Iowa Down Ballot

We kicked off the post-election episode still running on fumes after a night that felt like a blue tsunami nationally and a mini one in Iowa. Laura said she knew something big was happening when Polk County came in with a 75,000-vote margin for Rob Sand, far past her expectations. Eric pinned part of the blame on Joni Ernst’s vote for Pete Hegseth and the affordability fallout from the war in Iran...

Happy Halloween! We started with President Trump’s shifting Sunday schedule. After canceling in favor of a tele-rally, he’s apparently coming to Iowa in person after all, though the location is still unclear. We agreed Dubuque makes the most sense given the toss-up race in the Second District between Joe Mitchell and Lindsey James, and that Zach Nunn probably doesn’t want him anywhere near Des Moi...

Please help spread the word about this podcast by sharing it with your friends on social media. Kathie and Laura welcomed back conservative blogger and commentator Shane Vander Hart. We opened by sending our best wishes to First Gentleman Kevin Reynolds as he recovers from surgery. We then turned to President Trump’s Sioux City rally and his return trip to Dubuque on November 1st. We debated wheth...

With less than three weeks until Election Day and early voting already underway, we dug into a busy debate week. We started with President Trump’s two planned Iowa visits, Sioux City on October 22nd and again on November 1st, and why the 4th District matters for turnout. We also talked about the risks for Ashley Hinson of sharing a stage with him. Then we broke down the second governor’s debate be...

In the governor’s debate, Rob Sand and Zach Lahn shared a stage for the first time. With no time limits, we felt the moderators lost control early, and Lahn ended up talking roughly seven minutes longer. Republicans loved his aggressive style, while Democrats thought the interrupting came across badly. We don’t see a clear winner, and three more debates are still ahead. In the U.S. Senate race, Jo...

This week we recorded on Saturday, a day late, to cover Friday’s special legislative session on the proposed $15 billion steel plant in Lee County. Lawmakers approved roughly $1.5 billion in incentives, about 10% of the project’s estimated cost and the largest commitment Iowa taxpayers have ever made. Here’s what we dug into: * A done deal that wasn’t. Monday’s Oval Office announcement was billed...

We dug into the sudden Republican pivots happening six weeks out from the election. Ashley Hinson, Zach Nunn, and Mariannette Miller-Meeks are all pushing back on the war and rising fuel costs after months of standing firmly with the president, including Nunn, who was on stage with Secretary Hegseth at the Iowa State Fair just a month ago. We talked about whether this is a real break or just safe...

Chuck Grassley turns 93, soon becoming the second longest-serving senator in U.S. history — though Eric argues the milestone doesn’t sidestep the harder question of age and capacity. Laura notes he still won’t rule out running again in 2028, when he’d be 95. The panel also digs into November’s ballot amendment requiring a supermajority to raise income and corporate taxes. Kathie lays out the oppos...

This week, we paused to remember September 11th, 25 years later. Kathie, Laura, and Ed each shared where they were that day. Kathie watched the towers fall live on TV, Laura was in London and saw the shock ripple through Britain (which lost 67 citizens that day), and Ed watched fighter jets and Air Force One crisscross an eerily empty sky over Iowa. It’s a reminder of how much the world shifted th...

This week we dug into two big stories. First, the Des Moines Register’s new reporting on Derek Wulf’s farm finances: an active criminal investigation, a court-appointed receiver, and creditors who settled for less than they were owed. We talked about what real campaign due diligence looks like, and why this story hasn’t gotten the attention it probably deserves. We also broke down a new Emerson Co...

We welcomed Ed Failor Jr. to the show for the first time — longtime Iowa Republican operative, former head of Iowans for Tax Relief — and put him through the paces alongside Kathie Obradovich and Laura Belin. We dug into the new Suffolk poll. Ashley Hinson is up 45-41 on Josh Turek, Rob Sand is up 48-44 on Zach Lahn. The Libertarians lost in court again. A judge ruled they can’t replace their disq...

We started with the Cook Political Report’s new ratings: the U.S. Senate race moved from Leans Republican to Toss-Up, and the governor’s race moved from Toss-Up to Leans Democrat. We talked about why. Tight polling, a president underwater in approval, gas prices topping four bucks, and Iowa’s history of electing Democratic governors in red states even when it won’t send them to the Senate. We also...

We split up this week: Laura hit the Wing Ding in Clear Lake, Dave went to the Field of Dreams game. Both nights ran long. Wing Ding drew its best crowd since 2019, about 750 people, with Mark Kelly headlining and fueling more 2028 speculation. Over in Newton, RNC Chair Jeff Kaufmann made the case that Republicans only need to flip a handful of seats nationally, two of them right here in Iowa. Lau...

