Which US House candidates made it onto Iowa's 2026 primary ballot?
The primary ballots are set for Iowa's U.S. House races following the end of the filing period for candidates seeking congressional seats representing Iowa.
Three races — all except for deeply conservative northwest Iowa's 4th Congressional District contest — are among national Democrats' top targets for the 2026 midterms and will help decide which party controls Congress.
Republicans are looking to defend incumbent Republican Reps. Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Zach Nunn in the high-profile 1st and 3rd congressional district races. Democrats are pushing hard to oust the two lawmakers.
The races for the other two of Iowa's four House districts are open after the GOP incumbents pivoted to run for other offices. Rep. Ashley Hinson in the 2nd District is campaigning for Iowa's open U.S. Senate seat and Rep. Randy Feenstra in the 4th District is in the competitive Republican primary for Iowa governor.
Candidates for Iowa's congressional offices needed to gather 1,726 signatures, including at least 47 signatures apiece from half their respective district's counties, to make it onto the ballot. Citizens or other campaigns have until 5 p.m. March 20 to challenge their submitted paperwork.
Iowa's 2026 primary elections are scheduled for June 2.
Here's a look at who made it onto Iowa's primary ballots for congressional offices.
1st Congressional District
The 1st District spans 20 counties in southeastern Iowa, including the cities of Iowa City, Davenport, Indianola and Keokuk.
US Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Republican
U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, a Republican, is running for a fourth term representing the 1st District in Congress.
A former ophthalmologist and Army veteran who lives outside the district in Ottumwa, Miller-Meeks was first elected in 2020, prevailing over Democrat Rita Hart by just six votes in what was then the state's 2nd Congressional District.
She has picked up an endorsement from President Donald Trump and other top Republicans this cycle.
In Congress, she serves on the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the Veterans Affairs Committee.
David Pautsch, Republican
David Pautsch, a businessman and founder of the Quad Cities Prayer Breakfast, is mounting another GOP primary challenge against Miller-Meeks.
Despite Trump's endorsement of Miller-Meeks, Pautsch continues to bill himself as the self-proclaimed "MAGA Republican" in the race. He touted his early support of Trump in 2016 and in the 2024 Iowa Caucuses.
Pautsch came within 12 percentage points of Miller-Meeks in the 2024 primary race despite raising less than $40,000 and having relatively low name recognition.
Christina Bohannan, Democrat
Christina Bohannan, a University of Iowa law professor from Iowa City, is trying a third time to unseat Miller-Meeks.
When she launched her campaign in June, Bohannan said Iowans are "so disheartened about the dysfunction, the division that they're seeing in Washington, D.C." She narrowly lost to Miller-Meeks in 2024, falling less than 800 votes short.
She represented Iowa City for one two-year term in the Iowa House until 2023.
Travis Terrell, Democrat
Travis Terrell, a Democrat and University of Iowa Health Care employee from Tiffin, said he is running to be a voice in Washington, D.C., for working-class and progressive Iowans.
Terrell said he started working at age 13 to help pay bills. He attended Indian Hills Community College to study electronic technology.
2nd Congressional District
The 2nd District covers 22 counties in northeast Iowa and includes Cedar Rapids, Waterloo, Dubuque and Mason City.
Kathy Dolter, Democrat
Democrat Kathy Dolter, a U.S. Army veteran and former dean of nursing at Kirkwood Community College, announced her campaign for the 2nd District seat in July.
Dolter, of Dubuque, served 20 years on active duty in the U.S. Army and three years in the reserves. She has led nursing programs at the University of Dubuque, Mount Mercy University and Kirkwood.
State Rep. Lindsay James, Democrat
Democratic state Rep. Lindsay James launched her 2nd District campaign on Aug. 19, saying "too many hardworking Iowans are being forced to make impossible choices."
James, of Dubuque, was first elected to the Iowa House in 2018 and is serving her fourth term. She serves as the ranking member on the House Judiciary Committee and sits on the Commerce, Environmental Protection and Ways and Means committees.
She is an ordained Presbyterian pastor.
Clint Twedt-Ball, Democrat
Clint Twedt-Ball, a Cedar Rapids Democrat, launched his campaign July 22 after a career in community development that helped fuel the revitalization of a flood-devastated neighborhood in Iowa's second-largest city.
He is the former executive director of Matthew 25, a nonprofit he founded with his brother in 2006. It has worked to repair and build homes and increase healthy food access, especially after the 2008 flood destroyed or damaged a section of Cedar Rapids west of the Cedar River.
State Sen. Charlie McClintock, Republican
State Sen. Charlie McClintock, a Republican from Alburnett, is drawing on his state legislative track record in his congressional bid.
He was elected to the Iowa House in 2020, then to the Iowa Senate in 2022, representing Linn and Benton counties.
McClintock served in the Iowa Army National Guard for 21 years and retired as a warrant officer in 2009. He started his career in law enforcement in 1991 and retired in July from the Cedar Rapids Police Department, where he managed the joint communications 911 center.
