U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is facing an ethics complaint filed by a group of former national security officials who are questioning if his August appearance at U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn’s Iowa State Fair fundraiser violated federal ethics restrictions. The Steady State, a nonpartisan organization comprised of 430 former national security, intelligence, diplomatic, military and […]
2026 Election
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‘We’re vetoing all the culture war bills’: Rob Sand brings his town hall campaign back to Johnson County
“I want to start with something that I think is common sense,” Rob Sand told the more than 950 people gathered in the Main Lounge of the Iowa Memorial Union (IMU) on Monday night. “Most people know it, but they don’t hear a lot of people who are running for office say it. I think […]
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‘Bullying does not work on me’: Nate Willems, Democrat for Iowa AG, defends ad after ethanol company threatens to sue
Democratic candidate for Iowa attorney general Nate Willems said Wednesday that “bullying does not work” on him and he won’t be pulling ads targeting current Attorney General Brenna Bird in relation to an Iowa pollution case. Willems’ campaign has been threatened with a lawsuit from biofuel producer POET, after the campaign released an ad criticizing […]
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Clean water candidate Chris Jones is realizing he ‘actually might win’ against Ag Sec Mike Naig, endorsed by Iowa Farm Bureau
“Back in November, I signed up to be a sacrificial lamb,” Chris Jones, the Democratic candidate for Secretary of Agriculture, told the overflow crowd at Captain Roy’s bar and restaurant in Des Moines on Sunday evening. “And then something happened — I don’t really even know what — and now it looks like we actually […]
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Bounced checks, unpaid debts, lawsuits: Lahn running mate Derek Wulf is under investigation, may lose farm, Des Moines Register reports
Derek Wulf, running mate of Republican candidate for governor Zach Lahn, is under investigation by the Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office, the Des Moines Register reported on Friday. The sheriff’s office “declined to comment on the nature of its investigation into Wulf,” the Register’s Tyler Jett wrote in his long, investigative story on Wulf’s legal […]
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‘These people are certifiable’: Ted Cruz complains of ‘communists and Islamists’ taking over at Hinson event in Clive
With hay bales lining the back of the stage, country music on the speakers and food from Jethro’s BBQ being served, Ashley Hinson welcomed donors to the Iowa Events Center in Clive on Saturday night for her big annual fundraiser, Ashley’s BBQ Bash. The three-term Republican congressmember is currently running for the U.S. Senate to […]
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Judge rules Iowa Libertarian candidates for governor and IA-03 don’t qualify for ballot in November
Iowa Libertarian candidates’ names will not appear on the ballot for the Iowa gubernatorial and 3rd District elections, a Polk County judge decided Thursday. Polk County District Court Judge Joseph Seidlin ruled the Libertarian Party of Iowa did not correctly conduct their replacement nomination process as outlined by Iowa law when the party nominated Charles […]
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A D.C. PAC Brenna Bird co-leads is planning to launch an ‘offensive barrage’ of ads on her behalf
The main PAC for Republican state attorneys general announced Tuesday it is launching a $7 million advertising campaign to boost candidates in 13 states, including Brenna Bird in Iowa. The Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA) said in a news release its “aggressive early offensive barrage” is “phase one of RAGA’s fall campaign and begins immediately […]
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Voters can now request absentee ballots for the November election
Registered voters in Iowa can now request absentee ballots for the November general election from their county auditor’s office. The first day auditors can mail the ballots to voters who have requested them will be Oct. 14, the same day early in-person voting begins. Printable absentee ballot request forms are available on the Iowa Secretary […]
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‘The outrage has finally arrived’: Naig challenger Chris Jones calls for systemic changes to Iowa agriculture at state fair
The Democratic candidate for Iowa secretary of agriculture told Iowa State Fair attendees Saturday that “the outrage has finally arrived” for the state of Iowa’s water, and said systemic change rather than incremental fixes is the way to clear up waterways and improve other areas of Iowans’ lives. Chris Jones criticized “Band-Aid approaches” to fixing […]
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Polls show Sand beating Lahn, Turek closing in on Hinson; Cook Political Report shifts their forecast in favor of Democrats
Republicans should be in an excellent position to win both the open seat for governor of Iowa and the state’s open U.S. Senate seat. Donald Trump carried the state easily in each of the last three presidential elections. In 2024, he won Iowa by 13.2 percentage points, the biggest margin of victory in a presidential election […]
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AG Brenna Bird defends state’s decision to give Iowa voter info to the Trump administration
Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird said Monday at the Iowa State Fair that the state should do everything it can to prevent illegal voting, including turning over voter data to the U.S. Department of Justice. Bird, who is running for reelection, spoke Monday at the Des Moines Register Political Soapbox where she highlighted the work […]
