IA Fact CheckIowa 2026 · independent source review
Updated 09/24/2026 10:28 AM CDT
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Court dismisses Trump/Miller-Meeks Iowa Poll lawsuitAll three claims dismissed with prejudice; procedural assumptions are not findings that the poll was fabricated.Miller-Meeks manufacturing bill clears CongressCritical Infrastructure Manufacturing Feasibility Act heads to the president after Senate passage.Sioux Center: Muhlbauer/Dawson priorities addedMuhlbauer restates a rural-prosperity-office proposal; Dawson highlights gas, grocery and prescription-drug costs.Hinson LARC Access Expansion Act addedProposal would fund provider training, LARC inventory and a telehealth demonstration at eligible rural and underserved health centers.Nexstar sets Hinson–Turek debate for Oct. 13Live statewide debate scheduled for 9–10 p.m. CT from WHO 13 in Des Moines.Secretary of State election-administration positions addedPate emphasizes current security practices; Peterman proposes longer hours, a state holiday and an earlier absentee-mailing option.Derek Wulf investigation explainedFinancial allegations, campaign response and dated case status, with source links.Sand corrections bargaining proposal addedCurrent chapter 20 omits correctional employees from the public-safety list and uses a 30% unit threshold for broader bargaining subjects.Miller-Meeks / Nunn diesel-export positions addedBoth call for prioritizing domestic diesel supply; implementation and price effects remain unresolved.New Marist Iowa poll documentedRegistered voters: Turek 50%–Hinson 42%; Sand 54%–Lahn 42%; n=1,050, ±4.4 points.Sand under-16 social-media proposal clarifiedKCCI reports the current proposal would apply even with parental permission, while a parental exception remains open for discussion.Lahn first-home tax-account mechanics documentedKCCI reports the proposed account would capture forgone state income tax for a first-home down payment; duration, cost and final eligibility remain open.Hinson adds explicit call for Iran war to endCurrent campaign statement is documented alongside, not substituted for, her prior War Powers roll-call record.Hinson and Turek fuel-relief proposals comparedBoth now call for a temporary federal gas-tax suspension and diesel-export pause; additional proposals and implementation limits differ.MAHA Action PAC $1M Lahn announcement checkedIowa has no state contribution cap; disclosure rules remain, and the announced amount is attributed to the PAC pending independent filing verification.Lahn Big Ag antitrust authority checkedIowa law provides antitrust remedies, but state enforcement runs through the attorney general and courts.New Iowa Senate poll documentedTrafalgar: Hinson 44.0%, Turek 42.1%, Laehn 3.4%, 10.4% undecided; 1,089 likely voters, ±2.9 points.Farmland ownership claims get ISU data contextLahn and Sand propose different restrictions; ISU data separate residency from LLC/trust/corporate ownership structure.Altered Sand image verifiedAFP found the circulated face-shield image was AI-altered and traced it to an original photo showing neither mask nor face shield.Tips/overtime tax claim follow-upNew Sept. 19 reporting records Hinson’s repeal claim and Turek’s stated support for no tax on tips and overtime; IRS limits remain in view.Turek “Underdog” health-care claim auditedCoverage-loss and Iowa access evidence is documented; the ad does not identify a cancer-clinic closure that establishes its implied causal chain.Vance prescription-drug claim checked against BLS price dataJuly’s 3.1% year-over-year decline was the steepest since 1963; August remained down 2.9%. The CPI trend does not by itself identify a single cause.Wonder handgun-theft record clarified with police-report detailThe incident was recorded at Wonder’s address; Wichita police now say the gun was stolen from inside Lahn’s vehicle. Lahn says it was in a locked case.Lahn fuel-tax proposal gets a proposed data-center funding offsetState sources confirm the relevant exemptions and protected road fund; a published fiscal analysis is still needed to verify the offset fully covers the cost.Vance farm-trade audit adds USDA’s 42% agricultural-deficit forecast contextThe 42% number matches USDA’s $50B-to-$29B forecast framing; it is not yet a completed fiscal-year result.IA-01 “Sweetheart Deal” ad checked against finance, lodging and House-rule recordsThe PAC total and rental relationship are documented; causal, preferential-deal and concealment claims require separate evidence.Amendment 1 attack checked against both House votesTurek voted No in 2024; the final 2026 House vote that sent SJR 11 to the ballot lists him absent or not voting.Sand cannabis plan updated with September town-hall detailsApril proposal remains the baseline; new reporting clarifies licensing, public-use, labeling and home-grow positions.Sand “Only” ad checked against Lahn’s mRNA position and melanoma trial recordThe policy contrast is documented; the leading mRNA cancer therapy remains investigational and the scope of a future ban is unresolved.Lahn “13 Million” ad checked against finance