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Candidate list growing for gubernatorial, congressional races

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River to River, hosted by Ben Kieffer

The lone statewide-elected Democratic official has thrown his hat in the ring for the race for governor in 2026.

On this Politics Day episode, political scientists Karen Kedrowski and Jim McCormick of Iowa State University discuss the expanding field of candidates for Iowa governor in 2026, with State Auditor Rob Sand officially announcing his campaign as a Democrat, and U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra, R-Iowa, forming an exploratory committee.

They also discuss another candidate announcement for Iowa's 3rd Congressional District race, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg's town hall in Cedar Rapids Tuesday night and the latest action from the Trump administration.

Guests:

  • Karen Kedrowski, professor, director of the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics, Iowa State University
  • Jim McCormick, emeritus professor of political science, Iowa State University
Ben Kieffer is the host of IPR's <i>River to River</i>.
Samantha McIntosh is a talk show producer for Iowa Public Radio. She holds a bachelor's degree from St. Cloud State University. Since 2022, McIntosh has worked with IPR's talk team to bring news and features to IPR's listening audience.