As the state Legislature is set to tackle some potentially contentious issues in the 2026 legislative session, Iowa Republican leaders emphasized “unity” as they gathered for the GOP legislative breakfast Monday before gaveling in.
There have been multiple leadership changes leading into the session that could shift dynamics in the Legislature. Iowa Senate Majority Leader Mike Klimesh and House Majority Leader Bobby Kaufmann are both serving their first session in their new positions. This year will also mark the final session with Gov. Kim Reynolds at the helm, as she will not run for another term as governor.
As Reynolds addressed the crowd, she emphasized the Republican Party was a family, comparing various lawmakers and leaders to characters you might meet at a reunion. As she approached her final session, the governor said Republicans’ accomplishments during her time in office came to be “because we came together.”
“Now we’re back, and we’re ready for what’s next: property tax relief, smaller government, smarter government, stronger and healthier communities, and a whole lot of work that really matters for Iowa families,” Reynolds said.
Reynolds will announce her agenda and budget proposals in her Condition of the State message at 6 p.m. Tuesday.
Despite several leadership changes, several issues brought up in previous legislative sessions are expected to dominate at least early conversations at the Capitol. The use of eminent domain in carbon capture pipeline projects as well as lowering property taxes are both expected to be top issues lawmakers hope to address this year, issues that divided lawmakers and the governor in 2025.
The Iowa Senate sent a measure related to pipelines to the governor that was vetoed, while a property tax measure lead by Kaufmann, then House Ways and Means Committee chair, and Sen. Dan Dawson who heads the Senate Ways and Means Committee, went through multiple iterations but did not make it to a floor vote.
The issue of eminent domain has particularly caused friction between members of the Republican Party, showcased most prominently in the Iowa Senate when a group of GOP senators said they would not advance the state budget and allow session to end until a bill related to pipelines was voted on. While Klimesh has said he plans to introduce legislation early in session related to pipeline projects, it is unclear if this measure will advance through either chamber.
House Speaker Pat Grassley said Iowans should know that although GOP lawmakers will not agree on every single issue, the trifecta remains “unified” on most issues.
“I think the Democrats think that they have an opportunity here, because I think they see how [Republicans] do not all agree on every issue,” Grassley said. “Well, quite frankly, we shouldn’t agree on every single issue. That’s — we are not the Democrat Party, who are told how, what you’re going to do, and if you don’t, you’re ostracized. But as a group, we’ve worked so well together to move this state forward and stay unified.”
Property taxes and eminent domain will not be the only issues lawmakers address in the coming months — statewide elected officials have introduced several measures they hope the legislature will consider, and other issues like DOGE task force recommendations are expected to come up in legislation this year.
The session will also be held ahead of the 2026 primaries and general election season. Iowa will have multiple high-profile positions with open seats on the ballot, including in the races for governor and U.S. Senate. Republicans at the breakfast repeatedly called for Republicans to rally against state Auditor Rob Sand, who is running as a Democratic candidate for governor, saying that his election would reverse the work done by the GOP trifecta in the past decade.
Kaufmann said Sand has presented himself as a “moderate,” but is the “most partisan auditor” in Iowa history.
“There’s nothing moderate about him,” Kaufmann said. “He will be beholden to the rabid left. … It is imperative, and it is critical, and it is important that we are all in the same family, fighting on the same team, to ensure that what we’ve been so blessed with, with the trifecta here in Iowa, we continue to maintain.”
Robin Opsahl covers the Iowa Legislature and politics for Iowa Capital Dispatch, where this story first appeared.
