Iowa Republicans face five-candidate governor race — Iowa Election Results
Iowa election results center on open-seat primaries Tuesday, with Republicans choosing nominees for governor and U.S. Senate after Kim Reynolds and Joni Ernst said they would not seek third terms. Five Republicans are running for governor, while two Republicans and two Democrats are competing for Ernst's seat.
Ernst Seat Race
On the Senate side, U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson faces former state Sen. Jim Carlin in the Republican primary. State Rep. Josh Turek and state Sen. Zach Wahls are competing for the Democratic nomination, and Carlin enters after his 2022 Senate bid against Chuck Grassley, when he received about 27% of the primary vote.
Hinson won reelection in 2024 with 57% of the vote, giving her a statewide result far stronger than Carlin's earlier primary run. The winners will move into November's midterm elections for a seat that could matter in a narrowly divided chamber.
Reynolds Open Seat
The governor's race is drawing five Republicans: state Rep. Eddie Andrews, U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra, entrepreneur and private school co-founder Zach Lahn, former state Rep. Brad Sherman and former state administrative services director Adam Steen. President Donald Trump has endorsed Feenstra, while Democratic state Auditor Rob Sand is unopposed in his primary.
Sand is Iowa's only Democrat in elected statewide office. Feenstra's campaign has also opened a seat contest in the 4th Congressional District, while Hinson's Senate run has created an open race in the 2nd Congressional District.
Iowa's House Seats
Iowa's congressional map adds another layer to the primary result. Mariannette Miller-Meeks is facing a rematch with advertising executive David Pautsch in the 1st Congressional District after Pautsch won about 44% in the 2024 primary, and Christina Bohannan is again in the Democratic field after coming within 1 percentage point of defeating Miller-Meeks in one of the closest House races of 2024.
Zach Nunn and state Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott are both unopposed in the 3rd Congressional District. Trump received roughly 54% of the 2024 presidential vote in both the 1st and 2nd districts and about 52% in the 3rd, while Polk, Linn and Scott counties remain the largest statewide battlegrounds and Johnson County carries much less weight in Republican primaries.
For voters, the practical stakes now shift to November. Tuesday's nominees will fill the open governor and Senate races, and the statewide results will also shape how much room either party has in Iowa's most competitive House districts.
