BrownWinick GR Update - 8.3.26

Written by Various BW Attorneys | Aug 4, 2026, 3:34:00 PM

Candidates have posted new fundraising totals, and the financial battleground is taking shape. The November 3 general election is approaching and is now only 92 days away, meaning fundraising totals, spending patterns, and cash on hand figures provide important insight into the competitive landscape. Our government relations team continues to track these developments to assess how evolving political dynamics may affect our clients’ regulatory, legislative, and business interests across the state.

Below is our summary of the latest campaign finance filings. This analysis combines reported financial data for state-level candidates, covering May 15, 2026 through July 14, 2026, and the recent federal disclosures for congressional candidates, covering April 1, 2026 through June 30, 2026, to provide an objective overview of the financial landscape as the general election draws closer.

Competitive Races and Cash Positions to Watch:

Gubernatorial candidate Rob Sand (D) continued to post a strong fundraising showing in the most recent reporting period, with $17,957,959.32 in cash on hand. His opponent, Republican Zach Lahn also increased his financial totals, reporting $1,045,364.82. Other statewide races are also revealing notable fundraising dynamics. In the Attorney General contest, incumbent Brenna Bird (R) leads Nate Willems (D) by more than $4 million. In the State Auditor race, Taylor Wettach (D) holds the cash-on-hand advantage over sitting Lt. Governor Republican Chris Cournoyer. In the Secretary of Agriculture race, incumbent Mike Naig (R) leads Chris Jones (D) in cash on hand. In the State Treasurer race, incumbent Roby Smith (R) maintains a significant cash‑on‑hand lead—approximately 6:1—over challenger John Norwood (D). And in the Secretary of State race, Ryan Peterman (D) holds a marginal cash‑on‑hand advantage over incumbent Paul Pate (R).

The tables below outline the cash-on-hand amounts for these statewide elected races, state legislative races, and congressional races that will be on the November ballot. For reference, the State Senate table details the 8 closest contested races via voter registration, and the state House tables details the 20 closest races according to voter registration totals.

Of note, 9 of the 25 State Senate races are uncontested. Among the remaining contested races, several have emerged as closely watched. These include:

* District 47 (part of Scott County) where incumbent Scott Webster (R) reported $44,104.95 in cash on hand. His challenger, Nikhil Wagle (D), reported $189,899.10.
* District 21 (part of Ankeny), which is now an open-seat race after incumbent Senator Mike Bousselot (R) opted to run for District 23, where he won a June primary election. The contest now features current House member Heather Matson (D), who reported $73,989 in cash on hand, against John Hollinrake (R) who reported $3,487.
* District 1, where incumbent Catelin Drey (D) leads with $93,794.03 over her opponent Christopher Prosch (R) with $221.81.
* District 35, where incumbent Mike Zimmer (D) holds an advantage with $43,670 as compared to Joe Stutting’s (R) at $4,325.

For the State House, several Polk County races are shaping up as ones to watch.

* District 40 features incumbent Bill Gustoff (R) and Heather Sievers (D), both of which are well-financed with Sievers holding a slight advantage.
* District 28, incumbent David Young (R) has a significant cash on hand advantage over Tom Walton (D), $253,566 to $22,679.
* District 46 is also expected to be competitive with incumbent Dan Gehlbach (R) holding a marginal lead over Mandy Newton Rosenow (D).
* District 59 is another race to watch, where incumbent Christian Hermanson (R) holds a narrow edge over Jacob Welper (D), $15,547 to $11,941.
* Further underscoring the competitive environment, District 72 incumbent Jennifer Smith (R) has $14,552.48 in cash on hand, trailing her challenger Matt Robinson (D) at $19,751.18. Notably, this race ranks among the closest by voter registration.

In the U.S. Senate race, current Congresswoman Ashley Hinson (R) enjoys a sizable financial edge, reporting more than $6.7 million in cash on hand, compared with the near $2.4 million for her challenger, and current state representative, Josh Turek (D). In the first Congressional District, Christina Bohannan (D) faces incumbent Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R), with Bohannan holding a lead of $733,840. In the second Congressional District, Joe Mitchell (R) leads Lindsay James (D) by just over $100,000 in cash on hand. In the third Congressional District, incumbent Zach Nunn (R) reports $3,568,369, while Sarah Trone Garriott (D) holds $3,859,683. And in the fourth Congressional District, Chris McGowan (R) holds a more than $279,000 advantage over Dave Dawson (D), who reports $49,762.

