Iowa gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2026
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← 2022
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| Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Iowa |
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| Democratic primary Republican primary General election |
| Election details |
| Filing deadline: March 13, 2026 |
| Primary: June 2, 2026 General: November 3, 2026 |
| How to vote |
| Poll times:
7 a.m. to 8 p.m. |
| Race ratings |
Sabato's Crystal Ball: Lean Republican Inside Elections: Likely Republican |
| Ballotpedia analysis |
| Federal and state primary competitiveness State executive elections in 2026 Impact of term limits in 2026 State government trifectas State government triplexes Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2026 |
| Iowa executive elections |
| Governor Lieutenant Governor |
Iowa is holding an election for governor and lieutenant governor on November 3, 2026. The primary is June 2, 2026. The filing deadline is March 13, 2026.
In Iowa, the gubernatorial nominee is selected in the primary. The gubernatorial nominee then chooses a lieutenant gubernatorial running mate, and they run together on a single ticket in the general election.
For more information about the primaries in this election, click on the links below:
- Iowa gubernatorial election, 2026 (June 2 Democratic primary)
- Iowa gubernatorial election, 2026 (June 2 Republican primary)
Candidates and election results
Note: The following list includes official candidates only. Ballotpedia defines official candidates as people who:
- Register with a federal or state campaign finance agency before the candidate filing deadline
- Appear on candidate lists released by government election agencies
Governor
General election
The primary will occur on June 2, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Governor of Iowa
Paul Dahl, Rob Sand, and Julie Stauch are running in the Democratic primary for Governor of Iowa on June 2, 2026.
Candidate | ||
| Paul Dahl | ||
 | Rob Sand | |
| Julie Stauch | ||
| ||||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Governor of Iowa
Eddie Andrews, Randy Feenstra, Brad Sherman, and Adam Steen are running in the Republican primary for Governor of Iowa on June 2, 2026.
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Lieutenant Governor
There are no official candidates yet for this election.
General election
The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.
Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses
Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
No candidate in this race has completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Ballotpedia is seeking 100 percent participation so voters can learn more about all the candidates on their ballots.
Voting information
- See also: Voting in Iowa
Ballotpedia will publish the dates and deadlines related to this election as they are made available.
General election race ratings
- See also: Race rating definitions and methods
Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:
- Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
- Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
- Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.[1]
- Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.
Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.[2][3][4]
| Race ratings: Iowa gubernatorial election, 2026 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Race tracker | Race ratings | ||||||||
| 1/6/2026 | 12/23/2025 | 12/16/2025 | 12/9/2025 | ||||||
| The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter | Lean Republican | Lean Republican | Lean Republican | Lean Republican | |||||
| Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales | Likely Republican | Likely Republican | Likely Republican | Likely Republican | |||||
| Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball | Lean Republican | Lean Republican | Lean Republican | Lean Republican | |||||
| Note: Ballotpedia reviews external race ratings every week throughout the election season and posts weekly updates even if the media outlets have not revised their ratings during that week. | |||||||||
Past elections
The section below details election results for this office in elections dating back to 2014.
2022
General election
General election for Governor of Iowa
Incumbent Kim Reynolds defeated Deidre DeJear and Rick Stewart in the general election for Governor of Iowa on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Kim Reynolds (R) | 58.0 | 709,198 |
 | Deidre DeJear (D) | 39.5 | 482,950 | |
 | Rick Stewart (L) | 2.4 | 28,998 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 718 | ||
| Total votes: 1,221,864 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Governor of Iowa
Deidre DeJear advanced from the Democratic primary for Governor of Iowa on June 7, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Deidre DeJear | 99.5 | 145,555 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.5 | 801 | ||
| Total votes: 146,356 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Ras Smith (D)
- Joshua Kuhn-McRoberts (D)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Governor of Iowa
Incumbent Kim Reynolds advanced from the Republican primary for Governor of Iowa on June 7, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Kim Reynolds | 99.0 | 185,293 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 1.0 | 1,808 | ||
| Total votes: 187,101 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2018
General election
General election for Governor of Iowa
Incumbent Kim Reynolds defeated Fred Hubbell, Jake Porter, and Gary Siegwarth in the general election for Governor of Iowa on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Kim Reynolds (R) | 50.3 | 667,275 |
 | Fred Hubbell (D) | 47.5 | 630,986 | |
 | Jake Porter (L) | 1.6 | 21,426 | |
 | Gary Siegwarth (Clear Water Party of Iowa Party) | 0.6 | 7,463 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.0 | 488 | ||
| Total votes: 1,327,638 (100.00% precincts reporting) | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Governor of Iowa
The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for Governor of Iowa on June 5, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Fred Hubbell | 55.5 | 99,245 |
 | Cathy Glasson | 20.6 | 36,815 | |
 | John Norris | 11.5 | 20,498 | |
| Andy McGuire | 5.3 | 9,404 | ||
 | Nate Boulton | 5.1 | 9,082 | |
 | Ross Wilburn | 2.2 | 3,880 | |
| Total votes: 178,924 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Governor of Iowa
Incumbent Kim Reynolds advanced from the Republican primary for Governor of Iowa on June 5, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Kim Reynolds | 100.0 | 94,118 |
| Total votes: 94,118 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Ron Corbett (R)
- Steven Ray (R)
Libertarian primary election
Libertarian primary for Governor of Iowa
Jake Porter defeated Marco Battaglia in the Libertarian primary for Governor of Iowa on June 5, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jake Porter | 58.4 | 991 |
 | Marco Battaglia | 41.6 | 705 | |
| Total votes: 1,696 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2014
- See also: Iowa Gubernatorial election, 2014
| Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Iowa, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Terry Branstad/Kim Reynolds Incumbent |
59% | 666,023 | |
| Democratic | Jack Hatch/Monica Vernon | 37.3% | 420,778 | |
| Libertarian | Lee Hieb/Tim Watson | 1.8% | 20,319 | |
| New Independent Party | Jim Hennager/Mary Krieg | 0.9% | 10,582 | |
| Iowa Party | Jonathan Narcisse/Michael Richards | 0.9% | 10,239 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in votes | 0.1% | 1,093 | |
| Total Votes | 1,129,034 | |||
| Election results via Iowa Secretary of State | ||||
See also
| Iowa | State Executive Elections | News and Analysis |
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External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- Governor of Iowa official website
- Lieutenant Governor of Iowa official website
Footnotes
- ↑ Inside Elections also uses Tilt ratings to indicate an even smaller advantage and greater competitiveness.
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Nathan Gonzalez," April 19, 2018
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Kyle Kondik," April 19, 2018
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Charlie Cook," April 22, 2018