He also previously served on the Alburnett City Council and as mayor.
Former state Rep. Joe Mitchell, Republican
Joe Mitchell, a former state representative, Trump administration official and real estate developer, launched his campaign Sept. 8.
Mitchell, who lives in Clear Lake, served in the Iowa House from 2019 to 2023, representing Henry County and parts of Lee, Jefferson and Washington counties.
He worked on Trump's 2024 transition team, as chief of staff at the Federal Housing Finance Agency and as a regional administrator for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Dave Bushaw, independent
Dave Bushaw, a community organizer and folk musician from Hawkeye, is running an independent campaign for Iowa's 2nd District.
Bushaw, a former staffer for Bernie Sanders, is calling for universal health care, a resurgence of American manufacturing and national ballot initiatives.
Bushaw will not appear on the primary election ballot because he does not belong to a political party in Iowa. He can file for inclusion on the ballot during the general election filing period.
3rd Congressional District
The 3rd District encompasses 21 counties in south-central Iowa, including the cities of Des Moines, West Des Moines, Winterset and Ottumwa.
US Rep. Zach Nunn, Republican
U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn, a Republican from Ankeny, is seeking a third term in Congress.
Nunn is a colonel in the U.S. Air Force Reserve and served as an airborne intelligence officer, deploying overseas three times to Iraq and Afghanistan. He also served as director of cybersecurity on the National Security Council.
In Congress, he serves on the House Financial Services Committee and the Agriculture Committee, where he works on issues ranging from cybersecurity to biofuels.
Trump and other top GOP leaders have endorsed Nunn's reelection bid.
Nunn served two two-year terms in the Iowa House until 2019 followed by one four-year term in the Iowa Senate, ending in 2023 after he was elected to the U.S. House.
Xavier Carrigan, Democrat
Xavier Carrigan, an internal communications strategist from Waukee, said he is working to break the "glass ceiling" for working-class people seeking to serve in Congress.
Carrigan moved to Iowa in 2023 from Bowling Green, Ohio, where he lost his 2020 primary campaign for Ohio's 5th Congressional District.
He vowed when he launched his campaign last summer to represent the working class and dismantle oppressive political and economic systems.
State Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott, Democrat
State Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott, D-West Des Moines, in May became the first candidate to enter the 3rd District race.
Trone Garriott is a Lutheran pastor and the coordinator of interfaith engagement for the Des Moines Area Religious Council Food Pantry Network.
She was first elected to the Iowa Senate in 2020, flipping a Republican-held district to Democratic control. In 2022, Trone Garriott defeated then-Senate President Jake Chapman to win another term following redistricting.
Last fall, she won a third term, defeating Republican Dallas County Supervisor Mark Hanson by 29 votes as Republicans racked up victories elsewhere around the state.
Trone Garriott is the top Democrat on the Iowa Senate Health and Human Services Committee and serves on the chamber's Education Committee.
4th Congressional District
Iowa's 4th District is the state's largest and most conservative, stretching across 36 counties in north-central Iowa and on the western edges of the state.
Chris McGowan, Republican
After what began as a competitive five-way GOP primary race, Siouxland Chamber of Commerce President Chris McGowan is the last Republican standing in the contest to replace outgoing Republican U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra.
McGowan raised the most money for the primary and he boasts endorsements from high-profile congressional Republicans as well as former Republican Gov. Terry Branstad and Trump.
Dave Dawson, Democrat
Dave Dawson is a former state legislator who served two terms in the Iowa House of Representatives. He is a former county party chair and a lawyer, having run his law office for five years and serving as a prosecutor for Woodbury County, where he specializes in cases involving child sexual abuse.
He’s been endorsed by numerous Iowa politicians and activists, including state Rep. J.D. Scholten, recently elected state Sen. Catelin Drey, former state party chair Ross Wilburn and former Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal.
Stephanie Steiner, Democrat
Democrat Stephanie Steiner launched a campaign for Congress after the passage of Republicans' "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," saying the law will harm Iowans' Medicaid access and have a disproportionately negative effect on rural hospitals.
Steiner lives on an acreage outside Sutherland with her husband and three youngest children. She worked as a labor and delivery nurse and as a traveling nurse before becoming a stay-at-home mom.
Ashley WolfTornabane, Democrat
Ashley WolfTornabane is a stay-at-home mom and previously was an instructional assistant in her public school district. She grew up in Storm Lake and lives there with her husband and their two children.
She said she hopes to advocate for the LGBTQ+ community, for "feasible pathways for immigrants to gain citizenship" and for family farmers over "big ag." She said the most important issue to her is health care, and she believes that publicly funded universal health care should be the goal.
Marissa Payne covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. Reach her by email at [email protected]. Follow her on X at @marissajpayne.
Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on X at @sgrubermiller.
Brianne Pfannenstiel is the chief politics reporter for the Des Moines Register. She writes about campaigns, elections and the Iowa Caucuses. Reach her at [email protected] or 515-284-8244. Follow her on X at @brianneDMR.