Key Reporting Windows & Upcoming Milestones:

As we move towards general election positioning, please keep the next critical statutory disclosure deadlines on your radar:

* Federal Context: The next Federal Election Commission (FEC) reporting deadline is October 15, 2026, covering Q3 activity from July 1, 2026 through September 20,2026.
* Statewide Context: The next Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board deadline is October 19, 2026, covering the period from July 15, 2026 through October 14, 2026.

As additional filings are released, our team will continue to monitor these developments and assess the political dynamics and potential policy implications they may have for the broader landscape. If you would like to discuss a specific race or the strategic implications of these fundraising figures, please feel free to reach out directly.

Governor

Candidate

Total Raised

5/15/26 - 7/14/26

Expenditures

5/15/26 - 7/14/26

Total Cash on Hand

as of 7/14/26

Zach Lahn (R)

$6,372,830.86

$5,963,655.28

$1,045,364.82

Rob Sand (D)

$9,385,645.52

$9,461,286.16

$17,957,959.32

U.S. Senate

Candidate	Total Raised 5/14/26 - 6/30/26	Expenditures 5/14/26 - 6/30/26	Total Cash on Hand as of 6/30/26
Ashley Hinson (R)	$1,096,068.18	$1,291,850.77	$6,749,491.49
Josh Turek (D)	$2,813,425.78	$1,152,127.17	$2,362,313.78
Thomas Laehn (L)	$11,484.96	$8,664.31	$8,334.37

U.S. House District 1

Candidate	Total Raised 5/14/26 - 6/30/26	Expenditures 5/14/26 - 6/30/26	Total Cash on Hand as of 6/30/26
Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Incumbent)	$779,574.21	$585,546.30	$4,691,480.55
Christina Bohannan (D)	$1,278,800.48	$314,302.94	$5,425,318.34
Michael Bridgford (I)	$89,523.47	$64,664.28	$124,859.19

U.S. House District 2

Candidate	Total Raised 5/14/26 - 6/30/26	Expenditures 5/14/26 - 6/30/26	Total Cash on Hand as of 6/30/26
Joe Mitchell (R)	$356,237.98	$352,503.23	$895,564.08
Lindsay James (D)	$748,149.00	$238,723.87	$755,838.20
Dave Bushaw (I)	$12,252.66	$3,462.22	$11,569.77

U.S. House District 3

Candidate

Total Raised

5/14/26 - 6/30/26

Expenditures

5/14/26 - 6/30/26

Total Cash on Hand

as of 6/30/26

Zach Nunn (R-Incumbent)

$310,191.37

$314,445.87

$3,568,369.39

Sarah Trone Garriott (D)

$1,343,615.31

$242,550.05

$3,859,683.22

U.S. House District 4

Candidate

Total Raised

5/14/26 - 6/30/26

Expenditures

5/14/26 - 6/30/26

Total Cash on Hand

as of 6/30/26

Chris McGowan (R)

$43,220.62

$89,712.44

$328,850.23

Dave Dawson (D)

$37,364.26

$24,064.15

$49,762.16

Attorney General

Candidate

Total Raised

5/15/26 - 7/14/26

Expenditures

5/15/26 - 7/14/26

Total Cash on Hand

as of 7/14/26

Brenna Bird (R-Incumbent)

$1,961,723.11

$92,599.03

$6,806,291.10

Nate Willems (D)

$1,945,794.60

$153,518.67

$2,670,810.95

Secretary of State

Candidate

Total Raised

5/15/26 - 7/14/26

Expenditures

5/15/26 - 7/14/26

Total Cash on Hand

as of 7/14/26

Paul Pate (R-Incumbent)

$2,110.00

$119.48

$90,147.14

Ryan Peterman (D)

$51,908.07

$29,975.05

$166,234.39

Secretary of Agriculture

Candidate

Total Raised

5/15/26 - 7/14/26

Expenditures

5/15/26 - 7/14/26

Total Cash on Hand

as of 7/14/26

Mike Naig (R-Incumbent)

$179,201.63

$19,698.05

$672,703.85

Chris Jones (D)

$110,350.61

$75,203.19

$98,805.74

Iowa Treasurer

Candidate

Total Raised

5/15/26 - 7/14/26

Expenditures

5/15/26 - 7/14/26

Total Cash on Hand

as of 7/14/26

Roby Smith (R-Incumbent)

$149,160.51

$1,082.47

$358,383.11

John Norwood (D)