and DNR recordsSubstantial family giving and a discharge order are documented; broader company, fertilizer and drinking-water wording is kept separate.Turek tax-supermajority vote put in contextOfficial roll call confirms the 2024 No vote; the vote opposed adding a two-thirds threshold and did not reduce Iowa’s existing majority rule.Auditor report tracks decade of executive-branch compensationSand’s office reports overall inflation-adjusted decline, with increases in the Governor and Secretary of State offices; Reynolds’ office says senior expertise drove staffing choices.Nunn, Miller-Meeks explain War Powers vote switchBoth had opposed two earlier similar resolutions; their latest statements cite authorization, limits on open-ended combat and an end-state plan.Sand, Lahn outline affordability, Medicaid and education positionsKWQC interviews record contrasting governor-race policy proposals and priorities.“Show Up” China ad checked against primary recordsCommittee membership and key legislative records are confirmed; broader campaign wording is separated from what the votes alone establish.$7,500 tax claim checked against the underlying recordState and federal tax figures are separated from the campaign claim; no candidate score is assigned.Turek fuel-relief proposal documentedDiesel-export pause and temporary federal gas-tax suspension recorded as proposals; mechanics and savings remain unresolved.Iowa candidates outline AI oversight positionsLahn, Hinson, Miller-Meeks and Mitchell address regulation, guardrails, competitiveness and workforce effects.Iowa delegation backs H.R. 5334 concurrenceRoll 308: Hinson, Nunn, Miller-Meeks and Feenstra all Yea; House vote 262–159.Hinson “Aisle” ad record checkBipartisan Sgt. Ketchum veterans work is documented; insurer proposal is real, while a realized cost reduction needs separate evidence.IA-01 debate set for Oct. 20KCRG and KWQC schedule Miller-Meeks and Bohannan for a live one-hour debate at St. Ambrose University, with free streaming.Iowa delegation splits on Iran War Powers voteRoll 307: Nunn and Miller-Meeks Yea; Hinson and Feenstra Nay; resolution passed 220–204.Sand public-safety / SF 2472 positionPublic-safety funding priority documented; future local budget effects under the new property-tax framework remain unresolved.Bird office details Meta restitution plan$25 million is designated for eligible Iowa consumers; claims rules are still pending, with other funds assigned to child-safety, enforcement, schools and technology purposes.Governor fuel-cost plans documentedLahn proposes a temporary 50% state fuel-tax cut; Sand emphasizes tariffs, broader costs and biofuels. Current Iowa tax rates independently verified.Lahn AFP-Montana history checked against new Sand ads2015 reporting verifies the role and anti-Medicaid-expansion pressure campaign; character labels remain campaign advocacy.Lahn paraquat/Parkinson’s risk claim reviewedStudies show mixed effect sizes; the evidence does not establish one universal twofold risk for any exposure.Nunn House gift-travel disclosure addedHouse records document a privately sponsored March–April trip and $15,400 disclosed cost; no ethics violation is inferred from the filing alone.Bird “Safe” ad record checkCold Case Unit and Big Tech actions documented; Meta’s official combined Iowa total is $135.67 million.Rob Sand Sept. 9 Decorah ad addedCore biography is supported by official Iowa records; broader promises on costs, corruption and cancer remain prospective.IA-02 debate records synced to Oct. 8 Iowa PBS scheduleJames and Mitchell are named for the 7 p.m. debate; participation by other ballot-qualified candidates remains unestablished.Iowa PBS sets Oct. 7 U.S. Senate debateHinson and Turek are scheduled for 7 p.m. in Johnston, live statewide and online; no live audience.Hinson on proposed $5,000 dividendNo commitment yet; Hinson says she wants details first. National cost estimate is separately attributed.Turek Social Security taxable-cap positionPolicy position documented against SSA’s 2026 $184,500 taxable maximum and Hinson campaign response.$750K AFP Action Hinson ad buy loggedOutside-group spending confirmed; policy questions about Turek kept separate from documented candidate positions.Turek 842 healthcare-entity claim auditedState-database count supported, but it combines many entity types and is not 842 hospitals or clinics.Naig conservation adoption claimCover-crop trend supported; methodology and outcome caveats added.Jones water-quality claim updated with 2026 DNR impairment dataDNR confirms persistent impairments and a voluntary nonpoint-source framework; “has not worked” remains broader than a claim of zero progress anywhere.Social Security cut wording auditedHinson backed lower SSA administrative funding in a 2024 House committee proposal; scheduled benefit formulas were not cut.Hinson “Squeezed” ad auditedTax provisions are real; “no tax” language needs scope, and key health-care bills remain proposals.Polk County voter challenges set asideAbout 1,500 challenge cases were postponed until after the election; the hearing did not remove those voters.Lahn