On this episode, we talk with both of Iowa's major political party chairs. First, Iowa Democratic Party chair Rita Hart, then Iowa Republican Party chair Jeff Kaufmann. We discuss the open governor and Senate races and key Congressional and statehouse races in the November 3 midterm election, plus where the 2028 presidential caucuses stand.
Sheila Brummer
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Iowa Public Radio
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New campaign finance reports show Democrat Rob Sand with a fundraising edge over Republican Zach Lahn. But the biggest difference isn't just how much money they're raising — it's where the money comes from as they compete for Iowa's highest office. -
The Iowa Democratic Party and the Republican Party of Iowa both gained voters over the past month, while the number of voters with no party affiliation dropped significantly. -
Three Libertarians who filed to run for governor, lieutenant governor and U.S. House in Iowa won't appear on the ballot. That's after members of the Republican party challenged their paperwork, and the state objection panel voted to remove the names of Nicholas Gluba, Jules Cutler and Marco Battaglia from Iowa ballots. In this episode, host Ben Kieffer recaps that decision as well as the state party conventions with Megan Goldberg of Cornell College and Jonathan Hassid of Iowa State University. They also discuss looming changes to Social Security and the tentative peace deal with Iran.
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Candidate for governor Zach Lahn thanked Iowa Republicans for their support at the GOP state convention Saturday, and delegates approved Rep. Derek Wulf as the Republican candidate for lieutenant governor. -
Rep. Randy Feenstra and his challengers took turns appealing to conservative voters at a Des Moines fundraiser. It was the first event of the primary season where all five GOP candidates made an appearance in person. -
In a visit to Iowa, President Trump rallied Republican support ahead of the midterms and tried to appeal to voters with provisions from the One Big Beautiful Bill and by asserting his support for ethanol industry priorities.
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Former governor and ambassador Terry Branstad was honored with the state's highest award for citizens on Thursday. Branstad is the country's longest serving governor in U.S. history. -
Iowa Senate Republicans have chosen Sen. Mike Klimesh as their new majority leader after Sen. Jack Whitver announced he was stepping down from the role earlier this month. -
Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst and other Republican politicians say the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk will add momentum to the movement he supported.