$56,194.53

$42,711.53

$58,062.98

State Auditor

Candidate

Total Raised

5/15/26 - 7/14/26

Expenditures

5/15/26 - 7/14/26

Total Cash on Hand

as of 7/14/26

Chris Cournoyer (R)

$144,801.00

$14,552.04

$133,475.02

Taylor Wettach (D)

$272,126.25

$99,954.03

$763,229.92

Leadership

Name	Leadership Position	Total Raised 5/15/26 - 7/14/26	Expenditures 5/15/26 - 7/14/26	Total Cash on Hand as of 7/14/26
Republican Party of Iowa	N/A	$791,690.00	$227,233.39	$1,253,204.34
Iowa Democratic Party	N/A	$1,627,592.95	$1,389,915.74	$1,436,948.15
Pat Grassley (R)	Speaker of the House	$156,400.00	$1,423.32	$898,690.28
Bobby Kaufmann (R)	House Majority Leader	$30,000.00	$10,198.01	$245,740.59
Amy Sinclair (R)	Senate President	N/A	N/A	$202,116.81
Mike Klimesh (R)	Senate Majority Leader	N/A	N/A	$501,950.49
Brian Meyer (D)	House Minority Leader	$20,228.00	$120,299.60	$39,930.99
Janice Weiner (D)	Senate Minority Leader	$60,638.50	$451.36	$120,321.55

State House

House District

Candidate

Total Cash on Hand

as of 7/14/26

Matthew Rinker (R-Incumbent)

Jennifer Kirkman (D)

$2,592.47

$13,842.55

Christian Hermanson (R- Incumbent)

Jacob Welper (D)

$15,547.09

$11,940.88

Dillon Fillion (R)

Daniel Gosa (D-Incumbent)

$14,309.97

$28,481.10

Bill Gustoff (R-Incumbent)

Heather Sievers (D)

$70,095.79

$83,017.27

Nicole Hasso (R)

Jill Alesch (D)

$30,015.51

$55,084.66

David Blom (R-Incumbent)

Mike Tupper (D)

$17,782.03

$25,653.07

Josh Steinhoff (R)

Shawn Olorundami (D)

$116.67

$1,487.76

100

Blaine Watkins (R-Incumbent)

Matthew Mohrfeld (D)

$19,616.22

$7,897.00

Jennifer Smith (R-Incumbent)

Matt Robinson (D)

$14,552.48

$19,751.18

Kevin DuBay (R)

Mary Madison (D-Incumbent)

N/A

$5,952.80

Troy Clark (R)

Nate Boulton (D)

$562.39

$78,627.05

Tom Determann (R-Incumbent)

Randy Meier (D)

$37,454.32

$28,335.40

Nathan Ramker (R)

Andrew Fitzgerald (D)

$5,742.96

$6,615.11

Heather Stephenson (R)

Amy Tagliareni (D)

$10,228.67

$28,474.77

Keith Jones (R)

Eric Armstrong (D)

$2,258.37

$5,588.91

David Young (R-Incumbent)

Tom Walton (D)

$253,566.42

$22,679.27

Dan Gehlbach (R-Incumbent)

Mandy Newton Rosenow (D)

$14,346.29

$17,709.83

Ryan Weldon (R-Incumbent)

Molly Buck (D)

$16,774.31

$48,964.82

Matt Oleson (R)

Brad Magg (D)

$3,270.77

$19,434.05

Steven Bradley (R-Incumbent)

Matt English (D)

$17,137.36

$1,773.40

Brent Siegrist (R-Incumbent)

Benjamin Larson (D)

$38,830.64

$862.75

State Senate

Senate District

Candidate

Total Cash on Hand

as of 7/14/26

Randy Marzen (R)

Molly Donahue (D- Incumbent)

$7,477.09

$17,397.20

Christopher Prosch (R)

Catelin Drey (D-Incumbent)

$221.81

$93,794.03

John Hollinrake (R)

Heather Matson (D)

$1,506.36

$129,935.55

Kerry Gruenhagen (R- Incumbent)

Tom Wieck (D)

$27,734.67

$10,234.19

Cynthia Mensendick (R)

Cindy Winckler (D- Incumbent)

$6.00

$12,910.16

Scott Webster (R- Incumbent)

Nikhil Wagle (D)

$59,001.41

$219,310.30

Joe Stutting (R)

Mike Zimmer (D- Incumbent)

$16,003.89

$60,124.33

Mike Bousselot (R)

Anthony Thompson (D)

$73,578.34

$32,685.37

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