3 candidates are on the ballot. Below is what each one says they stand for, what they have actually done in office or in public life, and the arguments published for and against them — each quoted from a named source rather than summarised by us.
Medium confidenceMedium confidenceThe candidate's stated positions and basic record are documented, but coverage is thin — often little independent reporting, or criticism from only one side.What would raise it: More independent reporting, a documented voting record, or published criticism from a named opponent would raise this.
What they say they stand for
Their own words. Claims, not verified facts.
Border security, deportation of people in the country illegally, and stopping migrant crime.
Cutting taxes for working families.
Standing up for Iowa agriculture and family farms.
Keeping transgender women out of women's sports.
Helping young Iowans buy a home and start a family.
Strengthening Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security for seniors, which she frames as rooting out waste, fraud and abuse.
A ban on congressional stock trading.
What they’ve actually done
Documented record from official sources.
U.S. Representative for Iowa's 2nd district since January 2021.
Member of the Iowa House of Representatives before her election to Congress.
Former television news anchor in Cedar Rapids.
Voted in 2025 for the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which cut federal health spending by roughly $1 trillion over ten years.
Voted against a bipartisan bill to extend enhanced Affordable Care Act marketplace subsidies for three years.
Won the June 2 2026 Republican primary with 74.2%, about 153,059 votes.
Endorsed by President Trump, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, NRSC Chair Tim Scott, and Sens. Jim Banks, Katie Britt and Markwayne Mullin.
Has pushed a congressional stock trading ban during her Senate campaign.
Arguments in favor
She will create jobs, cut taxes, support Iowa farmers and American agriculture, secure the southern border and defend the Second Amendment.
— President Donald Trump, in his endorsement
National Republicans consolidated behind her immediately and she took 74% of the primary vote, giving Republicans a unified, well-funded candidate in a state Trump carried by 13 points in 2024.
— Senate Majority Leader John Thune and NRSC Chair Tim Scott, who endorsed her, as reported by The Gazette
She is pushing a ban on congressional stock trading, an accountability measure that cuts against her own party's leadership.
— Ashley Hinson for Senate campaign, as reported by The Hill
Arguments against
She voted for Medicaid cuts that KFF estimates will leave 68,000 Iowans enrolled in Medicaid without health insurance by 2034.
— Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart
She voted against extending enhanced ACA subsidies, after which more than 120,000 Iowans saw monthly premiums rise by an average of 95%.
— Iowa Democratic Party
She repeatedly voted against billions in veterans' health care funding and against capping prescription drug costs for people on Medicare, while voting to cut taxes for the wealthiest 1% by more than $100 billion.
— Iowa Democratic Party
What we couldn’t verify
Her detailed response to the Medicaid coverage-loss estimates beyond the general claim that the bill strengthens Medicaid by rooting out waste, fraud and abuse.
Her position on federal abortion legislation could not be established from sources located.
Her position on tariffs and their effect on Iowa agriculture.
An economy that works for the middle class rather than billionaire donors.
Reforming the health care system and lowering health care costs.
Defending public education and opposing school vouchers.
Disability policy and access.
Protecting clean air, food and water.
Working across party lines, which he has made the theme of his general election advertising.
What they’ve actually done
Documented record from official sources.
Iowa State Representative for House district 20 since 2023; won a Republican-leaning western Iowa district in 2022.
Co-sponsored a bipartisan right-to-repair law for farm equipment.
Four-time Paralympian; gold medals in wheelchair basketball at the 2016 and 2020 Games.
Played college wheelchair basketball at Southwest Minnesota State University and professionally in Europe.
Won the June 2 2026 Democratic primary with about 62.7% over state Sen. Zach Wahls.
Endorsed by Sens. Tammy Duckworth and Catherine Cortez Masto.
Republicans say he missed nearly 60% of his state legislative votes in one year, including the vote on the farm bill; a KCRG fact check found his bipartisan voting record claims 'need context.'
Arguments in favor
He has won and held the reddest legislative seat any Iowa Democrat holds, and has legislated bipartisanly there — co-sponsoring a right-to-repair law for farm equipment.
— Josh Turek for Iowa campaign, and reporting by The Hill
His campaign is focused on health care costs and on an economy that serves the middle class rather than billionaire donors, and on defending public schools against vouchers.
— Josh Turek for Iowa campaign
He draws on his Paralympic career to argue he can work across party lines in Congress, and Sens. Tammy Duckworth and Catherine Cortez Masto have endorsed him.
— Sens. Tammy Duckworth and Catherine Cortez Masto
Arguments against
He has a radical liberal agenda of raising taxes, slashing Second Amendment rights and giving mass amnesty to people in the country illegally, and would be Chuck Schumer's rubber stamp.
— National Republican Senatorial Committee
He skipped the vote on the critical farm bill and wants to impose crushing taxes and burdensome regulations on family farms — he has abandoned Iowa's farmers.
— NRSC Regional Press Secretary
He missed nearly 60% of his votes as a state lawmaker in one year, a record the Republican Party of Iowa chair toured the state to highlight.
— Republican Party of Iowa
What we couldn’t verify
His response to the missed-votes criticism, and whether the absences relate to his medical history; no explanation from him could be located.
His actual positions on immigration and firearms, as distinct from the NRSC's characterisation of them.
What the KCRG fact check concluded in detail about his bipartisanship claims; only its headline finding that the claims 'need context' was available.
Ending federal tax credits for carbon capture pipelines.
Libertarian positions on limited government; his broader 2026 platform could not be fully established from sources located.
What they’ve actually done
Documented record from official sources.
Greene County Attorney, Jefferson, Iowa; the first Libertarian elected to office in Iowa.
Filed for the U.S. Senate race on June 2 2026 and qualified for the November ballot by petition with about 10,000 signatures.
His candidacy paperwork was not challenged before the June 2026 deadline.
Arguments in favor
We found none published about this candidate in the sources reviewed.
Arguments against
We found none published about this candidate in the sources reviewed.
What we couldn’t verify
No coverage critical of him by name could be located, so no arguments against him are recorded here rather than substituting criticism of the Libertarian Party generally. With no criticism available, no arguments for him are recorded either, so the two columns stay comparable.
His positions on health care, immigration, abortion and foreign policy.
Positions and criticism are quoted from the named sources, not our assessments. This is built to help you start getting informed — confirm the official candidate list with your election authority before you vote.
Open seat: Republican incumbent Joni Ernst is not seeking a third term. Roster established from NBC News, NewsNation, The Gazette, Iowa Capital Dispatch and Radio Iowa, cross-checked. U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson won the June 2 2026 Republican primary with 74.2%; state Rep. Josh Turek won the Democratic primary with about 62.7% over state Sen. Zach Wahls. Thomas Laehn qualified as a Libertarian by petition, submitting roughly 10,000 signatures against a 3,500 requirement; his paperwork was not challenged, and he was not among the two Iowa Libertarians a judge later removed from the ballot over the party's nominating process. This is Iowa's first open Senate election held alongside an open governor's race since 1968. Democrats have not won a statewide Senate election in Iowa since 2008. The Iowa Secretary of State's official candidate list PDF returned HTTP 403 and could not be used to confirm the roster directly.
This is one contest on a longer ballot
A Iowa ballot also carries state legislative districts, county offices, judicial seats and often local questions — and which of them you vote on is decided by your street address, not your city or ZIP code.