September 12, 2026 · 6:27 AM CDT
YouGov's Sept. 3–8 registered-voter survey reports Turek 44%–43% Hinson and Sand 50%–39% Lahn. The source document reports 2,169 registered voters and an overall ±3.5-point margin of error; IA Fact Check labels the figures as a poll snapshot, not an election result or forecast.
September 10, 2026 · 12:03 AM CDT
J Street Action Fund named Mariannette Miller-Meeks among five Republican targets. IA Fact Check preserves the key limit: $3 million is the total across five races, not a disclosed IA-01-only spend.
September 9, 2026 · 7:52 PM CDT
Campaign-paid GSG poll: Turek 46%-42% Hinson; overlapping public Emerson/Nexstar poll: Hinson 50%-45%. Sponsor, methodology and uncertainty are kept explicit.
September 6, 2026 · 5:52 AM CDT
The amount matches the Reynolds administration’s reported $217M in 18-month savings and Cournoyer had a documented SF 514 role. The rating adds context that the figure is administration-reported and the full savings are not attributable to her alone.
September 6, 2026 · 5:26 AM CDT
Wulf said in July that his farm had been refinanced. A Sept. 1 receivership order followed a lender statement that no refinancing commitment letter had been provided, and the campaign said Sept. 4 that refinancing was still nearing completion. The July wording appears premature; the record does not by itself establish knowing deception.
September 6, 2026 · 4:56 AM CDT
Both sponsorship claims are supported: Hinson cosponsored the HELPER Act and introduced the RNs for Rural Health Act. Neither proposal had advanced into law as of the reviewed Sept. 1 status, so intended benefits should not be read as already delivered.
September 6, 2026 · 4:30 AM CDT
KWQC, KTIV, Iowa PBS and KCRG/The Gazette have announced debates for Oct. 6, 14, 21 and 27. IA Fact Check added the verified dates, times and hosts as current voter-information context.
September 6, 2026 · 3:55 AM CDT
Lahn’s support for Iowa’s ESA program and expansion is documented. The ad’s stronger claim that he puts private schools over public schools and rejects accountability goes beyond the direct evidence reviewed.
September 6, 2026 · 2:59 AM CDT
Iowa’s documented cancer-growth ranking is U.S.-specific. University of Iowa and Iowa Cancer Registry material support “fastest-growing in the country,” but the reviewed record does not support a worldwide superlative.
September 6, 2026 · 2:18 AM CDT
Reporting supports the narrower claim that Nunn has not held an open in-person public town hall, but his office documents telephone town halls/listening sessions and other constituent events. The unqualified wording is too broad.
September 6, 2026 · 1:52 AM CDT
The disclosures support a substantial increase in Hinson household assets, but they report broad value bands rather than exact net worth. Comparable range estimates rise roughly 3½–4× from 2020 to 2024/2025; the exact 10× figure is not established.
September 6, 2026 · 12:54 AM CDT
The underlying Rockwell Collins outsourcing grievance and Carter Lake police wage win are documented. The ad’s exact “got our jobs back” phrasing compresses the final remedy, and the “largest-ever” wage label was contemporaneously reported as a believed record rather than an official statewide ranking.
September 5, 2026 · 11:49 PM CDT
The overall cancer-causation point is supported: no one group explains Iowa’s cancer burden. But Polk County identifies agriculture as a major nitrate source, and Iowa research links nitrate exposure with some cancer risks, so the claim does not negate agricultural water-quality responsibility.
September 5, 2026 · 10:49 PM CDT
The settlement amount is real, but the 2023 record says Marshalltown’s required direct payment was a $5,000 insurance-pool deductible and the agreement contained no admission of liability. IA Fact Check adds the missing cost and legal context.
September 5, 2026 · 9:52 PM CDT
Emerson/Nexstar's Sept. 3 release has Hinson 50%–45% over Turek and Sand 49%–46% over Lahn. IA Fact Check records the 750-likely-voter methodology and ±3.6-point credibility interval and treats the numbers as snapshots, not outcomes.
September 5, 2026 · 8:46 PM CDT
LSA's enacted-budget sheet supports the structural-gap mechanics: adjusted current-year receipts are below net appropriations and carryforward/Taxpayer Relief Fund money fills the difference. The same sheet still projects substantial ending and reserve balances, so “time bomb” is a political description of sustainability rather than proof of immediate insolvency.
September 5, 2026 · 7:49 PM CDT
AP now reports Turning Point Action has staff in all 99 Iowa counties and describes State Fair confrontations with Democratic politicians as part of a broader organizing strategy. The new context strengthens attribution for the earlier heckling episode but does not verify claims about Sand's state of mind or restroom actions.
September 5, 2026 · 6:48 PM CDT
FEC data through June 30 show about 93% of Turek campaign receipts from individuals, about 6% from other political committees and about 1% from party committees. IA Fact Check separates direct campaign receipts from independent outside spending and avoids treating every “other committee” dollar as a corporate-PAC dollar.
September 5, 2026 · 5:47 PM CDT
Official House Journals confirm Turek voted no on SF 482 and HF 68. IA Fact Check separates those roll calls from broader claims about motive, bathroom policy intent, or every form of “school choice.”
September 5, 2026 · 4:46 PM CDT
KCRG verified the $100,000 Jeff Broin contribution total and timing. Bird’s office says DNR never referred the POET matter for further AG action, so IA Fact Check now finalizes the ad review rather than leaving those two points provisional.
September 5, 2026 · 3:54 PM CDT
The official House Journal lists Turek among 11 absent/not voting when HF 2748 passed 81–8. IA Fact Check separates that documented absence from campaign claims about his motive or entire agriculture record; the final package later became law as SF 2465.
September 5, 2026 · 2:52 PM CDT
KCRG reports 495-plus challenged registrations and an 85% acceptance rate, but Linn County’s auditor says normal roll maintenance would have caught the stale records and that accepted challenges do not establish illegal voting.
September 5, 2026 · 1:49 PM CDT
EPA confirms 1.76 billion RINs were exempted at 29 refineries. The additional 2026–27 reallocation is still a promised proposal, and its 100% figure applies to the gap between projected and actual exemptions—not the entire 1.76 billion.
September 5, 2026 · 12:46 PM CDT
The Iowa House record confirms Turek voted no on SF 2391. IA Fact Check separates that supported vote claim from the political assertion that the vote itself “hurt” Iowa agriculture, which the roll call cannot establish.
September 5, 2026 · 11:45 AM CDT
Primary state figures show about $20 million is the amount expected cumulatively through June 2030, while Bird told KCRG/Gray that a little over $9 million had actually been received at her last check. IA Fact Check rates the current-cash implication materially misleading.
September 5, 2026 · 10:44 AM CDT
At a Marion roundtable, Hinson said equipment-grant paperwork should be streamlined and said license-plate-reader technology must be balanced with constitutional rights and privacy. The existing Turek immigration-vote audit was not duplicated.
September 5, 2026 · 9:43 AM CDT
The campaign published a named cross-party endorsement list. IA Fact Check records the coalition as a documented campaign development while attributing the supporters’ current/former Republican registration status to the campaign rather than independently certifying every registration record.
September 5, 2026 · 8:45 AM CDT
KCRG confirms Hinson voted for H.R. 7008 and sold her publicly traded individual stocks after taking office, but could not verify the ad’s exact claim that congressional trades beat the S&P 500 by almost 18%. The House bill also permits existing and private holdings.
September 5, 2026 · 7:46 AM CDT
HF 946 strengthened penalties for intentional noncompliance rather than restricting ICE cooperation, making Hinson’s wording overstated. Turek did circulate immigrant-rights guidance, but “avoid ICE” goes beyond the newsletter’s quoted wording. The separate benefits allegation remains open pending a bill-specific primary-source citation.
