Ashley Hinson Arenholz
RDefeatedIncumbentFEC H0IA01174
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Raised this cycle—
Cash on hand: —
All Iowa races
2026 race
IA-02 — U.S. House
10 active candidates on file with the FEC. Incumbent: Ashley Hinson Arenholz.
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See where these candidates stand — and who's funding them.
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Democratic primary · Tuesday, June 2, 2026
Called by audit: web-verified
Lindsay JamesWon57.3%
- DClinton Gene Twedt-BallDefeated24.3%
- DKathryn DolterDefeated18.4%
Republican primary · Tuesday, June 2, 2026
Called by audit: web-verified
Joe MitchellWon61.5%
- RCharlie McClintockDefeated38.5%
Currently held by
Ashley Hinson (R) — not seeking re-election in 2026. They've publicly announced their retirement; their committee is still on the FEC's 2026 roster for routine compliance, but this is effectively an open seat.
Election day
135days
Tuesday, November 3, 2026
Make sure you can vote
Disclosed money in race
$3.1M
Candidate + outside spending. See finance breakdown below.
Incumbent
Currently in office
Challengers
Sorted by fundraising
Joe Mitchell
RChallengerFEC H6IA02237
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Raised this cycle$1.3M
Cash on hand: $879K
Lindsay James
DChallengerFEC H6IA02211
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Raised this cycle$742K
Cash on hand: $434K
Dave Bushaw
IChallengerFEC H6IA02260
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Raised this cycle$12K
Cash on hand: $3K
6 defeated candidates — show
Clinton Gene Twedt-Ball
DDefeatedChallengerFEC H6IA02195
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Raised this cycle$465K
Cash on hand: $155K
Rodney Blum
RDefeatedChallengerFEC H2IA01055
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Raised this cycle$250K
Cash on hand: $247K
Kevin Techau
DDefeatedChallengerFEC H6IA02179
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Raised this cycle$147K
Cash on hand: $39K
Shannon Lundgren
RDefeatedChallengerFEC H6IA02252
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Raised this cycle$92K
Cash on hand: $0
Kathryn Dolter
DDefeatedChallengerFEC H6IA02187
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Raised this cycle$54K
Cash on hand: $3K
Charlie McClintock
RDefeatedChallengerFEC H6IA02229
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Raised this cycle$16K
Cash on hand: $15K
Local signal
Early read on IA-02 — U.S. House
A directional read on where this seat is trending, from the signals we have so far. This is an early scaffold — more inputs light up as coverage and constituent activity accrue.
Coverage tone · the matchup
Recent news coverage of the nominees heading to the general election.
Joe Mitchellmixed
0 pos5 neutral0 neg5 articles
Lindsay Jamesmixed
0 pos5 neutral0 neg5 articles
A media signal, not a poll of the district.
Constituent stakes
No one here has staked a position on a tracked vote yet. As neighbors weigh in on /pressure campaigns, the district's lean will show up here.
Money in the race
Finance breakdown
Disclosed funding shaping this race — both the money candidates raise themselves and the outside spending dropped by independent groups. Issue-ad spending by 501(c)(4) groups is excluded; the FEC doesn't require disclosure of it. See the note below for details.
Total disclosed
$3.1M
Candidate fundraising + independent expenditures (FEC).
Candidate-direct (Schedule A)
$3.1M
Raised by candidate committees themselves.
Outside spending (Schedule E)
$0
No outside spending reported yet.
| Candidate | Raised directly | Outside for | Outside against | Net in corner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Joe Mitchell(R) | $1.3M | — | — | $1.3M |
Lindsay James(D) | $742K | — | — | $742K |
Dave Bushaw(I) | $12K | — | — | $12K |
7 defeated candidates — show finances
| Candidate | Raised directly | Outside for | Outside against | Net in corner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Clinton Gene Twedt-Ball(D)defeated | $465K | — | — | $465K |
Rodney Blum(R)defeated | $250K | — | — | $250K |
Kevin Techau(D)defeated | $147K | — | — | $147K |
Shannon Lundgren(R)defeated | $92K | — | — | $92K |
Kathryn Dolter(D)defeated | $54K | — | — | $54K |
Charlie McClintock(R)defeated | $16K | — | — | $16K |
Ashley Hinson Arenholz(R)incumbentdefeated | $0 | — | — | $0 |
Where the money comes from
In-state vs out-of-state
Share of each candidate's itemized individual contributions from donors inside IA versus the rest of the country. Excludes sub-$200 unitemized donations (no geography on file) and PAC money — see note below.
Joe Mitchell(R)26% in-state · $984K itemized
$260K in-state$724K out-of-state
Lindsay James(D)51% in-state · $703K itemized
$358K in-state$345K out-of-state
What's counted, what isn't
Candidate-direct is each campaign's reported receipts on FEC Schedule A — individual contributions plus PAC contributions to the candidate's own committee — through the most recent filing.
Outside spending is independent expenditures on FEC Schedule E: money spent by PACs, super PACs, and party committees for or against a candidate, without legal coordination with the campaign. The committees listed under each candidate are the largest disclosed spenders on either side.
In-state vs out-of-state covers only itemized individual contributions — donations over $200, which are the only ones that carry a contributor address at the FEC. Sub-$200 unitemized donations (often a large share for grassroots campaigns) have no geography on file and are excluded, as is PAC money. So the percentages describe where a candidate's itemized individual money comes from, not where every dollar raised comes from.
Not counted: 501(c)(4) "social welfare" organizations run issue ads that frequently mention candidates by name but aren't classified as express advocacy under FEC rules — they file no Schedule E and don't appear in this breakdown. Press reporting on a race may cite figures that include this dark-money spending; ours doesn't.
Recent coverage
In the news
Joe Mitchell
- In Iowa, Hinson-Turek matchup set for NovemberRoll CallJun 3
- https://www.npr.org/2026/06/02/g-s1-125550/iowa-election-results-josh-turek-zach-lahnNPRJun 3
- Voters select candidates in key House districts that could decide the majorityNBC NewsJun 3
- Iowa Democrats to settle a tense Senate primary as the party looks to flip GOP seats this fall - The Boston GlobeThe Boston GlobeJun 2
Lindsay James
- In Iowa, Hinson-Turek matchup set for NovemberRoll CallJun 3
- https://www.npr.org/2026/06/02/g-s1-125550/iowa-election-results-josh-turek-zach-lahnNPRJun 3
- Voters select candidates in key House districts that could decide the majorityNBC NewsJun 3
- Iowa Democrats to settle a tense Senate primary as the party looks to flip GOP seats this fall - The Boston GlobeThe Boston GlobeJun 2
About this race page
Candidate roster is sourced from the FEC's active-candidate list for the 2026 cycle. Fundraising totals reflect committee filings through the last reporting period.
Alignment % compares the candidate's extracted policy positions against your quiz answers. Positions are pulled from the candidate's campaign issues page by AI; we save the source quote for each position so you can verify the extraction. Candidates without a campaign issues page show position data pending — we're working through the roster and re-checking stale extractions every 90 days.
News coverage is from the GDELT 2.0 global news feed, filtered to a curated list of national, political, and regional outlets.