Who is running in Johnson County, Iowa in 2026
- Board of Supervisors, District 1
- Lisa Green-Douglass and Greg Erceg
- Board of Supervisors, District 2
- Jon Green and Phil Hemingway
- Board of Supervisors, District 3
- Sue Dvorsky and Jennie Wunderlich
- Board of Supervisors, District 4
- V Fixmer-Oraiz and Wanda Foster
- Board of Supervisors, District 5
- Mandi Remington and Donna Dane
- 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
- U.S. Representative, District 1
- Christina Bohannan, Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Michael Bridgford
- Iowa House District 89
- Elinor A. Levin and Daniel Arch
- Iowa House District 91
- Mark Divitt and Judd Lawler
- Iowa House District 92
- Brittany Erickson and Heather Hora
Johnson County
Supervisor and county office races in Iowa are partisan. A 2025 state law forced Johnson County to elect supervisors by district instead of countywide, so all five seats are up this year and you vote only in your own district. Districts 2, 3 and 4 are two-year terms this time; Districts 1 and 5 are four-year terms. Iowa City, Coralville, North Liberty and the school boards elect in odd years, so there are no city council or school board races this fall.
Board of Supervisors, District 1
Vote for oneFour-year term. Covers North Liberty, Swisher, Oxford and rural northwest Johnson County. Green-Douglass beat David Woodruff with 57% in the June Democratic primary.
Lisa Green-Douglass
Seems like good people (best choice in this race) DemocratWorked on the committees that created GuideLink Center, a place for people in a mental health crisis, and serves on its advisory board. Opposes hiring a county manager, saying an unelected manager has "no accountability to the residents," and backs the jail bond.
Sources: Campaign site, Greater Iowa City questionnaire, The Gazette
Greg Erceg
Not enough info RepublicanSays the board has "spent foolishly" on things like public art and wants supervisors to "stay in their lane." Opposes a county manager. We found no record or endorsements to judge him on.
Sources: Greater Iowa City questionnaire, Ballot Brief
Board of Supervisors, District 2
Vote for oneTwo-year term. Covers eastern Johnson County, including Solon, Hills, Lone Tree, West Branch and part of eastern Iowa City. Green won a three-way June primary with 49%.
Jon Green
Seems like good people (best choice in this race) DemocratIn September 2025 he refused Gov. Kim Reynolds's order to lower county flags for Charlie Kirk, saying he condemned the killing but wouldn't honor a man who denigrated his constituents; he had lowered them for murdered Minnesota lawmaker Melissa Hortman. Pushes county bonding for affordable housing and backs the jail bond.
Sources: Little Village, Gazette questionnaire, The Gazette
Phil Hemingway
Not enough info RepublicanRuns as a "financial watchdog" with a rural voice, and opposes a county manager. Has run for the board several times, including a 2021 special election he lost to Green. We found no endorsements to judge him on.
Sources: Greater Iowa City questionnaire, Press-Citizen (2022)
Board of Supervisors, District 3
Vote for oneTwo-year term. Open seat; neither candidate has held county office.
Sue Dvorsky
Seems like good people (best choice in this race) DemocratSays supervisors should represent their district's views "rather than their personal viewpoint" and wants to explore a county manager, which she says could be paid for by restructuring supervisor salaries. Gives the jail bond an "unqualified YES."
Sources: Gazette questionnaire, Greater Iowa City questionnaire
Jennie Wunderlich
Not enough info RepublicanGrew up in Iowa City and runs on "core services," faster permits and lower costs. Open to a county manager if it costs no more. We found no record or endorsements to judge her on.
Sources: Campaign site, Greater Iowa City questionnaire
Board of Supervisors, District 4
Vote for oneTwo-year term. The north side of Iowa City, the only district entirely inside one city. Fixmer-Oraiz beat fellow Supervisor Rod Sullivan, on the board since 2004, with 56% in the June primary. Foster was nominated after the primary.