September 5, 2026 · 7:11 AM CDT
Muhlbauer emphasized farm innovation, conservation, market development and keeping young farmers in Iowa. DMACC’s own program record supports the underlying description of the teaching farm; the claimed future workforce/market effects remain prospective.
September 5, 2026 · 6:43 AM CDT
Gray Media independently supports the rounded 58% figure for 2026 Iowa House floor votes. The cited $20,100 was reported by the House chief clerk as legislative per diem; Iowa law distinguishes that category from actual-expense reimbursement, making the ad’s “reimbursements” wording imprecise.
September 5, 2026 · 5:43 AM CDT
Farm distress is real, but the latest complete Chapter 12 state comparison puts Iowa third, behind Arkansas and Georgia; IA Fact Check found no authoritative nationwide farm-foreclosure ranking that puts Iowa first.
September 5, 2026 · 4:54 AM CDT
Documented Iowa farm stress supports the concern, but the 1980s comparison remains a forward-looking analogy: USDA’s Sept. 3 forecast shows falling real net farm income and rising debt alongside still-stable sector equity and income above the 20-year average.
September 5, 2026 · 3:47 AM CDT
New USDA daily sales records support Hinson’s narrower claim that Chinese buyers continued purchasing U.S. soybeans, while IA Fact Check keeps full-year purchase targets and future fulfillment separate.
September 5, 2026 · 2:44 AM CDT
A Colfax pharmacy visit is now documented with careful separation between the pharmacy owner's reimbursement experience, Turek's policy argument, Iowa's 2025 PBM law and the federal Medicare/PBM jurisdiction issue.
September 5, 2026 · 1:45 AM CDT
The PAC's “Friend of Agriculture” designation is now documented on both candidates and their race pages, with a clear distinction between an advocacy-group endorsement and an independent factual rating.
September 5, 2026 · 12:44 AM CDT
New sourced context documents a court-ordered receivership and civil debt disputes while clearly separating those records—and a sheriff-confirmed active investigation—from any finding of criminal guilt.
September 4, 2026 · 9:45 PM CDT
Added the Sept. 4 federal response on wolves, local processing and origin labeling, while noting that the separate 300,000-metric-ton lean-beef import quota criticized by Iowa lawmakers remains distinct policy context.
September 4, 2026 · 3:43 PM CDT
Emerson/Nexstar found Sand 49%-46% over Lahn and Hinson 50%-45% over Turek in an Aug. 31-Sept. 1 likely-voter survey; methodology and uncertainty are shown with the numbers.
September 3, 2026 · 11:46 PM CDT
Current Iowa absentee instructions are separated from the federal court fight over proposed USPS/mail-ballot restrictions; the page does not tell voters that Iowa rules have changed when the state’s posted guidance has not.
September 3, 2026 · 10:58 PM CDT
Added fresh Sept. 3 policy reporting with the specific $2,500 assistance and inspection proposals separated from unproven outcome claims.
September 3, 2026 · 10:58 PM CDT
Added the Sept. 3 letter and direct Nunn/Hinson context to Zach Nunn, Ashley Hinson and Mariannette Miller-Meeks records without converting economic forecasts into factual verdicts.
September 3, 2026 · 2:43 AM CDT
Fresh Sept. 2 campaign criticism is separated from the Iowa Supreme Court’s April 17 holding that attorney-client privilege limits the Auditor’s subpoena authority.
September 3, 2026 · 1:58 AM CDT
KCAU’s tour-launch report is paired with EPA and Iowa DNR records so the candidate’s nitrate-impairment statement is shown with segment and assessment-cycle context.
September 3, 2026 · 12:34 AM CDT
Rated mostly unsupported / attack framing. The visible CLF line is a broad character smear, while related factual predicates are separated into the sports/locker-room vote record and the wedding/officiated claim record.
September 3, 2026 · 12:18 AM CDT
Trone Garriott’s no votes on HF 2416 and SF 482 are real, but the ad’s “voted to let boys” wording is a loaded compression of the legislative record.
September 2, 2026 · 11:55 PM CDT
Recovery sweep added current Iowa campaign topics for verification and created a real package hash change for the local publisher handoff.
September 1, 2026 · 12:04 PM CDT
Added her Aug. 31 ACS CAN Cancer Promise signature with the advocacy group’s non-endorsement caveat and primary-source context on enacted multi-cancer screening coverage and House-passed breast-cancer education legislation.
September 1, 2026 · 7:05 AM CDT
Added Sand's proposal for full-day preschool for three- and four-year-olds, the current Iowa program structure, and context showing that his “$17 per $1” figure is a high-end research estimate rather than a guaranteed return from this specific proposal.
September 1, 2026 · 12:04 AM CDT
KCRG’s journal analysis supports the claim as plausible while showing why the definition of “voted with Republicans” matters; IA Fact Check added the independent numbers and specific bill examples.
August 31, 2026 · 9:06 PM CDT
Independent drug-cost context added to governor race
Added Gray Media reporting that places Sand and Lahn drug-cost positions in the same patient-focused story, without converting either campaign’s expected effects into verified outcomes.
August 31, 2026 · 5:20 PM CDT
Logged Sand's same-day health-care, energy, education and housing affordability proposals while separating the documented campaign positions from unverified cost or savings outcomes.
August 31, 2026 · 2:06 PM CDT
Added Radio Iowa’s Aug. 31 summary of the Sand and Lahn data-center tax proposals, while keeping the National Taxpayers Union’s criticism explicitly labeled as advocacy rather than a factual verdict.
August 31, 2026 · 8:30 AM CDT
Added Radio Iowa's Aug. 31 reporting on the Hinson and Turek weekend events as turnout/campaign context, without treating attendance or partisan claims as election forecasts.
August 30, 2026 · 6:09 PM CDT
Added KCRG’s event reporting for Josh Turek, Rob Sand and Sarah Trone Garriott as campaign-organizing context, without a factual verdict or election forecast.
August 30, 2026 · 2:07 PM CDT
Added Gray Media's Aug. 29 Clive event reporting as current campaign context, keeping turnout messaging and party registration separate from any prediction about the Senate race.
August 30, 2026 · 7:04 AM CDT
Recorded Aug. 29 affordability and turnout remarks as candidate-position context without assigning a factual verdict.
August 30, 2026 · 6:09 AM CDT
Recorded Aug. 29 term-limit statements as candidate-position context, without assigning a factual verdict.
August 29, 2026 · 9:07 PM CDT
Added primary voting records and candidate statements to distinguish Turek’s 2024 SF 2340 vote from his later call to condition DHS funding on ICE reforms.
August 29, 2026 · 3:06 PM CDT
Added local reporting on Rob Sand’s announced Aug. 31 Guthrie Center campaign gathering as a schedule record, without treating it as a fact-check verdict.
August 29, 2026 · 1:03 PM CDT
Added CNN’s Aug. 29 profile and direct Sand remarks on election reform, water quality, cancer prevention and his strategy of not centering President Trump in the governor campaign.
Rob Sand direct policy clips added
August 29, 2026 · 12:00 PM CDT
Open candidate record →August 29, 2026 · 11:07 AM CDT
Added KWBG’s full Aug. 28 interview transcript as a direct candidate source for Hinson’s insurer-transparency, beef-import, E15 and attendance statements, while retaining the existing independent scope check on the 58% attendance claim.
August 29, 2026 · 12:07 AM CDT
Added Iowa Capital Dispatch’s Aug. 28 reporting on Miller-Meeks’ manufacturing/tax-law message and Bohannan’s response, preserving each side as attributed campaign-policy context.
August 28, 2026 · 8:04 AM CDT
Added Bird's Aug. 27 campaign-event remarks alongside the Iowa Attorney General's official settlement release: Iowa is guaranteed $126,485,391 in ten installments under the $17.1 billion multistate agreement, with child-safety reforms required on Meta platforms.
