pipeline "the biggest boondoggle in the history of our state."
Sources: Bleeding Heartland, Bleeding Heartland, Campaign site, Bleeding Heartland, Ballotpedia
Governor / Lieutenant Governor
Vote for oneOpen seat: Gov. Kim Reynolds is not running again. Governor and lieutenant governor are elected together as a ticket.
Rob Sand / Dave Muhlbauer
Seems like good people (best choice in this race) DemocratAs a prosecutor he convicted the lottery insider behind the $25 million Hot Lotto fraud, and as auditor his office flagged $21 million in misused federal COVID money that the state paid back. Says he would veto "culture war" bills.
Sources: Iowa Capital Dispatch, The Gazette, Wikipedia
Zach Lahn / Derek Wulf
Not good people RepublicanEndorsed by Donald Trump, who called him "more Trump" than his primary opponent, and by Turning Point Action and former Rep. Steve King. The sheriff in Black Hawk County is investigating fraud and theft accusations against Wulf, whose farm business was put under a court-appointed manager in September 2026.
Secretary of State
Vote for oneThe secretary of state runs Iowa elections.
Ryan Peterman
Seems like good people (best choice in this race) DemocratWants voting made easier for eligible Iowans while keeping elections secure. "I'm not running to be a partisan warrior," he says. Endorsed by the Iowa Federation of Labor and VoteVets.
Sources: Campaign site, Scott County Democrats, iVoterGuide
Paul D. Pate
Compromised RepublicanBrought in online voter registration in 2016 and wrote Iowa's voter ID law. Days before the 2024 election he told county auditors to challenge the ballots of 2,176 people flagged as possible noncitizens, though he agreed most of them were likely citizens.
Sources: Wikipedia, Campaign site, KCRG
Attorney General
Vote for oneNate Willems
Seems like good people (best choice in this race) DemocratWon a settlement of about $15 million for hospital and clinic workers, and wants the office's first wage enforcement unit. Endorsed by former Attorney General Tom Miller, the Iowa Federation of Labor and the Sierra Club.
Sources: Campaign site, Iowa Podcast, Wikipedia
Brenna Bird
Not good people RepublicanEndorsed by Donald Trump in September 2026. In April 2023 her office stopped the state's practice of paying for emergency contraception for rape victims.
Sources: Iowa Starting Line, Wikipedia
Auditor of State
Vote for oneOpen seat: Auditor Rob Sand is running for governor.
Taylor Wettach
Seems like good people (best choice in this race) DemocratRunning on rooting out waste and fraud. Says his federal job was cut by DOGE and that Trump went after his law firm. Endorsed by former Gov. Tom Vilsack and former Attorney General Tom Miller.
Sources: Campaign site, Daily Iowan
Chris Cournoyer
Compromised RepublicanAs a senator she voted for the 2023 law that took away the auditor's power to go to court when state agencies refuse to hand over records, the job she now wants.
Sources: Iowa Public Radio, Wikipedia
Treasurer of State
Vote for oneJohn Norwood
Seems like good people (best choice in this race) DemocratHis first priority is protecting IPERS, the public employees' pension fund, from privatization. Also running on paying down debt and returning unclaimed money to Iowans.
Sources: Iowa Public Radio, Campaign site
Roby Smith
Compromised RepublicanSays the state's pooled money fund has earned more than $1 billion since he took office. In the Senate he sponsored the 2021 law that cut early voting from 29 days to 20 and closed the polls an hour earlier.
Sources: Iowa Treasurer, Iowa Capital Dispatch, American Oversight
Secretary of Agriculture
Vote for oneChris Jones
Seems like good people (best choice in this race) DemocratCalls Iowa's water quality the "biggest failure of our state government in the history of the state" and wants tighter rules on large livestock operations. Wrote The Swine Republic, a 2025 book on farming and water.
Sources: Iowa Public Radio, Iowa PBS
Mike Naig
Compromised RepublicanBacked by the Iowa Farm Bureau and corn growers' PACs, the industry his office oversees. Funds voluntary cover crop and runoff programs but opposes new water quality rules, saying they would hurt small and mid-sized farms.
Sources: Iowa Public Radio, Iowa Farm Bureau, Iowa Corn
Constitutional amendment and judicial retention
PropositionsWe describe these and don't make recommendations.
- Amendment 1, income tax increases: Requires a two-thirds vote of each house of the Legislature to raise the individual or corporate income tax rate or create a new state tax on income. Local option taxes are exempt, and any lawsuit claiming a tax bill wasn't passed properly must be filed within a year. A yes vote adds that rule; a no vote leaves tax increases at a simple majority.
- Judicial retention: Yes or no on keeping Court of Appeals Judges Sharon Soorholtz Greer, John M. Sandy and Julie A. Schumacher. No Supreme Court justices are up this year. District judges on your ballot vary by county. We haven't profiled judges yet.