V Fixmer-Oraiz
Seems like good people (best choice in this race) DemocratWants county money for immigrant-led groups and wider human rights protections. Voted against county funding for a school resource officer, and on the jail bond tried to add about $30 million in interest to the ballot language, saying the price was "not the true cost."
Sources: The Gazette, Greater Iowa City questionnaire, CBS2 Iowa
Wanda Foster
Not enough info RepublicanWe found no campaign site, platform or record.
Sources: Ballot Brief
Board of Supervisors, District 5
Vote for oneFour-year term. University Heights and parts of west and south Iowa City. Remington beat Joe Reilly with 61% in the June primary. Dane was nominated after the primary.
Mandi Remington
Seems like good people (best choice in this race) DemocratBrought police, county government and nonprofits together to start a field mediation pilot program. Names housing as her top economic issue and wants any county manager plan weighed carefully so residents can still reach their supervisors.
Sources: Greater Iowa City questionnaire, The Gazette
Donna Dane
Not enough info RepublicanWe found no campaign site, platform or record.
Sources: Ballot Brief
Unopposed county races
No contestCounty Treasurer (Scott Finlayson, Democrat), County Recorder (Kim Painter, Democrat) and County Attorney (Rachel Zimmermann Smith, Democrat). The Agricultural Extension Council (five candidates for five seats) is also uncontested.
Soil and water commissioners and township offices
Not profiledNonpartisan Soil and Water Commission, vote for two: Corey Johnson, Alexander Schmidt and Travis Spevacek. Rural townships also elect trustees and clerks; your sample ballot lists yours. We haven't profiled these candidates.
District judges (retention)
Not profiledYes or no on keeping District Judges Angie Johnston, Casey D. Jones and Kristin Schneider, and District Associate Judges Jason D. Besler, Mark David Fisher and Michael John Harris. We haven't profiled judges yet. The Court of Appeals judges on every Iowa ballot are in the State and federal section.
State and federal
All of Johnson County is in the 1st Congressional District. Iowa Senate Districts 43 and 45 are on the ballot here, both unopposed; voters in Senate District 46 have no Senate race this year. Johnson County is split among Iowa House Districts 85, 86, 89, 90, 91 and 92. Check your sample ballot for your districts.
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.
U.S. Representative, District 1
Vote for oneAll of Johnson County is in this district. The third Bohannan and Miller-Meeks matchup; Miller-Meeks won in 2024 by under 1,000 votes. Bridgford seems decent, but Bohannan is closer to our side and has the better chance.
Christina Bohannan
Seems like good people (best choice in this race) DemocratWants a ban on stock trading by members of Congress, plus term and age limits. Endorsed by the UAW, the League of Conservation Voters and Planned Parenthood Action Fund.
Sources: Wikipedia, Campaign news
Mariannette Miller-Meeks
Not good people RepublicanRunning with what House Republicans' campaign arm calls Trump's "full and complete endorsement," which helped her beat a primary challenger. Also endorsed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Sources: NRCC, Ballotpedia, Quad-City Times
Michael Bridgford
Seems like good people IndependentRunning on term limits and a congressional stock trading ban, and criticized immigration enforcement that rounds up longtime residents. Endorsed by the Forward Party.
Sources: Iowa Public Radio, Forward Party
Iowa House District 89
Vote for oneSouthern Iowa City and nearby parts of central Johnson County.
Elinor A. Levin
Seems like good people (best choice in this race) DemocratRanking Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee; opposes using eminent domain for CO2 pipelines. Endorsed by the Interfaith Alliance of Iowa Action Fund and the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund.
Sources: Wikipedia, Interfaith Alliance of Iowa, Victory Fund
Daniel Arch
Not enough info IndependentWe found no campaign site, platform or record.
Sources: Ballot Brief
Iowa House District 91
Vote for oneAll of Iowa County plus northern and western Johnson County, including Tiffin, Oxford, Swisher and rural Solon.
Mark Divitt
Seems like good people (best choice in this race) DemocratOrganizes with Save Morgan Valley against a proposed large power plant. Wants full funding for water quality monitoring, public schools ahead of private school vouchers, and an 18-month pause on big AI data centers until ratepayer and water protections are law.
