Republican Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird raised $1.7 million this year as she runs to defend her seat in the upcoming midterm election, over three times the $493,581 collected by her Democratic opponent, Nate Willems.
The race for Iowa attorney general has attracted the most funding among statewide races aside from the gubernatorial election, according to recent filings to the state’s Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board that were due May 19.
Willems, a labor lawyer with Rush & Nicholson P.L.C. and a former state representative from Mount Vernon, earned an endorsement and more than $40,000 in funding and campaign polling expenses from the Democratic Attorneys General Association Action Fund in early May. He got $11,530 from the group in November.
But Bird received $1.4 million from the Republican Attorneys General Association Action Fund on May 13, the day before the final day of the fundraising period. The group gave Bird $1 million on the last day of the 2025 fundraising period in December.
The most recent campaign finance reports, spanning Jan. 1 to May 14, show which candidates for statewide office are gaining traction weeks out from the June 2 primary election.
In the races for Iowa state treasurer and secretary of agriculture, Republicans out-raised their Democratic opponents.
Republican Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig raised roughly $200,000 this year compared with Democrat Chris Jones, a retired University of Iowa researcher, who tallied just over $100,000.
Iowa State Treasurer Roby Smith, a Republican, raised roughly $88,000 compared with the almost $60,000 raised by Democrat John Norwood.
In other races, including for Iowa state auditor and state treasurer, Democrats significantly outpaced Republicans in fundraising.
Ryan Peterman, a Democrat running for secretary of state, raised almost $84,000, compared with incumbent Republican Paul Pate’s roughly $13,000.
Democrat Taylor Wettach, a lawyer who joined the race after dropping his bid for Iowa’s 1st Congressional District in January, tallied over $500,000 — over five times the combined total raised by Republican candidates Lt. Gov. Chris Cournoyer and Iowa County Supervisor Abigail Maas.
Here is how much each candidate raised:
Attorney General
Brenna Bird (Republican, incumbent)
Nate Willems (Democrat)
Secretary of State
Paul Pate (Republican, incumbent)
Ryan Peterman (Democrat)
Auditor
Chris Cournoyer (Republican)
Abigail Maas (Republican)
Taylor Wettach (Democrat)
Wettach announced his campaign on Jan. 26, after abandoning his bid for Iowa’s 1st Congressional District. This is his first campaign fundraising report.
Secretary of Agriculture
Mike Naig (Republican, incumbent)
Chris Jones (Democrat)
Jones announced his campaign on Jan. 16. This is his first campaign fundraising report.
Treasurer
Roby Smith (Republican, incumbent)
John Norwood (Democrat)
Norwood announced his campaign on Feb. 2. This is his first campaign fundraising report.
Rapid Response Politics Reporter Maya Marchel Hoff can be reached at mmarchelHoff@usatodayco.com. You can find her on X (formerly Twitter) at @mmarchelhoff.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Bird triples Willems as GOP builds big cash edge in Iowa
Reporting by Maya Marchel Hoff, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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