Good morning from Iowa Capital Dispatch.
“I would say that Republicans have a path to holding the House, but they kind of have to pitch a perfect game at this point in the cycle.” — Erin Covey of the Cook Political Report on the GOP path to keeping its U.S. House majority.
About 700 Democrats rallied for Iowa party candidates Saturday at the Polk County Democrats’ Steak Fry Aug. 29, 2026 in Des Moines. (Photo by Joanna Schroeder for Iowa Capital Dispatch)
Two national Democratic lawmakers endorsed Josh Turek for U.S. Senate on Saturday and called for term limits for U.S. Supreme Court justices and lawmakers.
Nearly 700 Iowans gathered at Des Moines Water Works Park for the 2026 Polk County Steak Fry to hear from 10 current legislators and hopefuls. They were joined by headliners U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse from Rhode Island and U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin from Maryland.
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz spoke with Iowans before speaking at Republican Ashley Hinson’s Annual “BBQ Bash” fundraiser held at the Horizon Events Center in Clive Aug. 29, 2026, supporting her run for U.S. Senate in the upcoming midterms. (Photo by Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch)
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz said Saturday Iowans would play an important role in keeping “Marxists and Islamists,” who he said have taken over the Democratic Party, out of power by electing Ashley Hinson to the U.S. Senate in November.
Cruz, alongside other Iowa Republican elected officials and candidates on the November ballot in the state, joined Hinson for her annual fundraiser, Ashley’s BBQ Bash, at the Horizon Events Center in Clive.
Farmers who purchased and had to repair John Deere large agricultural equipment during a certain time frame may be eligible for a payment as part of an antitrust class-action settlement.
The Iowa Board of Nursing has sanctioned several Iowa nurses accused of a range of violations, from inadequate patient care and theft of patient medications to indecent exposure.
U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks said Friday that workers at Iowa manufacturing businesses are benefitting from tax cuts made through the 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act, as she received an endorsement from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Some states that cover nonmedical home care through Medicaid have marginally increased workers’ wages. But those small gains could be wiped out in 2027, when billions of dollars in Medicaid cuts go into effect, Stateline reports.
A developing trade war with Canada could bite Republicans ahead of the upcoming midterm elections as voters worry about rising prices and industries in states with competitive races could suffer.
With less than 70 days until midterm elections, Democrats remain favored to regain the majority in the U.S. House.
Just over two months from midterm elections and four months removed from a U.S. Supreme Court decision that gutted Voting Rights Act protections for majority Black U.S. House districts, and 63 years after Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech there, thousands gathered again at the Lincoln Memorial Friday.
President Donald Trump’s administration is appealing a federal judge’s temporary pause on a U.S. Postal Service regulation that places new restrictions on mail-in voting, according to a Friday court filing.
COMMENTARY
Republican Ed Failor Jr. joins the conversation this week as we dig into the latest Iowa polling, the impact of Trump’s action on beef tariffs and the Libertarians again off the ballot.
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