Sources: Campaign site, Ballot Brief
Judd Lawler
Compromised RepublicanEndorsed by the NRA, which grades him A, and by Americans for Prosperity-Iowa. Vice chair of the House Judiciary Committee; was a stay-at-home dad before winning the seat in 2024.
Sources: NRA-PVF, Americans for Prosperity, Wikipedia
Iowa House District 92
Vote for oneAll of Washington County plus southern and western Johnson County, including Lone Tree and Hills. We found too little on Erickson to rate her, so the pick goes to the Democrat.
Brittany Erickson
Not enough info (best choice in this race) DemocratSays cancer rates, chronic illness and rising property taxes are what worry voters in the district. We found no campaign site, record or endorsements.
Sources: Ballot Brief
Heather Hora
Compromised RepublicanEndorsed by the NRA, which grades her A, and by Americans for Prosperity-Iowa. Points to the flat 3.8% income tax and state aid for families choosing private schools among the laws she's proudest of.
Sources: NRA-PVF, Americans for Prosperity, Southeast Iowa Union, Wikipedia
Unopposed legislative seats
No contestIowa Senate District 43 (Meghann Foster) and District 45 (Janice Weiner); Iowa House District 85 (Amy Nielsen), 86 (Dave Jacoby) and 90 (Adam Zabner). All Democrats.
Local measures
We describe what each measure does and don't make recommendations. The jail and Kirkwood bonds are on every Johnson County ballot; the others only where they apply. The statewide constitutional amendment is in the State and federal section.
Johnson County, Public Measure LY (jail bond)
PropositionsUp to $94.5 million in general obligation bonds to buy land for and build a new sheriff's office and jail, planned at about 120 beds. Supervisors put it on the ballot 3 to 2 in August. Sheriff Brad Kunkel says the county pays about $40,000 a month to house inmates elsewhere; critics say the jail population is falling, and Supervisor V Fixmer-Oraiz says the price leaves out about $30 million in interest. KCRG estimates about $176 a year in property tax on a home with a $200,000 taxable value. Needs 60% yes to pass. Full text; KCRG; CBS2.
Kirkwood Community College, Public Measure NC
PropositionsUp to $88 million in general obligation bonds, repaid from property taxes across Kirkwood's 18-county district, to renovate and equip buildings with a focus on health sciences, industrial technology, agricultural sciences, and business and IT. Bond questions in Iowa need 60% yes to pass. Full text.
City of Hills, Public Measure LZ
PropositionsUp to $5.1 million in general obligation bonds to build and equip a municipal building that would house the fire department and city hall. Only Hills voters see it. Needs 60% yes. Full text.
Lone Tree Community School District, Public Measure MA
PropositionsUp to $6.9 million in general obligation bonds to remodel and repair the school building for energy efficiency, including heating and cooling, mechanical, electrical and site work. Only Lone Tree district voters see it. Needs 60% yes. Full text.
Mid-Prairie Community School District, Public Measure VF
PropositionsUp to $19 million in general obligation bonds for a high school addition with a new events entrance, auditorium and fine arts classrooms, plus renovated special education and general classrooms. Only Mid-Prairie district voters, in southwestern Johnson County, see it. Needs 60% yes. Full text.
More Iowa guides
Governor, statewide offices and ballot measures: Iowa statewide races.
- Scott County: Davenport, Bettendorf, Eldridge, LeClaire, Blue Grass, Walcott, Buffalo, Princeton, Long Grove
- Linn County: Cedar Rapids, Marion, Hiawatha, Robins, Mount Vernon, Lisbon, Center Point, Ely, Fairfax, Palo, Springville
- Polk County: Des Moines, West Des Moines, Ankeny, Urbandale, Johnston, Altoona, Clive, Grimes, Windsor Heights, Pleasant Hill, Bondurant, Polk City, Mitchellville, Runnells, Elkhart, Alleman, Sheldahl