August 28, 2026 · 12:04 AM CDT
Added KCRG’s Aug. 26 fact check to the existing governor-race ad review. The station found the cited tax numbers did not add up to $7,500 and found no public record establishing that Sand personally is a billionaire.
August 27, 2026 · 1:14 PM CDT
Added the reported Aug. 27 refinery-waiver proposal alongside EPA’s finalized RFS rule and Naig’s existing support for strong biofuel volumes; no final new waiver action is treated as settled.
August 27, 2026 · 8:15 AM CDT
Added Turek’s Aug. 27 water-quality position alongside Iowa Cancer Registry and nitrate-health context, without treating nitrate as a proven sole cause of Iowa’s cancer trend.
August 27, 2026 · 6:03 AM CDT
Added NOTUS reporting that Hinson’s husband helped arrange an insurance-group meeting with Iowa lawmakers, alongside the campaign’s response and House Ethics guidance. No ethics violation is treated as established.
August 27, 2026 · 4:15 AM CDT
Added Turek’s Aug. 26 ACS CAN statements on cancer research, health-care access and a public option, while preserving both his missed April pediatric-cancer vote and his later vote for enacted $3 million pediatric-cancer funding.
August 27, 2026 · 2:08 AM CDT
Direct Aug. 26 candidate answers strengthen the earlier spokesperson-only record: Sand said “No thanks” and called for new leadership; Turek answered “No.” IA Fact Check treats this as campaign-strategy context, not a policy verdict.
August 26, 2026 · 8:07 PM CDT
Suffolk's Aug. 20–23 statewide likely-voter survey finds Sand 48%-Lahn 44% for governor and Hinson 45%-Turek 41% for U.S. Senate, with a reported ±4.4-point margin of error. IA Fact Check records the result as polling context—not a forecast—and keeps the separate Muscatine County bellwether sample distinct.
August 26, 2026 · 4:19 PM CDT
IA Fact Check has published an initial allegation-by-allegation audit of the Aug. 25 television ad. The historical excessive-emissions episode is substantially supported; the review flags unresolved context around Bird's role, the reported $100,000 POET CEO contribution and the ad's present-tense exposure wording. Transaction and referral records are still being investigated.
August 26, 2026 · 7:11 AM CDT
Radio Iowa reports that the Secretary of State has rejected Jake Heard’s Libertarian replacement nomination for IA-03 as procedurally improper and Heard has asked a judge to put him on the November ballot. IA Fact Check now labels the party nomination as documented but ballot access as unresolved pending judicial review.
August 25, 2026 · 10:18 PM CDT
Gray Media independently finds Josh Turek absent or not voting on 58.1% of 2026 Iowa House floor votes, while Ashley Hinson missed 5 of 283 U.S. House floor votes in 2026. The report also clarifies that Turek’s “193” Hinson comparison depends on broader committee and voice-vote categories, so IA Fact Check now makes the scope difference explicit.
August 25, 2026 · 4:28 PM CDT
Fresh Kansas Reflector/KMUW reporting documents a 2023 Wichita police record showing Lahn’s handgun and ammunition were stolen from Wonder school property and later recovered, while adding detail on the school’s roughly $4.5 million related-party debt. IA Fact Check records the police and nonprofit-finance facts as relevant campaign background without treating them as proof of criminal misconduct, fraud or self-dealing.
August 25, 2026 · 11:17 AM CDT
Radio Iowa documents John Norwood’s call for a more engaged treasurer role in IPERS oversight and for keeping more short-term state deposits in Iowa banks and credit unions. Official IPERS records confirm the treasurer’s voting Investment Board role; Norwood’s exact $2.5 billion out-of-state figure remains attributed to him because IA Fact Check did not independently reproduce that amount from a primary treasury record.
August 25, 2026 · 10:21 AM CDT
New Kansas Reflector reporting says personal loans from Zach and Annie Lahn have helped sustain the Wichita private school he co-founded. IA Fact Check cross-checked the nonprofit’s IRS-derived financial record and added the liabilities, negative-net-assets and interested-person-transaction context without treating disclosed related-party financing as evidence of wrongdoing.
August 25, 2026 · 8:28 AM CDT
Iowa’s official Voter Ready portal lists August 25 as the first day voters may file an absentee-ballot request for the November 3 General Election. IA Fact Check distinguishes the request-window opening from October 14, when absentee ballots may begin mailing and in-person absentee voting begins.
August 25, 2026 · 6:25 AM CDT
Radio Iowa reports Taylor Wettach wants greater public transparency for private-school budgets receiving taxpayer-funded Education Savings Account money. IA Fact Check records the proposal and current program figures as policy context, not as evidence of misuse or a prediction about future audit authority.
August 25, 2026 · 12:23 AM CDT
KCRG-TV9’s Aug. 24 review strengthens the factual basis for the ad’s projected Iowa coverage-loss range while materially undercutting its claim that Hinson’s vote pushed 20 rural Iowa hospitals to the brink of closing. IA Fact Check adds the new source without changing the distinction between projected coverage effects and direct hospital-closure causation.
August 24, 2026 · 10:19 PM CDT
Fresh Brownfield reporting documents Zach Nunn opposing the temporary beef-import expansion as a long-term solution and calling instead for domestic herd rebuilding, regulatory relief and a new five-year farm bill. IA Fact Check records the remarks as agriculture/trade-policy context rather than as proven market outcomes.
August 24, 2026 · 8:21 PM CDT
Fresh Aug. 24 Iowa Capital Dispatch reporting documents Jones calling for systemic rather than incremental change in Iowa agriculture and water policy. IA Fact Check cross-checked the remarks against his published platform and records the specific regulatory proposals as policy commitments—not as proven environmental or economic outcomes.
August 24, 2026 · 7:16 PM CDT
New Iowa Capital Dispatch reporting from an Aug. 24 business forum documents Lahn supporting a temporary data-center moratorium while Iowa sets rules, opposing state data-center tax incentives, requiring operators to cover electricity costs and environmental impacts, and calling for state-level rules around AI-powered Flock license-plate-reader cameras. IA Fact Check records the remarks as policy positions, not as proven economic, environmental or privacy outcomes.
August 24, 2026 · 6:30 PM CDT
Direct Franklin County town-hall audio documents Sand backing universal school breakfast and lunch and stronger accountability for public voucher dollars. IA Fact Check records the universal-meals proposal as a policy commitment and does not treat cost savings or federal-funding coverage as established without a statewide fiscal estimate.
August 24, 2026 · 5:18 PM CDT
New interview excerpts provide directly attributable answers on abortion and youth gender-care regulation. IA Fact Check records what Trone Garriott did and did not specify, cross-checks her 2023 SF 538 vote, and separates those facts from the partisan outlet's broader framing.
August 24, 2026 · 5:17 PM CDT
Iowa Starting Line reports more than $10.1 million raised combined by Sarah Trone Garriott and Zach Nunn, linking FEC records. IA Fact Check records the figures as campaign-finance context rather than a forecast or evidence of donor influence.
August 24, 2026 · 4:24 PM CDT
Added the Bird–Willems disagreement over wage-theft enforcement, cross-checked against Iowa Workforce Development’s existing state role and clarified that the $900 million annual figure is a 2022 estimate rather than an audited annual total.
August 24, 2026 · 3:28 PM CDT
Independent Aug. 24 reporting supplies Turek’s full fundraiser remark behind Hinson’s “Matters” ad, while Iowa Code §2.10 clarifies that regular-session per diem is tied to session days rather than individual roll-call attendance. IA Fact Check updated the existing review without changing its core distinction between missed votes and the broader claim that Turek “skips work half the time.”
August 24, 2026 · 2:23 PM CDT
New Aug. 24 national reporting highlights Iowa’s cancer burden as a campaign issue. IA Fact Check added Hinson’s Aug. 18 cancer-research bill and Turek’s published health-care platform as sourced policy context without treating future health outcomes as established.
