Republicans are defending an open northeast Iowa congressional seat for the first time in years after U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson launched a U.S. Senate campaign.
Her exit has set off contested primaries in Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District, where a Donald Trump-backed Republican has emerged as the frontrunner while Democrats jostle for the nomination in a seat that has recently leaned Republican.
The district, which stretches across 22 counties in northeast Iowa and includes Cedar Rapids, Waterloo, Dubuque and Mason City, was reshaped during Iowa’s 2021 redistricting process following the 2020 Census.
Hinson, first elected to Congress in 2020 after narrowly defeating Democratic U.S. Rep. Abby Finkenauer, won reelection twice, defeating Democrat Sarah Corkery by roughly 15 percentage points in 2024.
Still, the open seat has drawn contested fields in both parties and a fresh look from national political analysts.
Cook Political Report has shifted the race from “Solid R” to “Likely R,” saying Democrats “have a better shot” at competing now that Hinson is leaving the seat open.
As of May, Republicans held a voter registration advantage in the district, with about 161,810 active registered Republicans compared with roughly 131,913 Democrats, according to Iowa Secretary of State data. Another roughly 156,751 voters are registered with no party affiliation.
Early voting began May 13. Iowa’s primary election is June 2.
Democrats split over health care, affordability and rural investment
In the Democratic race, state Rep. Lindsay James of Dubuque has emerged as the party’s fundraising leader, followed by former Cedar Rapids nonprofit leader Clint Twedt-Ball and former Kirkwood Community College Dean of Nursing Kathy Dolter.
James has raised $742,338 this cycle and reported $434,340 cash on hand. Twedt-Ball has raised $465,047 and reported $154,822 cash on hand.
Dolter falls much farther behind the two, raising $54,431 this cycle and reporting $2,517 cash on hand.
James has centered her campaign on affordability and corporate influence in politics.
In response to a Des Moines Register questionnaire asking candidates their top issue if elected, she said, “My constituents are choosing between paying rent or paying for insulin, or paying for their heating or buying their child a coat.”
James has also advocated for Medicare drug negotiations, expanding the child tax credit, increasing housing supply and reversing Medicaid cuts.
On immigration, she has backed what she described as “comprehensive immigration reform” that includes stronger border security alongside a pathway to citizenship.
Twedt-Ball, a pastor and founder of the Cedar Rapids nonprofit Matthew 25, has focused on housing, local investment and affordability, tying much of his campaign to neighborhood revitalization work after the 2008 flood and 2020 derecho.
In response to the Register questionnaire, Twedt-Ball said, “Too many families are struggling to make ends meet.”
He also criticized what he called the administration’s “chaotic tariffs,” arguing they have increased costs for Iowa farmers and families, while backing stronger local food systems and a public health insurance option.
Dolter has made health care the centerpiece of her campaign.
In response to the Register questionnaire, she said, “Health care is in crisis due to Medicaid cuts, decreased ACA subsidies, employers who offload worker health care costs to taxpayers, and skyrocketing employer-sponsored health insurance costs.”
The nurse and former Kirkwood administrator has also advocated for universal health care, increasing the federal minimum wage to $17 an hour and strengthening Social Security.
Trump-backed Joe Mitchell emerges as GOP frontrunner
Former state Rep. Joe Mitchell of Clear Lake has emerged as the clear frontrunner in the Republican primary, building a massive fundraising advantage over state Sen. Charlie McClintock of Alburnett, while collecting endorsements from Trump and national Republicans.
Mitchell raised $627,083 during the first quarter and reported $878,738 cash on hand. McClintock raised $831 during the quarter and reported $14,788 cash on hand.
National Republicans have added Mitchell to the National Republican Congressional Committee’s “MAGA Majority” program, a candidate support effort focused on what the NRCC describes as “America First” candidates.
Mitchell, a former Trump administration housing official who later founded Run Gen Z, has centered his campaign on affordability, government spending and immigration enforcement.
“Paychecks might be growing in our nation’s capital but they are getting stretched here in Iowa,” Mitchell said in the Des Moines Register questionnaire.
He has framed himself as an outsider focused on “drain(ing) the swamp,” supporting congressional term limits, banning insider trading and rejecting corporate PAC money. Mitchell has defended Trump’s tariffs as a “short-term negotiating tool” and opposed “amnesty of any kind” on immigration.
McClintock, a retired Cedar Rapids police officer and Iowa Army National Guard veteran, has framed his campaign around distrust in Washington and what he describes as a crisis of confidence in Congress.
“The people have an inherent distrust or disappointment in Congress,” McClintock said. “Many feel that Congress is out of touch, nonresponsive or simply corrupt.”
McClintock said his top priorities would be the economy, education and affordable housing.
“No one wants to see their kids or their grandkids leave the state because there’s no availability of jobs, or they have a better opportunity for anything from education to employment somewhere else,” he said.
District remains Republican-leaning, but Democrats see opening
Compared with Iowa’s nationally targeted battleground House races in the 1st and 3rd districts, fundraising in the open 2nd District remains smaller overall, underscoring its more Republican-leaning status.
Still, Democrats view the open seat as more competitive than it was with Hinson on the ballot. The district carries a Cook Partisan Voting Index of R+4, meaning it has voted an average of 4 percentage points more Republican than the nation as a whole in recent presidential elections.
The race may also include independent candidate Dave Bushaw, a farmer, folk musician and former Bernie Sanders presidential campaign staffer who announced May 6 that he had submitted enough signatures to qualify for the November ballot.
Nick El Hajj is a reporter at the Register. He can be reached at nelhajj@gannett.com. Follow him on X at @nick_el_hajj.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa’s open 2nd Congressional District race takes shape ahead of June primary
Reporting by Nick El Hajj, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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