KHOI's Capitol Week

Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks began with Iowa Republicans accepting the results of a blue wave election, and the Iowa Secretary of State's comments on high turnout and his interest in expanding early voting. They discussed Governor-elect Rob Sand's transition plans from several angles, including his "tripartisan" team, the state agency leaders he wants to replace, and proposals he will bring to th...

Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks spent a full hour talking about Iowa's state and federal election results, going in depth on the big Democratic victories: Rob Sand for governor, Josh Turek for Senate, flipping three of the four U.S. House districts, defeating the Republican attorney general, and keeping the state auditor's office in Democratic hands. They also discussed the Democratic gains in the s...

In this final pre-election episode, Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks discussed the latest early vote numbers, what Iowans need to bring to vote on election day, and the U.S. Department of Justice plans to send monitors to Iowa. They covered notable remarks from President Donald Trump's rally in Dubuque and a MAHA rally for Zach Lahn featuring Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Other topics covered: the last tele...

Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks began with an update on Iowa's early voting numbers, then discussed Donald Trump's rally in Sioux City from several angles, with highlights from remarks by the president, Zach Lahn, Ashley Hinson, Joe Mitchell, and Brenna Bird. During the second half of the show, they covered news from the governor's race (a New York Times scoop, a misleading campaign ad, more legal w...

Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks began with somber news about the First Gentleman's cancer recurrence and a tragedy in Rob Sand's family. They discussed fundraising, advertising, and debate news from Iowa's four U.S. House races, starting with some GOP super PACs pulling out of IA-01. Other topics covered: the second debates between Iowa's candidates for governor and U.S. Senate, the first ad highlig...

Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks began with some reminders about how to vote early in Iowa, beginning on October 14. They covered two new Iowa polls, the first debates between candidates for governor and U.S. Senate, the latest reporting on a $540,000 loan to the GOP nominee for lieutenant governor, the second debate between the candidates in Iowa's second Congressional districts, ratings changes for...

Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks spent about half the program on different angles related to last week's special Iowa legislative session. Lawmakers approved economic incentives for a proposed steel mill (after some drama in the Senate) and took no action on an ethics complaint against a House Republican. They also discussed the latest NYT/Siena poll of Iowa's races for U.S. Senate and House. Other t...

Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks began with breaking news: a proposed $15 billion investment in a steel mill in southeast Iowa, political reaction to the idea, and a possible special legislative session to pass big tax incentives. They dug into the District Court ruling on Donald Trump's lawsuit against the Des Moines Register and its former pollster Ann Selzer, and the latest on the criminal investi...

Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks began with candidate remarks at two large Republican events: a rally featuring Vice President JD Vance and the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition's fall dinner. They discussed a new poll commissioned by Iowans for Tax Relief, which asked about the races for attorney general and secretary of agriculture as well as governor and Senate. Other topics covered: new ads in the...

Laura Belin and Bob Leonard (filling in for Spencer Dirks) began with news from the RNC's midterm convention and political happenings related to the Cy-Hawk football game. Next, they covered Iowa's U.S. Senate race (the latest polls, advertising, and policy proposals) and several developments in the governor's race: the latest Rob Sand commercials, money pouring in from the Republican Governors As...

Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks spent about half of this episode discussing newly reported information regarding the financial and legal entanglements of Derek Wulf, the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor, along with potential political impact and questions that remain unanswered. Other topics covered: key findings from the latest Emerson College/Nexstar Media poll of Iowa's races for govern...

Laura Belin and Dennis Hart (filling in for Spencer Dirks) analyzed Suffolk University's latest Iowa poll findings on the races for governor, U.S. Senate, and a proposed constitutional amendment. Next they covered the latest loss in court for Libertarians and big Republican and Democratic campaign rallies in Polk County. Other topics covered: television ads for both candidates in the attorney gene...

Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks began with the slew of senior Trump administration officials who came to support Republican candidates during the Iowa State Fair, questions about Pete Hegseth's campaign appearance for Zach Nunn, and the president's short-term decision on beef imports. They covered several stories related to the races for governor and U.S. Senate, including new ads on both sides, a f...

Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks began with the DNC calendar and how it may impact Iowa Democrats, as well as the latest news about Libertarian candidates for Congress and lieutenant governor. They spent most of the show on political speeches from the Iowa State Fair: Democratic and Republican candidates for governor, all three candidates for U.S. Senate, and most of the candidates in Iowa's four U.S...

Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks began with the latest news about Libertarian efforts to field candidates for governor and Congress. They covered several findings from the Emerson College/Nexstar Media poll of the races for governor and Senate, the latest wrangling over televised debates and a preview of candidate appearances at the Iowa State Fair. Other news from the campaign trail included a new R...

Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks started with three court rulings related to Libertarian candidates for governor or Congress, and a new Republican suit to revive a restriction on absentee ballots. They covered several stories related to Iowa's U.S. Senate and governor's races—including GOP nominee Zach Lahn mixing it up with Laura on a social media platform. Other topics covered: a poll of Iowa's fir...

Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks began with the latest governor's race news: policy ideas, wrangling over debates, Zach Lahn's change message, a new TV ad, and the first public comments from lieutenant governor candidate Derek Wulf about his financial problems. They covered news from the Senate race, including Ted Cruz stumping for Ashley Hinson and Republican concerns about turnout. Other topics cov...

Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks began with Republican speeches to the Family Leadership Summit: Ashley Hinson, Zach Lahn, Mike Johnson, and more. They discussed Laura's exclusive reporting on the litigation facing GOP nominee for lieutenant governor Derek Wulf and unanswered questions about how he is repaying his debts. They also covered highlights from the latest round of fundraising reports for Io...

Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks began with the big Iowa Democratic and Republican fundraisers that happened over the weekend, covering remarks by Pete Buttigieg and all of the Democrats running for federal or statewide offices, as well as the main political speeches from the GOP event. The also discussed the latest developments in several Iowa court cases: a "debtor's exam" hearing for Derek Wulf, t...

Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks began with two independent polls that paint a different picture of Iowa's races for governor and U.S. Senate. They discussed Zach Lahn's first public event since the primary election, two TV ads for Rob Sand's campaign, several stories about GOP Senate candidate Ashley Hinson, post-primary changes in voter registration, two stories related to Libertarian candidates, a...

Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks review another busy week in Iowa politics, starting with the Libertarian candidates for governor and lieutenant governor challenging the decision to exclude them from the ballot, and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.'s phone calls urging Iowa Libertarians to end their Congressional campaigns. They also discussed a GOP firm's new poll of Iowa's statewide races, messaging from the...

Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks began with news from Iowa's U.S. Senate race: a poll showing a small lead for Josh Turek, a conservative group already spending for Ashley Hinson, and trouble on Hinson's right flank. Next, several governor's race updates: "Rob-publicans," Rob Sand town halls, Zach Lahn on his residency and the "uniparty," TV ads from both sides, and developments related to Derek Wulf...

Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks spent about half of this show covering the governor's race, including several angles related to Republican nominee Zach Lahn choosing Derek Wulf to be his running mate, such as Wulf's support for pesticide immunity legislation, some legal and financial difficulties related to his farm, and controversy related to his voter registration. Other topics covered: President...

Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks covered many developments in the governor's race, including Rob Sand's lieutenant governor pick, first general election rally, and first negative ad about his GOP opponent, Zach Lahn. They also reviewed some of the reasons Lahn won (and Randy Feenstra lost) the GOP primary for governor. Other topics covered: the first post-primary poll of Iowa's U.S. Senate race, Ashl...

Laura Belin and Mike Murphy walked through results from Iowa's June 2 primary elections, spending the most time on the governor's race, where there was a photo finish for Republicans. They talked about what went wrong for front-runner Randy Feenstra as well as the early general election arguments for Zach Lahn and Rob Sand. Other topics covered: the Democratic and Republican primary results for U....