August 24, 2026 · 1:16 PM CDT
Iowa Starting Line’s Aug. 24 race guide adds a fresh independent candidate overview and links to FEC records showing more than $14 million raised combined by Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Christina Bohannan. IA Fact Check records the figures as campaign-finance context, not as evidence of wrongdoing or an election forecast.
August 24, 2026 · 12:21 PM CDT
The American Bankers Association and Iowa Bankers Association announced a new Iowa ad praising Ashley Hinson’s support for housing, first-time-homebuyer and community-investment legislation. IA Fact Check records the ad as banking-industry advocacy, preserves the sponsor context, and does not convert its broad affordability/economic-effect claims into independently established findings.
August 24, 2026 · 10:30 AM CDT
Iowa governor and U.S. Senate polling averages refreshed
FiftyPlusOne’s current modeled averages now list Rob Sand 49.2% and Zach Lahn 43.5% in the governor race, a 5.7-point gap, and Ashley Hinson 46.8% and Josh Turek 45.9% in the U.S. Senate race, a 0.9-point gap. These are live polling aggregations of qualifying public polls—not newly released surveys, Hogwash verdicts or election forecasts—and the site keeps them separate from individual polls and analyst race ratings.
Governor context · Senate context
August 24, 2026 · 8:23 AM CDT
FiftyPlusOne’s live modeled 2026 general-election average now lists Rob Sand at 49.3% and Zach Lahn at 43.6%, a 5.7-point exact gap. IA Fact Check treats the figure as a polling aggregation—not a new survey, Hogwash verdict or election forecast—and keeps it separate from individual polls and analyst race ratings.
August 24, 2026 · 6:22 AM CDT
AP adds fresh Bohannan–Miller-Meeks battleground context
The Associated Press profiles Christina Bohannan’s third IA-01 run, the 799-vote 2024 margin, expanded rural outreach and Mariannette Miller-Meeks’ defense of her record. IA Fact Check added the report to both candidate records and the IA-01 race page as independent context—not a poll, forecast or Hogwash verdict.
Associated Press report · IA-01 context
August 24, 2026 · 3:08 AM CDT
Added newly published reporting from Ashley Hinson’s Aug. 21 State Fair appearance. Hinson said a Josh Turek Senate victory could mean the last year for the Iowa Pork Tent, tying the warning to Turek’s opposition to her Save Our Bacon Act. IA Fact Check preserves the policy disagreement but makes clear that Turek also opposes Proposition 12 and that no direct record establishes his election would close the Iowa Pork Tent; the future-looking warning is treated as campaign rhetoric rather than a Hogwash-scored factual claim.
August 24, 2026 · 1:29 AM CDT
FiftyPlusOne’s current modeled 2026 general-election average lists Rob Sand at 49.4% and Zach Lahn at 43.6%, a 5.8-point gap. IA Fact Check labels this as an aggregation of qualifying public polls—not a newly released survey, Hogwash verdict or election forecast—and keeps it separate from Cook’s race rating and individual polls.
August 23, 2026 · 11:22 PM CDT
Added newly published reporting that former Gov. Terry Branstad, who backed Randy Feenstra in the Republican primary, now says he fully supports Zach Lahn. The same report states that both Lahn and Rob Sand oppose eminent-domain use for the Summit carbon pipeline. Branstad’s endorsement praise and criticism of Sand are recorded as political context rather than Hogwash-scored factual findings.
August 23, 2026 · 10:24 PM CDT
Refreshed the Iowa Secretary of State’s voluntary fairgoer tallies after the 2026 State Fair concluded. Post-fair snapshot: Senate — Hinson 1,762 (64.03%), Turek 918 (33.36%), Laehn 72 (2.62%); IA-01 — Miller-Meeks 296 (65.92%), Bohannan 135 (30.07%), Bridgford 18 (4.01%); IA-02 — Mitchell 274 (69.72%), James 94 (23.92%), Stewart 14 (3.56%), Bushaw 11 (2.80%); IA-03 — Nunn 876 (64.51%), Trone Garriott 482 (35.49%); IA-04 — McGowan 360 (70.73%), Dawson 149 (29.27%); Governor — Lahn/Wulf 1,757 (63.68%), Sand/Muhlbauer 1,002 (36.32%). IA Fact Check continues to label the State Fair straw poll unscientific, unofficial, nonrepresentative and non-predictive; it does not alter scientific polling or race-rating analysis.
August 23, 2026 · 8:14 PM CDT
NPR adds independent context to IA-02 / IA-03 faith-based campaign attacks
NPR’s Aug. 23 profile independently records Joe Mitchell’s “pastors in name only” criticism of Lindsay James and Sarah Trone-Garriott, Zach Nunn’s criticism of Trone-Garriott’s seminary-era wedding story, and both Democratic candidates’ responses. IA Fact Check preserves the authenticated quotations and clergy backgrounds while treating “real pastor” / “true gospel” conclusions as theological judgments rather than Hogwash-scored factual claims.
Lindsay James profile · Sarah Trone-Garriott profile · Joe Mitchell profile
August 23, 2026 · 6:12 PM CDT
Refreshed the Iowa Secretary of State’s live voluntary fairgoer tallies across the covered governor, U.S. Senate and U.S. House races. Current snapshot: Senate — Hinson 1,700 (64.22%), Turek 878 (33.17%), Laehn 69 (2.61%); IA-01 — Miller-Meeks 291 (66.14%), Bohannan 131 (29.77%), Bridgford 18 (4.09%); IA-02 — Mitchell 269 (69.87%), James 92 (23.90%), Stewart 14 (3.64%), Bushaw 10 (2.60%); IA-03 — Nunn 825 (64.20%), Trone Garriott 460 (35.80%); IA-04 — McGowan 357 (71.98%), Dawson 139 (28.02%); Governor — Lahn/Wulf 1,693 (63.77%), Sand/Muhlbauer 962 (36.23%). IA Fact Check continues to label the State Fair straw poll unscientific, unofficial, nonrepresentative and non-predictive; this update does not change scientific polling or race-rating analysis.
August 23, 2026 · 2:26 PM CDT
Added Mike Naig’s and Chris Jones’s newly reported responses to the administration’s temporary lower-tariff beef-import expansion. Naig said affordable food should not come at cattle producers’ expense and said he raised the issue with Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins; Jones called the imports a short-term “band-aid” rather than a herd-rebuilding strategy. The site treats both as documented policy positions, not predictions about future prices or producer income.
August 23, 2026 · 9:26 AM CDT
The Journal’s new Aug. 23 profile describes Ashley Hinson’s contest with Josh Turek as a difficult, competitive open-seat race and identifies Turek as a strong challenger. IA Fact Check records the profile as independent race context, not a poll, Hogwash verdict or election prediction.
August 23, 2026 · 8:19 AM CDT
Iowa PBS’s original March 2023 transcript confirms James said gender-affirming care can be medically necessary and lifesaving and argued for parent-doctor decision-making. IA Fact Check added the exact quotation, her SF 538 vote and enactment context, while separating the primary record from broader attack-language paraphrases.
August 23, 2026 · 7:15 AM CDT
Refreshed the Iowa Secretary of State’s live voluntary fairgoer tallies across the covered governor, U.S. Senate and U.S. House races. Current snapshot: Senate — Hinson 1,644 (64.50%), Turek 836 (32.80%), Laehn 69 (2.71%); IA-01 — Miller-Meeks 282 (66.51%), Bohannan 124 (29.25%), Bridgford 18 (4.25%); IA-02 — Mitchell 261 (69.41%), James 91 (24.20%), Stewart 14 (3.72%), Bushaw 10 (2.66%); IA-03 — Nunn 796 (64.51%), Trone Garriott 438 (35.49%); IA-04 — McGowan 344 (71.97%), Dawson 134 (28.03%); Governor — Lahn/Wulf 1,635 (63.97%), Sand/Muhlbauer 921 (36.03%). IA Fact Check continues to label the State Fair straw poll unscientific, unofficial, nonrepresentative and non-predictive; this update does not change scientific polling or race-rating analysis.
