Ashley Hinson
RDefeatedIncumbentFEC H0IA01174
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Raised this cycle—
Cash on hand: —
2026 race
IA-02 — U.S. House
4 candidates on the November ballot. Incumbent: Ashley Hinson.
Read the record. Not the rhetoric.
See where these candidates stand — and who's funding them.
DeepSyte tracks the money and the record in every race against the issues you care about — not party, not press releases. Take the 2-minute values quiz to see your alignment.
How we got here · 2 earlier contests
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 held
Counting
Tuesday, November 3, 2026
Results appear here once a race is called and verified. Official returns from the Iowa Secretary of State.
Make sure you can vote
Disclosed money in race
$11M
Candidate + outside spending. See finance breakdown below.
Incumbent
Currently in office
Challengers
Sorted by fundraising
Lindsay James
DChallengerFEC H6IA02211
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Raised this cycle$3.9M
Cash on hand: $266K
Joe Mitchell
RChallengerFEC H6IA02237
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Raised this cycle$2.9M
Cash on hand: $546K
Dave Bushaw
IChallengerFEC H6IA02260
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Raised this cycle$38K
Cash on hand: $11K
Rick Stewart
IChallengerNo FEC filing
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Raised this cycle—
Cash on hand: —
6 defeated candidates — show
Clinton Gene Twedt-Ball
DDefeatedChallengerFEC H6IA02195
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Raised this cycle$585K
Cash on hand: $0
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: $0
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$75K
Cash on hand: $415
Charlie McClintock
RDefeatedChallengerFEC H6IA02229
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Raised this cycle$18K
Cash on hand: $13K
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.
Lindsay Jamesmixed
0 pos6 neutral0 neg6 articles
Joe Mitchellmixed
0 pos9 neutral0 neg9 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.
Candidate fundraising: FEC reports through October 14, 2026 · 2025–26 cycle
Total disclosed
$11M
Candidate fundraising + independent expenditures (FEC).
Candidate-direct (Schedule A)
$8.0M
Raised by candidate committees themselves.
Outside spending (Schedule E)
$2.6M
$461K for · $2.2M against
| Candidate | Raised directly | Outside for | Outside against | Net in corner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Lindsay James(D) + HMP $105K + PROJECT 218 $53K + PROGRESSIVE TURNOUT PROJECT $10K | $3.9M | $169K | — | $4.1M |
Joe Mitchell(R) + SENATE CONSERVATIVES ACTION $11K + SENATE CONSERVATIVES FUND $9K − HMP $1.4M − AB PAC $675K − END CITIZENS UNITED $113K | $2.9M | $19K | $2.2M | $780K |
Dave Bushaw(I) | $38K | — | — | $38K |
Rick Stewart(L) | $0 | — | — | $0 |
7 defeated candidates — show finances
| Candidate | Raised directly | Outside for | Outside against | Net in corner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Clinton Gene Twedt-Ball(D)defeated | $585K | — | — | $585K |
Ashley Hinson(R)incumbentdefeated + HIGH PLAINS PAC $258K + NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE $15K | $0 | $272K | — | $272K |
Rodney Blum(R)defeated | $250K | — | — | $250K |
Kevin Techau(D)defeated | $147K | — | — | $147K |
Shannon Lundgren(R)defeated | $92K | — | — | $92K |
Kathryn Dolter(D)defeated | $75K | — | — | $75K |
Charlie McClintock(R)defeated | $18K | — | — | $18K |
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.
Lindsay James(D)44% in-state · $1.2M itemized
$548K in-state$690K out-of-state
Joe Mitchell(R)26% in-state · $1.1M itemized
$297K in-state$845K out-of-state
Dave Bushaw(I)46% in-state · $10K itemized
$5K in-state$6K out-of-state
5 defeated candidates — show
Clinton Gene Twedt-Ball(D)defeated71% in-state · $497K itemized
$354K in-state$143K out-of-state
Kevin Techau(D)defeated74% in-state · $118K itemized
$87K in-state$31K out-of-state
Shannon Lundgren(R)defeated87% in-state · $62K itemized
$54K in-state$8K out-of-state
Kathryn Dolter(D)defeated45% in-state · $39K itemized
$17K in-state$21K out-of-state
Charlie McClintock(R)defeated94% in-state · $9K itemized
$8K in-state$521 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.
Where they stand
Issue-by-issue comparison
Positions extracted from each candidate's campaign issues page by AI. Contested rows — where candidates disagree with each other — appear first.
| Statement | James | Mitchell | Bushaw | Stewart | You |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Educationcontested Parents should be able to use public funds — through vouchers — to send their kids to private or charter schools. | — | ||||
Governance & Other Outside political spending — from PACs and super PACs — should be limited more strictly. | — | ||||
Antitrust & Competition Federal antitrust laws should be strengthened to break up dominant technology platforms. | — | ||||
Education Federal Title IX protections should explicitly include sexual orientation and gender identity. | — | ||||
Environment Federal permitting and subsidies for new nuclear power plants should be expanded. | — | ||||
Healthcare The government should provide healthcare for everyone. | — | ||||
Healthcare Medicare should be allowed to negotiate lower prescription drug prices. | — | ||||
Housing Cities should have to ease their zoning rules to qualify for federal infrastructure money. | — | ||||
Immigration The U.S. should do more to enforce immigration laws and secure the border. | — | ||||
Immigration The U.S. should allow more legal immigration each year. | — | ||||
Immigration The H-1B visa program for high-skilled foreign workers should be expanded. | — | ||||
Labor Federal labor law should make it easier for workers to form unions (PRO Act-style reforms). | — | ||||
Labor Gig-economy workers should be classified as employees with full labor protections by federal default. | — | ||||
Labor Federal law should preserve state right-to-work laws against union security clauses. | — | ||||
Governance & Other There should be term limits for senators and representatives. | — | ||||
Governance & Other Voters should be required to show photo ID, with the same rule in every state. | — | ||||
Taxes People making over $400,000 a year should pay higher taxes. | — | ||||
Trade Federal procurement should give strong preference to U.S.-made goods, even at higher cost. | — |
SupportsOpposesNo public positionRinged = confirmed by the campaign
Recent coverage
In the news
Lindsay James
- https://www.inquirer.com/politics/election/2026-us-midterm-elections-democrats-house-20261103.htmlThe Philadelphia InquirerNov 4
- On election night, here are the key races to watch and when polls closeThe Philadelphia InquirerNov 3
- HereCBS NewsNov 3
- Mainline poised for comeback | Arkansas Democrat GazetteArkansas Democrat-GazetteSep 26
Joe Mitchell
- https://www.inquirer.com/politics/election/2026-us-midterm-elections-democrats-house-20261103.htmlThe Philadelphia InquirerNov 4
- On election night, here are the key races to watch and when polls closeThe Philadelphia InquirerNov 3
- This Election Season Made It Clear: Something Fundamental Has Shifted in AmericaSlateNov 3
- HereCBS NewsNov 3
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.