#1 is the best, #50 is the worst
A video recorded when Iowa Republican Joe Mitchell was a 19-year-old Drake University student shows him shouting 'I don't like Black women,' cursing white people and making crude racial remarks about his Black friends. Mitchell, Trump's pick in Iowa's 2nd District, didn't dispute the footage — he said he's 'grown up' and blamed cameras.
Forget the slogans. Judged by what they voted for, what they did, and what they refused to stop, this is what Republicans in Congress stand for, on 20 issues, with the receipts.
Roger Marshall, Jon Husted, Susan Collins, Juan Ciscomani, Jeff Crank, Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Jason Smith and Derrick Van Orden are touting rural health grants in the final weeks of the campaign. KFF says the fund covers barely a third of what the same law takes out of rural Medicaid, and it runs out.
Oct. 14 – Nov. 2
Check Iowa’s official dates →Due Nov. 3
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3. Dates checked against Iowa’s official election site on Sept. 18, 2026, starting from the Center for Election Innovation & Research’s national list. Days, hours and locations are set locally — check with your local election office, and confirm your registration at vote.org.
Trump won Iowa with 55.7% of the vote to 42.5%, a margin of 13.2 points, with 71% of eligible voters turning out. (Full 2024 presidential results, state by state.)
6 of 6 — 100%. In the U.S. House, Iowa has 4 Republicans and 0 Democrats; in the Senate, 2 Republicans and 0 Democrats. (Source: Current members of Congress from Iowa, on Wikipedia.)
Iowa ranks #17 of 50. That is the average of its rank on the 17 measures in the report card above — violent crime, gun deaths, life expectancy, food insecurity, maternal and infant mortality, household income, public education, voter turnout and more. #1 is the best state to live in, #50 the worst.
You can compare Iowa directly to other states on our Compare States page.
We grade Republican incumbents running in 2026 — U.S. Senators, U.S. Representatives and governors — on their record: how they voted, who funds them, and what it has cost Iowa. Democrats and independents do not get report cards.
The general election is Tuesday, November 3, 2026 — 8 days away. Check your registration and polling place at vote.org.
Early in-person voting for the Nov. 3 election runs Oct. 14 – Nov. 2. Details on Iowa's official election site. (Checked against Iowa’s official election site on Sept. 18, 2026, starting from the Center for Election Innovation & Research’s national list.)
Any voter can vote by mail. Ballots start going out Oct. 14. Your ballot must arrive by Election Day, not just be mailed by then. Details on Iowa's official election site. (Checked against Iowa’s official election site on Sept. 18, 2026, starting from the Center for Election Innovation & Research’s national list.)