August 23, 2026 · 2:20 AM CDT
FiftyPlusOne’s live Aug. 22 modeled Iowa U.S. Senate average currently lists Ashley Hinson at 47.0% and Josh Turek at 46.1%, a nine-tenths-point gap. IA Fact Check continues to label the figure as a polling aggregation rather than a new survey, Hogwash verdict or election forecast.
August 23, 2026 · 12:08 AM CDT
Added the newly seen WinSenate attack to Ashley Hinson’s media archive and the U.S. Senate race page. A congressional-record review supports the nearly-200-vote claim when committee and floor absences are separately identified; the June 24 fundraiser episode is supported with the more precise seven-of-11 committee-vote count. Financial disclosures support substantial household wealth growth, but the stronger “lining her pockets” / office-caused self-enrichment conclusion is not established by the reviewed evidence.
August 22, 2026 · 9:22 PM CDT
Added Wettach’s State Fair pledge to seek reversal of the 2023 auditor-access law and cross-checked the reference against enacted Senate File 478. The item is treated as documented policy context, not a Hogwash verdict or prediction about future legislative action.
August 22, 2026 · 6:23 PM CDT
FiftyPlusOne’s live Aug. 22 modeled Iowa U.S. Senate average now lists Ashley Hinson at 47.0% and Josh Turek at 46.2%, an eight-tenths-point gap. The site continues to label the figure as a polling aggregation rather than a new survey, Hogwash verdict or election forecast.
August 22, 2026 · 4:13 PM CDT
Sabato’s Crystal Ball senior columnist Louis Jacobson moved the Brenna Bird–Nate Willems contest from Likely Republican to Leans Republican in an Aug. 20 state-AG analysis. The site preserves the editors’ caveat that these lower-office assessments are analytical rather than formal “official” Crystal Ball race ratings.
August 22, 2026 · 3:10 PM CDT
Added Rob Sand’s Aug. 18 Lincolnway Energy meeting with Iowa ethanol producers and cross-checked his current position with separate local reporting: Sand supports Iowa ethanol and year-round E15 while continuing to oppose eminent-domain use for carbon pipelines. The item is treated as agriculture/energy policy context, not a Hogwash verdict.
August 22, 2026 · 1:26 PM CDT
Refreshed the Iowa Secretary of State’s live voluntary fairgoer tallies across the covered governor, U.S. Senate and U.S. House races. Current snapshot: Senate — Hinson 1,570 (64.88%), Turek 785 (32.44%), Laehn 65 (2.69%); IA-01 — Miller-Meeks 269 (66.58%), Bohannan 119 (29.46%), Bridgford 16 (3.96%); IA-02 — Mitchell 258 (70.49%), James 85 (23.22%), Stewart 14 (3.83%), Bushaw 9 (2.46%); IA-03 — Nunn 753 (64.86%), Trone Garriott 408 (35.14%); IA-04 — McGowan 330 (72.69%), Dawson 124 (27.31%); Governor — Lahn/Wulf 1,563 (64.48%), Sand/Muhlbauer 861 (35.52%). IA Fact Check continues to label the State Fair straw poll unscientific, unofficial, nonrepresentative and non-predictive; the update does not change scientific polling or race-rating analysis.
August 22, 2026 · 12:29 PM CDT
Silver Bulletin House forecast context added for IA-01, IA-02 and IA-03
Added Silver Bulletin’s Aug. 20 FLIPR ratings for Iowa’s three competitive House races: IA-01 Lean Democrat, IA-02 Toss Up and IA-03 Likely Democrat. The site labels these as model/forecast classifications, keeps them separate from polling and Hogwash verdicts, and notes that forecasters can disagree.
IA-01 · IA-02 · IA-03
August 22, 2026 · 11:24 AM CDT
Added FiftyPlusOne’s Aug. 22 modeled polling average: Ashley Hinson 47.0%, Josh Turek 46.2%. The site explicitly labels the figure as a poll aggregation rather than a newly released survey or election forecast and links the aggregator’s methodology.
August 22, 2026 · 2:20 AM CDT
Bird said she supports voter ID; Willems said he intends to enforce Iowa law and protect eligible voters. IA Fact Check preserves Bird’s assertion about Willems’s voter-ID position as attributed rather than independently established by the State Fair report, and links the current Iowa voter-ID requirements.
August 22, 2026 · 1:12 AM CDT
Added both nominees’ Aug. 21 reactions to the Trump administration’s temporary ground-beef import plan, cross-checked against Reuters policy reporting and the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association’s producer response. The item is treated as current agriculture/trade-policy context, not a Hogwash verdict.
August 21, 2026 · 7:11 PM CDT
Added Nate Willems’s State Fair claim that Brenna Bird gave a polluter a “slap on the wrist” and took campaign money from actors tied to pollution. The settlement amounts and outside criticism are documented; the broader donor/quid-pro-quo implication is not established by the reviewed record.
August 21, 2026 · 2:15 PM CDT
Family wealth and multimillion-dollar family campaign contributions are documented, but no reliable reviewed source establishes that Rob Sand personally has a net worth of $1 billion or more. The label is rated Getting Muddy / unsubstantiated rather than treated as verified.
August 21, 2026 · 2:15 PM CDT
Former Iowa governor and former U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and more than 50 farmers/former agriculture leaders backed Sand and Dave Muhlbauer at an Aug. 19 farm-policy roundtable. The endorsement is logged as campaign context, not proof of policy effectiveness.
August 21, 2026 · 6:25 AM CDT
Added a two-part review of Zach Lahn’s Aug. 20 ad: Sand has supported selected targeted tax/revenue increases, but no reviewed Sand proposal or independent analysis supports the ad’s claim that the average Iowan would pay $7,500 more per year. The central dollar claim is rated Mostly Hogwash.
August 21, 2026 · 1:14 AM CDT
Added Change Research’s poll for the Chris Jones campaign: Mike Naig 42%, Jones 40%, 16% unsure on the initial ballot, within the survey’s stated ±3.1-point margin of error. The later 46%–40% Jones result is explicitly separated as an informed/message-exposed ballot after candidate biographies, not treated as a neutral topline or forecast.
August 20, 2026 · 4:27 PM CDT
Cook shifted the Sand–Lahn contest from Toss Up to Lean Democrat. IA Fact Check treats the category as analyst race context, not a poll or election forecast, and keeps it separate from Emerson/Nexstar’s Aug. 2–4 likely-voter poll.
August 20, 2026 · 1:23 PM CDT
Cook shifted the Hinson–Turek contest from Lean Republican to Toss Up. IA Fact Check treats the category as analyst race context, not a poll or prediction, and pairs it with the latest Emerson/Nexstar methodology and topline.
August 20, 2026 · 1:23 PM CDT
Added Cook Political Report’s Aug. 20 move of the Ashley Hinson–Josh Turek race from Lean Republican to Toss Up, with explicit analyst-rating caveats and the latest Emerson/Nexstar public-poll context.
August 20, 2026 · 12:00 PM CDT
IA Fact Check reviewed Bird for Iowa’s new statewide TV/digital ad allegation by allegation. Willems’ public career record supports the narrow point that no criminal-prosecutor role is documented. But the on-screen claims that he voted “against monitoring sex offenders” and “opposes monitoring child molesters” omit that his 2009 no vote was on a broad substitute amendment containing an automatic minimum-five-year mandate; the roll call alone does not show why he opposed the substitute, and minutes later he voted yes on final SF 340’s risk-based electronic-monitoring framework. The ad’s income-tax and gas-tax lines also require context.