We welcome first-time guest Shane Vander Hart this week. He writes at shanevanderhart.com . Please give him a follow while you’re there. We dug into school choice first. Rob Sand wants to bring back the ESA income cap and add audits, while Zach Lahn talks expansion without much detail. Shane and Laura sparred over what audits would even target, since tuition dollars aren’t currently subject to ove...

Kathie’s team at Iowa Capital Dispatch broke a story on a 119-page study the Reynolds administration commissioned on letting community colleges offer four-year degrees, then sat on for months. The findings: Iowa doesn’t really have “education deserts,” and the brain drain problem is more about low wages than higher ed. Community colleges are already pushing back on the report’s methodology, and ex...

Firstly, Kathie is on the road and fighting off some wildfire smoke in Chicago, which set the tone for a conversation about just how bad conditions got in the Midwest last week. Then it was on to the big events: Democrats’ Liberty and Justice dinner drew Pete Buttigieg and, by Laura’s read, a noticeably more energized crowd than in 2025. Rita Hart’s talk of two dozen-plus field offices and 65 hire...

This week’s episode got recorded Saturday morning instead of our usual Friday because there was just too much news going on Friday to keep up with, and a lot of it needed to be in the show. Laura broke down two big court stories: the Trump/Selzer poll lawsuit hearing (ruling expected in a few weeks, but headed to the Iowa Supreme Court either way) and the tangled Libertarian ballot fights over Mar...

Happy Independence Day! We start with a federal court ruling striking down Iowa’s SNAP food restrictions this week, so candy and soda are back on the table. Kathie and Laura break down just how confusing those old rules were, and note the SunBucks summer program will keep going with the pre-waiver food list. We also cover Cami Koons’ reporting for Iowa Capital Dispatch on USDA staffing cuts hittin...

Audio has leaked of RFK Jr. calling Libertarian candidate Rick Stewart, pushing him to drop out of the 2nd District race without ever making a concrete offer. That’s part of a bigger pattern of Republicans working to push Libertarians off the ballot, both through direct calls like this one and through legal challenges. Marco Battalia got disqualified over a name issue, and the Libertarian governor...

Kathie got caught up on Derek Wulf as Lahn’s pick for Lieutenant Governor, this time noting his Ag Committee chairmanship could ease some rural skepticism toward Lahn. Then Laura dropped the real news: court filings show close to a million dollars in foreclosure and judgment cases tied to Wulf’s farm, something his campaign chalks up to broader struggles facing family farmers. We also dug into Kim...

Zach Lahn named state rep Derek Wulf as his running mate, a cattle farmer and early Trump endorser, likely a move to shore up MAGA support after Lahn didn’t get Trump’s endorsement in the primary. Trump has since walked that back publicly, saying he got “bad info.” Rob Sand went with Dave Muhlbauer, a rural Democrat who’s held office in deep-red Crawford County. The pick sends a clear message that...

Two big results: Zach Lahn edged out Randy Feenstra in the Republican gubernatorial primary — a surprise upset fueled by a dominant Polk County performance and a late push from conservative commentator Steve Deace. On the Democratic side, Josh Turek won the U.S. Senate primary more comfortably than expected. Looking ahead, we talked about why Lahn is a trickier general election opponent for Rob Sa...

Pre-Primary Palooza: What to Watch Tuesday Night A new poll from JMC Analytics has Zach Lahn at 24%, Feenstra at 22%, and Steen at 15% — with 27% still undecided. We’re not putting too much weight in it, but it would explain why Feenstra went negative this week, hitting Lahn over a past investment in a men’s health company. Frontrunners don’t attack candidates they aren’t worried about. An outside...

We debriefed on the Gray Media/KCCI Republican gubernatorial debate, which Dave helped moderate. Four of five candidates participated — Zach Lahn, Adam Steen, Brad Sherman, and Eddie Andrews — with Randy Feenstra a no-show despite the debate being scheduled on a Saturday to accommodate him. Lahn and Steen had the strongest showings. Lahn stayed on message with his four systemic issues, while Steen...

We spent most of this episode breaking down Thursday night’s Democratic U.S. Senate primary debate between Zach Wahls and Josh Turek, moderated by our man Dave! The headline exchange was on abortion — Wahls went after Turek’s missed vote on the six-week ban, and Turek fired back that he was sick at the time due to a disability-related illness, calling the attack disgraceful. Laura dug into the con...