Iowa is typically a state that loves its incumbents.
But the June 2 primary saw more than its usual share of challengers toppling sitting lawmakers.
Three Iowa House lawmakers — two Republicans and one Democrat — lost to primary challengers Tuesday night.
That ties 2026 with 2022 for the most successful successful challenges by non-incumbents this decade. The effects of redistricting in 2022 shook up Iowa’s political landscape and also resulted in multiple sitting lawmakers running against each other in primary elections.
In 2020, there was just one successful primary challenge to an incumbent, while in 2024 no incumbents lost primaries.
Here’s how three challengers succeeded in ousting sitting Iowa lawmakers this year.
Austin Stubbs defeats Brian Lohse in Iowa House District 45
The most lopsided loss came in a Polk County race, where Rep. Brian Lohse, R-Bondurant, lost the Republican nomination to Austin Stubbs in Iowa House District 45, which includes Bondurant, Polk City and Mitchellville.
Stubbs, a former football player and coach who works at a nonprofit, beat Lohse by a wide margin, 75% to 25%.
Lohse, who is serving his fourth term, outspent Stubbs in 2026.
But Stubbs received support from conservative outside groups including Americans for Prosperity and The Family Leader, who spent money supporting Stubbs and opposing Lohse.
The Family Leader reported $8,700 of independent expenditures to support Stubbs and $6,200 to oppose Lohse.
Americans for Prosperity spent $36,830 to support Stubbs and $1,085 opposing Lohse.
Stubbs praised the “huge team effort” from his campaign’s volunteers and supporters and added that “these big groups that got behind us and supported were so huge to the outcome.”
“Family Leader really focuses on those social issues, AFP focuses on that fiscal conservatism,” he said. “And that blend of those two things I think showed the people of District 45 that I’m a well-rounded true conservative candidate.”
Lohse agreed that the spending by Americans for Prosperity and The Family Leader was a factor in the race.
“Americans for Prosperity and Family Leader came after me because of votes that I took,” he said. “And it didn’t matter that there was a lot that we agreed on. Because I didn’t agree with them 100% in areas, they felt that they needed to have me removed from office and put somebody in that will just do what they want them to do.”
Stubbs criticized Lohse for several of his votes in the Iowa House, including for voting against a 2023 law restricting which school bathrooms transgender people can use and a 2025 law removing gender identity as a protected class in the Iowa Civil Rights Act.
“That was an important part of the campaign was highlighting the voting record and the distinction between the two competitors,” he said.
In a video posted on Facebook on June 2, Lohse said he built a reputation for bipartisanship in the House and was able to pass legislation modifying Iowa’s bottle bill, improving adoption access and affordability, improving services for human trafficking victims and addressing Iowa’s lack of indigent defense attorneys.
“I’m incredibly proud of my voting record,” he said. “All of it.”
Lohse said his primary loss is the end of a chapter in life “that came earlier than I expected.”
“Also, by this time tomorrow, part of this new chapter will include that I will no longer be a part of the Republican Party,” he said. “Over the past several years I’ve been called countless names. I’ve had my faith not only questioned but I’ve been called not a Christian and a heretic, just to name a couple. I’ve watched from the inside as the Republican Party seems to have been taken over by a faction that uses the same tactics as the woke left who they fight.”
Stubbs said his team focused on contrasting his stances with Lohse’s voting record. He praised Lohse’s philanthropy and economic development work in Bondurant and said he’s focusing on the upcoming election.
“My long sports career is you compete with another team or an individual, at the end you shake hands and then you move on,” he said. “And so that’s what my team plans to do. We’re moving on and not looking to the past or the previous competition.”
Stubbs said if elected he hopes to improve education and expand school choice, improve Iowans’ health by looking at food production and water quality and lower property taxes.
Dani Ollenburg defeats Jane Bloomingdale in Iowa House District 60
Rep. Jane Bloomingdale, R-Northwood, lost her primary to Dani Ollenburg in Iowa House District 60 in Mitchell, Worth, Cerro Gordo and Floyd counties.
Ollenburg won 58% of the vote to Bloomingdale’s 42%.
Ollenburg said June 3 in an interview with the Des Moines Register that she looks forward to “upholding conservative values” in the Iowa Legislature.
“I really poured my heart into this race, and I gave it my all and hard work pays off,” she said. “And I’m just really thankful that my messaging resonated with the voters, that they connected with me.”
During the campaign, she criticized Bloomingdale’s voting record, including on abortion, eminent domain, education savings accounts and for cosponsoring an amendment to the bill removing gender identity protections from the Iowa Civil Rights Act. The amendment was withdrawn without a vote, and Bloomingdale ultimately voted for the bill.
In a Facebook post at the time, Bloomingdale said the amendment was meant to clarify “existing federal rights and protections for transgender people.”
“The intent was simple clarification,” she said. “Nothing more, nothing less. I have always voted and will always work to protect women’s sports and women’s rights.”
Bloomingdale could not be reached for comment.
Ollenburg, a former dental hygienist, mom and Republican Party volunteer, said “it was a very last-minute decision for me to run, but I’m glad that I did.”
On the campaign trail, she said she heard from voters concerned about Iowa’s high cancer rates, water quality and public education, including “woke ideology” and providing teachers more resources to meet students’ behavioral needs.
“They also feel like they haven’t been heard in a while,” she said. “And people are hurting right now with property taxes and inflation and people were just ready for change.”
Lohse and Bloomingdale were the only two sitting GOP representatives to lose their primaries of the 10 who faced challengers.
Adam Peters defeats Ken Croken in Iowa House District 97
One Democratic representative lost to a primary challenger on election night: state Rep. Ken Croken, D-Davenport.
Adam Peters defeated Croken in the Davenport-based Iowa House District 97, with 63% of the vote to Croken’s 37%.
Croken could not be reached for comment.
Peters, who has worked on Democratic political campaigns and is a former director of operations for Clock, Inc. LGBT+ Community Center, said he used his campaign to build community and bring people together.
“We proved that civic engagement can look like a concert or a documentary screening, a backyard gathering, a volunteer shift, knocking doors, conversations on porches,” he said. “I think this campaign at its core reminds people that they belong in this process, that they can find themselves here and that their voice really does matter.”
Peters said his campaign’s number one issue is water quality. He’s also running on affordable health care, supporting public education, raising the minimum wage as Iowans struggle with high costs and getting the state to “stop punching down” on LGBTQ Iowans and immigrants.
With no Republican opponent on the ballot, Peters said he wants to use his campaign organization to turn out voters and help other Democratic candidates around the state.
“I’m looking to drive our win here up in Scott County and have those votes trickle up to Christina Bohannan, to Rob Sand, to Josh Turek,” he said.
He said he knows “it’s an uphill battle” to turn Iowa blue but said he wants to build on the momentum from his primary win.
“People have been saying, ‘Adam you need to take a break for a few,'” he said. “And I’m like, we have 155 days until Nov. 3 and if you think I’m taking a break, you’re insane.”
Stephen Gruber-Miller is the Capitol bureau chief for the Des Moines Register. He can be reached by email at sgrubermil@registermedia.com, by phone at 515-284-8169 or on X at @sgrubermiller.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Primary challengers ousted 3 Iowa House members this year. Here’s how:
Reporting by Stephen Gruber-Miller, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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By Stephen Gruber-Miller, Des Moines Register | USA TODAY Network