August 20, 2026 · 11:11 AM CDT
Official State Fair straw-poll snapshot added across covered statewide and federal races
Added the Iowa Secretary of State’s live 2026 State Fair straw-poll totals to the governor, U.S. Senate and all four U.S. House race records. The site explicitly labels the fairgoer poll unscientific, unofficial and nonrepresentative, and does not infer IA-03 ballot status from the straw-poll candidate choices.
Live official tally
August 20, 2026 · 9:50 AM CDT
The seven-position meter asset itself was rebuilt with protected canvas space and a complete rounded perimeter, eliminating the clipped left, right and bottom edges. The moving pig indicator was also redrawn larger and more clearly, with a stronger outline, shadow and centered pointer while preserving the existing rating logic.
August 20, 2026 · 9:00 AM CDT
Claim reviews were reordered so each bold quoted claim appears immediately above its Iowa Hogwash Meter. The verdict and evidence confidence remain attached to the meter, and the plain-language explanation now follows it. Media allegations use the same claim → meter → explanation sequence so readers can immediately see which rating belongs to which statement.
August 20, 2026 · 8:48 AM CDT
IA Fact Check replaced the vertical temperature gauge across interactive claim and media reviews with a horizontal seven-position Iowa Hogwash Meter. The new component preserves the evidence-first rating standard, uses a moving pig indicator and dynamic verdict, separates evidence confidence from claim support, reserves Full Hogwash for claims directly contradicted by the record, and leaves political labels unscored.
August 20, 2026 · 7:25 AM CDT · schedule updated Sept. 1
The Aug. 19 reporting documented debate commitments before dates were public. Iowa PBS subsequently announced a live Oct. 8, 7 p.m. IA-02 debate naming Lindsay James and Joe Mitchell. The ballot-qualified field also includes Rick Stewart and Dave Bushaw; the Iowa PBS announcement does not establish their participation.
August 20, 2026 · 5:14 AM CDT
At an Aug. 18 ACS CAN forum, Lahn proposed shifting funding from some state university degree programs he says do not lead to good future jobs into pediatric or other cancer research. He also proposed more lower-cost water-quality monitoring. Available reporting does not identify the affected programs, dollar amounts or an implementation mechanism, so IA Fact Check records the proposal without adding those details.
August 19, 2026 · 9:22 PM CDT
The Iowa Secretary of State candidate list updated Aug. 19 at 1:36 p.m. still lists only Zach Nunn and Sarah Trone Garriott in the 3rd District and does not list Libertarian replacement nominee Jake Heard. The same document sets a 5:00 p.m. Aug. 19 deadline for convention-filled post-primary vacancies, so this pre-deadline version strengthens the status check but does not establish final acceptance or rejection. IA Fact Check keeps Heard’s documented party nomination separate from unresolved official ballot acceptance pending a later authoritative state record.
August 19, 2026 · 4:28 PM CDT
Adams County’s official election pages identify the November 3, 2026 General Election and publish the county’s current precinct/polling-place information. IA Fact Check also flags that the county’s polling-place/sample-ballot lookup still carries a 2024 General Election label, so finalized precinct-specific 2026 General Election sample ballots are not marked available from that page.
August 19, 2026 · 11:13 AM CDT
Mitchell’s official campaign materials support congressional term limits and a full ban on stock and prediction-market trading by members; WGEM reported that at the Aug. 15 State Fair Soapbox he described the term-limit proposal as 12 years. IA Fact Check adds the legal distinction that binding congressional term limits require a constitutional amendment, while stock-trading restrictions can be enacted by statute. This documents a policy position and legal framework; it is not an endorsement or opposition to the proposals.
August 19, 2026 · 10:26 AM CDT
Ringgold County’s official General Election page identifies November 3, 2026 as Election Day and its absentee-voting section lists August 25 for the first absentee-request date, October 14 for ballot availability, October 19 as the last mailing-request date, and November 2 as the in-person absentee deadline. IA Fact Check also flags internally inconsistent stale dates elsewhere on the county page rather than republishing them. The county sample-ballot index does not yet list finalized 2026 General Election sample ballots.
August 19, 2026 · 9:40 AM CDT
The Libertarian Party of Iowa voted Aug. 12 to nominate Heard for the Third District vacancy created after Marco Battaglia ended his campaign. Multiple Iowa outlets reported the nomination Aug. 13. IA Fact Check documents the party nomination while keeping final Secretary of State ballot acceptance separate because a newer authoritative state list showing Heard has not yet been independently confirmed.
August 19, 2026 · 8:10 AM CDT
The Libertarian Party of Iowa announced Aug. 3 that Marco Battaglia experienced a medical emergency that prevented him from continuing his Third District campaign. Radio Iowa reported the party planned to choose another candidate. Iowa’s federal/state candidate list, last updated Aug. 14, lists Zach Nunn and Sarah Trone Garriott in District 3 and no Libertarian replacement. IA Fact Check records the withdrawal while leaving replacement status unresolved pending an authoritative state update.
August 19, 2026 · 7:16 AM CDT
Clay County’s official elections page now identifies the November 3 General Election and links voters to the county’s current polling places and precincts plus Iowa’s official polling-place, registration and absentee-voting tools. Finalized precinct-specific 2026 General Election sample ballots are not currently posted on the county election page.
August 19, 2026 · 6:25 AM CDT
Wayne County’s official November 3 General Election page now lists all four precinct/polling locations plus the August 25 absentee-request start, October 14 absentee-voting start, October 19 registration/mail-request deadline, November 2 in-person absentee deadline and 7:00 AM–8:00 PM Election Day hours. Finalized precinct-specific 2026 General Election sample ballots are not currently linked from the General Election page.
August 19, 2026 · 5:11 AM CDT
Tama County’s official November 3 General Election page lists 13 voting precincts and Election Day polling hours of 7:00 AM–8:00 PM. The county says sample ballots, its candidate list and public notice will be posted once available; finalized precinct-specific General Election sample ballots are not marked available yet.
August 19, 2026 · 4:23 AM CDT
Lahn called high nitrate in water “one of the top causes of colon cancer” and said agricultural technologies can completely remove the problem. NCI and peer-reviewed evidence support continued concern but do not establish nitrate as a top cause of colorectal cancer; USDA research shows substantial, variable nitrate removal rather than complete elimination.
August 19, 2026 · 2:22 AM CDT
Lahn’s current Iowa First policy says Iowa should reverse the loss of 10,000 farms over the past 20 years. USDA’s 2002 and 2022 Iowa agriculture censuses show a decline from 90,655 to 86,911 farms—a loss of 3,744. IA Fact Check documents the broader farm-loss/consolidation trend while marking the exact 10,000 figure as not reproduced by USDA’s standard 20-year headline count.
August 19, 2026 · 1:21 AM CDT
Scott County’s official November 3 General Election page says absentee-ballot request forms will be mailed beginning August 24 but cannot be dated or received before August 25; ballots begin mailing October 14, voter pre-registration closes October 19 at 5:00 PM, and Election Day polls are open 7:00 AM–8:00 PM. IA Fact Check keeps sample-ballot availability separate: the county’s official sample-ballot page does not currently expose finalized precinct-specific 2026 General Election ballot files in its indexed content.
Official Scott County General Election page · Official sample-ballot page
August 18, 2026 · 11:10 PM CDT
Davis County’s official November 3, 2026 General Election page lists six polling-place/precinct groupings and Election Day hours of 7:00 AM–8:00 PM. It says absentee voting begins October 14. The page labels a sample-ballot area by polling place, but no clickable finalized 2026 General Election sample-ballot files are currently provided, so IA Fact Check is not treating samples as available yet.
Official Davis County election page
August 18, 2026 · 10:10 PM CDT
Lahn’s campaign says Iowa fell from “#1 in education” to “worse than Mississippi” and calls it a 50% ranking drop. Official NAEP results are separate by grade and subject, and the campaign does not name a ranking system or calculation that reproduces those blanket claims.
August 18, 2026 · 9:12 PM CDT
Marion County’s official November 3 General Election page lists August 25 as the first day absentee-ballot requests may be received, October 14 as the start of mailed and in-person absentee voting, October 19 as the voter pre-registration and mailed-ballot-request deadline, November 2 as the final day for in-person absentee voting, and Election Day polls from 7:00 AM–8:00 PM. The page identifies 17 precincts for election-night reporting. IA Fact Check keeps ballot availability separate: the official General Election page does not currently publish finalized precinct-specific 2026 General Election sample ballots.
Official Marion County General Election page
August 18, 2026 · 8:25 PM CDT
Get Out the Vote PAC currently lists Christina Bohannan, Lindsay James and Sarah Trone Garriott among its featured endorsements. The FEC identifies the organization as GET OUT THE VOTE PAC (C00839407), an active, qualified hybrid PAC with an unauthorized designation. IA Fact Check records the listings as documented outside political support and does not infer candidate coordination, a quid pro quo, candidate control of PAC spending, or agreement with every PAC position from the endorsements alone. The PAC page does not state an individual endorsement date for each Iowa candidate.
Christina Bohannan · Lindsay James · Sarah Trone Garriott · PAC source · FEC committee record
August 18, 2026 · 6:27 PM CDT
Added Nunn’s July 10 ACS CAN Cancer Votes Coffee Chat. The FY2026 $128 million National Cancer Institute increase is supported; the $50 billion figure is the separate Rural Health Transformation Program, and $51.3 billion is an NIH-wide FY2027 advocacy target rather than cancer-only funding.
August 18, 2026 · 5:10 PM CDT
Rob Sand's campaign released “On Call” on August 17 as part of a six-figure statewide TV, digital and streaming buy. The ad says a governor must always be available during emergencies, calls Lahn not a “full-time Iowan,” says he lives in Kansas and cites frequent Wichita travel. IA Fact Check found the underlying Kansas residence/travel evidence substantial, but preserves Lahn's response that he returned to the Belle Plaine farm in 2023 and travels for blended-family obligations. Aircraft logs track the plane, not necessarily Lahn personally, and the ad's claim about whether he would be present during a future disaster is a prediction rather than a presently verifiable fact.
August 18, 2026 · 2:17 PM CDT
Franklin County’s official November 3 General Election page now lists the key absentee and registration dates and a specific polling-place notice: Wisner/Scott voters will vote at the Latimer Community Center for this election. The county lists August 25 as the first day to submit absentee-ballot requests, October 14 as the start of mailed and in-person absentee voting, October 19 as the pre-registration and mailed-ballot-request deadline, November 2 at 4:00 PM as the end of in-person absentee voting, and 7:00 AM–8:00 PM Election Day polling hours. IA Fact Check keeps ballot availability separate: the official Franklin County sample-ballot index does not yet list finalized precinct-specific 2026 General Election sample ballots.
August 18, 2026 · 1:15 PM CDT
Benton County’s official November 3 General Election page now lists August 25 as the first day absentee-ballot request forms may be accepted, October 14 as the start of mailing and in-person absentee voting, October 19 at 5:00 PM as the pre-registration and mailed-ballot-request deadline, and November 2 at 5:00 PM as the end of in-person absentee voting. The page identifies 18 precincts for election-night reporting. IA Fact Check keeps ballot availability separate: finalized precinct-specific 2026 General Election sample ballots are not yet offered on the county election index.
August 18, 2026 · 12:20 PM CDT
ACS CAN’s current 2026 Cancer Promise roster lists Josh Turek, Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Lindsay James, Zach Nunn, Sarah Trone Garriott and Dave Dawson as signers. The pledge covers cancer research/prevention investment, affordable comprehensive health care, and cancer prevention/early-detection services. ACS CAN says the program is nonpartisan and not an endorsement. IA Fact Check does not interpret absence from the signer roster as opposition.
Josh Turek · Mariannette Miller-Meeks · Lindsay James · Zach Nunn · Sarah Trone Garriott · Dave Dawson
August 18, 2026 · 11:24 AM CDT
Chickasaw County’s official government calendar now lists August 25 as the first day its Auditor’s Office will accept absentee-ballot request forms for the November 3 General Election. The county election office also publishes a current precinct/polling-place list. IA Fact Check keeps ballot availability separate: the official sample-ballot index currently lists 2026 Primary ballots but not finalized precinct-specific 2026 General Election sample ballots.
August 18, 2026 · 10:20 AM CDT
Johnson County’s official November 3 General Election page now publishes Public Measure NC, asking voters across Kirkwood Community College’s 18-county Merged Area X to authorize up to $88 million in general-obligation bonds for facility modernization and equipment. The county states that 60% approval is required. IA Fact Check records the official ballot question without taking a position, and keeps sample-ballot status separate: Johnson County says precinct-specific samples will appear in its lookup in September.
August 18, 2026 · 9:26 AM CDT
Cedar County’s official election page now lists absentee-voting dates, extended auditor-office hours, Election Day hours and a polling-locations document. The county says more ballot-availability information will be posted closer to Election Day; finalized precinct-specific General Election sample ballots are not posted yet.
August 18, 2026 · 8:28 AM CDT
Cerro Gordo County’s official election page now lists November 3 polling hours plus absentee-voting and registration deadlines and links the county precinct list. No finalized precinct-specific 2026 General Election sample ballot is posted yet.
August 18, 2026 · 7:17 AM CDT
Delaware County’s official November 3 General Election page lists August 25 as the first day to submit absentee-ballot requests, October 14 as the start of mailed and in-person absentee voting, October 19 as the voter pre-registration and mailed-ballot-request deadline, November 2 at 5:00 PM as the end of in-person absentee voting, and November 3 as Election Day. IA Fact Check keeps ballot status separate: the county page does not yet publish finalized precinct-specific 2026 General Election sample ballots.
August 18, 2026 · 6:32 AM CDT
Jasper County’s official November 3 General Election page lists key absentee-voting and registration dates and 7:00 AM–8:00 PM Election Day hours. The county’s precinct page lists 20 voting precincts with current polling locations and directs voters to the Secretary of State lookup for confirmation. IA Fact Check keeps ballot status separate: the county sample-ballot index does not yet list a finalized 2026 General Election sample ballot.
August 18, 2026 · 5:15 AM CDT
Mitchell County’s official November 3 General Election page lists Election Day poll hours, absentee-voting dates and extended auditor-office hours. IA Fact Check added the official guidance while keeping ballot status separate: the county election index does not yet list a finalized precinct-specific 2026 General Election sample ballot.
August 18, 2026 · 4:18 AM CDT
Crawford County’s official November 3 General Election page lists all eight precinct groupings and Election Day polling locations, along with absentee-voting deadlines and 7:00 AM–8:00 PM poll hours. IA Fact Check added the official county guidance while keeping ballot status separate: the page does not yet publish finalized precinct-specific 2026 General Election sample ballots.
August 18, 2026 · 3:13 AM CDT
The Iowa Secretary of State’s official General Election candidate list now identifies Matt Reisetter as the Republican candidate for House District 76 while listing Derek Wulf as the Republican lieutenant-governor candidate. Iowa Public Radio reported Republicans selected Reisetter after Wulf joined Zach Lahn’s statewide ticket. IA Fact Check records this as a verified candidate-status change, not evidence of misconduct.
August 18, 2026 · 2:25 AM CDT
Shelby County’s official November 3 General Election page lists six precinct/polling-location groupings and addresses covering Harlan, Elk Horn, Irwin, Earling and Shelby-area precincts. IA Fact Check added the official county guidance while keeping ballot status separate: the page does not yet publish finalized precinct-specific 2026 General Election sample ballots.
August 18, 2026 · 1:14 AM CDT
Hancock County’s official November 3 General Election page lists all 10 Election Day precinct locations plus absentee-voting and registration deadlines. IA Fact Check added the official county guidance while keeping ballot status separate: the page does not yet publish finalized precinct-specific 2026 General Election sample ballots.
August 18, 2026 · 12:12 AM CDT
Jones County’s official November 3 General Election page lists eight Election Day polling locations and key absentee-voting deadlines. IA Fact Check added the county guidance while keeping ballot status separate: the page does not yet publish finalized precinct-specific 2026 General Election sample ballots.
August 17, 2026 · 11:12 PM CDT
Lucas County’s official November 3 General Election page now lists Election Day locations for all seven precincts. IA Fact Check added the county guidance while keeping ballot status separate: the page does not yet publish finalized precinct-specific 2026 General Election sample ballots.
August 17, 2026 · 10:14 PM CDT
Added the recorded June 11 Kennedy call to Rick Stewart, the reported June 8 call to Marco Battaglia, and Sen. Ron Wyden’s July 14 Hatch Act complaint. The review distinguishes documented outreach from Stewart’s quid-pro-quo interpretation, notes AP’s finding that no specific request or offer was made in the Stewart recording, and does not treat campaign coordination or a Hatch Act violation as established without an adjudication.
August 17, 2026 · 8:11 PM CDT
Added Hegseth’s Aug. 17 campaign speech for Nunn, including his personal-capacity disclaimer and direct appeal for Nunn to remain in Congress. Official OSC guidance is included so the political endorsement is documented without treating the appearance alone as proof of a Hatch Act violation.
August 17, 2026 · 3:16 PM CDT
JStreetPAC’s primary event page lists Josh Turek, Christina Bohannan, Lindsay James and Sarah Trone Garriott as supported candidates for an Aug. 26 virtual fundraiser, with contribution tiers from $400 to $14,000. The site records the support while preserving the page’s disclaimer that it is not authorized by any candidate committee and does not treat the event as proof of coordination or improper influence.
August 17, 2026 · 10:13 AM CDT
Documented Lahn’s support for pulling COVID shots from the Iowa market and banning mRNA vaccines, then separated the policy preference from its factual rationale: FDA recognizes a real myocarditis/pericarditis risk, while licensed mRNA vaccines exist and peer-reviewed household studies show vaccination did not eliminate transmission but did produce measurable transmission effects.
August 17, 2026 · 9:25 AM CDT
Added a source review of Lahn's current campaign claim that over 25% of Iowa land is owned by out-of-state investors and foreign governments. ISU's 2022 survey supports a 25% combined category for farmland owned by part-time Iowa residents or nonresidents, but that group includes heirs/former Iowans and others; foreign ownership/lease interests are separately tracked and much smaller.
August 17, 2026 · 7:31 AM CDT
Added Sand’s direct ACS CAN answers on Medicaid access/expansion, follow-up breast-cancer screening costs, HPV-vaccine access and tobacco taxes. Also documented that Lahn had not yet submitted answers to the same questionnaire as of Aug. 17 and is scheduled for an ACS CAN cancer forum Aug. 18; nonresponse is not treated as opposition.
August 17, 2026 · 4:27 AM CDT
Added Hinson’s Aug. 15 statewide general-election ad. The defined-period missed-vote figure has documentary support, while the broader “skips work half the time” wording is not equivalent to roll-call attendance and the “Iowans don’t care” portrayal is kept context-sensitive because a stable full-source clip was not independently recovered.
August 17, 2026 · 2:28 AM CDT
Added the reported Henry County homestead credit, Iowa's official six-month occupancy rule, Des Moines-address context and Mitchell campaign response. The record raises an eligibility question but does not establish a violation without an assessor or other official finding.
August 16, 2026 · 11:27 PM CDT
Added Lahn’s statement that “The trend is that we’re closing the gap” and checked it against the public summer polling record. Sand led in each poll located, while differences in pollsters, samples and overlapping field periods mean those snapshots do not establish a reliable closing trend.
August 16, 2026 · 7:16 PM CDT
Added June 30 FEC totals for Christina Bohannan, Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Sarah Trone Garriott and Zach Nunn. The profiles now distinguish cumulative receipts/disbursements and cash on hand from political claims about popularity, donor control or election outcome.
August 16, 2026 · 6:25 PM CDT
Documented the additional $17 million Iowa reservation, the earlier $13.4 million reservation, the affiliated health-care attack campaign, Hinson’s response, and federal context showing both major health-program reductions and a $50 billion rural-health program in P.L. 119-21.
August 16, 2026 · 12:26 PM CDT
Story County’s official election notice says all three county-supervisor seats are being elected by district in 2026 rather than at large; voters elect only their own district’s supervisor, and official district/precinct maps are now linked.
August 16, 2026 · 10:23 AM CDT
Documented the sustained heckling/following and police escort while separating those facts from the opposition participant’s unverified claim that Sand was “scared” and hiding in a restroom; no specific communicated threat was verified in the reviewed sources.
August 16, 2026 · 7:28 AM CDT
Added The Guardian’s Aug. 16 statewide cancer/water-quality issue reporting and cross-checked the candidates’ records against campaign plans and an Iowa Legislature lobbyist filing, keeping policy proposals separate from unsupported medical-causation or improper-influence claims.
August 16, 2026 · 6:17 AM CDT
Added the reported $65,350 five-year pork-industry-linked contribution total, H.R. 4673 sponsorship and independent Prop 12 context, while explicitly rating donor control or quid pro quo as not established.
August 16, 2026 · 4:17 AM CDT
The county now lists official absentee-request, in-person voting and Election Day dates/hours; candidate information and finalized 2026 General Election sample ballots are not yet posted.
August 16, 2026 · 2:10 AM CDT
Black Hawk County’s official election office says all five supervisor seats are being elected by district in 2026 rather than at large; voters will vote only in their own supervisor district, and official district/precinct maps and election deadlines are now linked.
August 15, 2026 · 8:24 PM CDT
Dallas County now lists its 2026 General Election polling places, four changed locations, and early-voting/absentee deadlines; no finalized General Election sample ballot is posted yet.
August 15, 2026 · 7:22 PM CDT
Added FEC-linked contribution reporting, petition context and Hinson’s later Aye vote on the Epstein Files Transparency Act, while explicitly separating association from proof of wrongdoing.
August 15, 2026 · 2:19 PM CDT
The Atlantic reports Sand did not name a specific week when pressed at a Newton town hall; historical context shows his life-begins-at-breath religious argument dates to 2018.
August 13, 2026 · 3:11 AM CDT
Verified the airing TV creative and traced its take-home-pay figure to CEA economic modeling; the vote is real, but the $9,000+ outcome is modeled rather than guaranteed.
August 12, 2026 · 2:47 PM CDT
Added the original DSCC video and separated the supported Medicaid coverage-loss claim from the more qualified hospital-closure causation claim.
August 12, 2026 · 2:47 PM CDT
Added CBO context on who benefits, the “every family” claim, Medicaid enrollment effects and SNAP reductions.
August 12, 2026 · 12:05 PM CDT
Added the original campaign video and independent AP verification of the July 29 endorsement.
August 12, 2026 · 11:42 AM CDT
New voter-help section links directly to Iowa's official polling-place search and official county-auditor sample-ballot resources.
August 12, 2026 · 11:12 AM CDT
Added his Iowa legislation and federal proposal addressing Medicaid income/asset limits for employed people with disabilities.
August 12, 2026 · 10:12 AM CDT
Under-16 social-media ban proposal, parental consent rules, algorithm audits and minors’ privacy protections.
August 12, 2026 · 10:12 AM CDT
Accepted Iowa PBS and Nexstar invitations for two general-election debates against Josh Turek.
August 11, 2026 · 3:35 PM CDT
Added reported campaign expenditures, current FEC context and source trail.