Medicaid MCO claim auditedKFF supports the 42-state comprehensive-MCO count; the broader “privatized Medicaid” label needs model-by-model context.Save Our Bacon producer splitUSDA supports <15¢ overall food-dollar share; grocery-only share is 18.5¢.POET legal-threat follow-upWillems refuses to pull Shell Rock ad; threat does not itself change the underlying evidence rating.Turek internal poll put in contextGSG campaign poll shows Turek +4; overlapping public Emerson poll showed Hinson +5.Jones food-system numbers auditedIowa State supports the broad table-food import point at about 95%; USDA/Census benchmarks do not support $93B as ordinary Iowa grocery spending, and Iowa Corn currently reports 62% of corn going to ethanol.Social Security staffing claim auditedRoughly one-eighth staffing loss supported; blanket “forced out” wording needs qualification.Muhlbauer $1.4B Iowa budget-gap claim auditedThe scale is substantially supported by FY2026 fiscal records; reserve/carryforward financing means it is not the same as $1.4B of unpaid state debt.Sand family “nearly $12M” contribution claim auditedContributor histories support about $11.519M since 2024; the total needs rounding and campaign-cycle context.Turek federal marijuana position addedSept. 7 remarks support legalization, regulation and taxation; Iowa HF 442 provides prior legislative context.Sand hypothetical Senate-vacancy answer addedSand says he would keep an open mind and could consider an independent; no vacancy exists and no person was named.Trone Garriott “Hard” ad addedNew Sept. 8 broadcast/digital creative preserved; repeated Nunn town-hall line links to the existing format-qualified audit.Lahn school-food proposal / 40,000-lb claim audited80% Iowa-grown goal documented; reviewed USDA guidance does not establish a universal 40,000-pound beef-delivery requirement.Jones 50% Iowa-grown school-food proposal addedTen-year 50% goal and $10 million annual transition proposal documented as policy commitments, not guaranteed outcomes.Medicaid claim audited$911B federal reduction supported; precise 110,000-Iowan loss figure needs qualification.Hinson war-powers vote count auditedHouse Clerk shows seven direct withdrawal-resolution Nays; Turek’s “six” undercounts, while “for war” is broader framing.Lahn tax-cut superlative auditedMajor tax reduction supported; historical “largest” and “middle class” framing need scope.Iowa jobs / GDP rank claim auditedManufacturing losses measured in the thousands and Iowa’s Q1 2026 48th-place real-GDP growth rank are supported, with data-vintage context.Bohannan pediatric Medicaid claims auditedAAP and Iowa HHS sources support Medicaid’s importance but not the two claims exactly as stated.Hinson budget/inflation claim audited2021 no vote supported; $6T shorthand and single-cause inflation framing need context.Wulf climate-liability law auditedHF 2527 became law; the record supports Wulf’s central role while rejecting “blanket immunity from every lawsuit” shorthand.Hinson’s Schumer/VoteVets claim auditedVoteVets’ spending scale is supported; direct Schumer control is not established.Nunn campaign-funding claim auditedFEC individual-contribution totals contradict the literal “entirely supported by corporate PACs” wording.Laehn 45Q/45Z carbon-pipeline claim auditedProject dependence is supported; personal-payout and guaranteed-collapse language overstates the evidence.Wulf / SF 2412 support disputeIndustry-group attribution documented; no House floor vote establishes personal support.Hinson Epstein-related committee absences auditedOfficial roll calls support several missed committee votes; later final disclosure vote was Aye and motive is not established.Peterman fundraising-record claim reviewed$200,784 2025 total is independently supported; all-time superlative remains campaign-attributed.Norwood IPERS protection claim contextualized400,000-plus scale is supported; final DOGE policy stopped short of replacing the pension.Sand petition-signature record checked24,756 submitted signatures and reported historical comparisons are supported; petition signatures are not endorsements.Roby Smith unclaimed-property record checkedFY2026’s $38.2M record is supported; Money Match launched afterward and is separate modernization context.IA-03 clinic-closure claim auditedClosures are real; Medicaid/reimbursement pressure is part of the record, but one-vote causal framing needs context.Federal SAVE ruling changes Iowa election-data contextThe modified bulk/SSN voter-check system remains blocked while its appeal proceeds; Iowa’s earlier access claim now needs that legal qualification.Turek Social Security tax claim auditedNRSC wording conflates a temporary senior deduction with the underlying taxation rules and with Turek’s stated intent.
Hegseth–Nunn fundraiser complaint loggedKCRG reports a request for OSC review; allegations are kept distinct from any agency finding.IA-02 mobile-home law record checkJames and Mitchell both voted aye on the 2022 HF 2562 mobile-home bill; the enacted law added a 90-day notice rule but no rent cap.New YouGov Iowa pollTurek 44–43 Hinson; Sand 50–39 Lahn; 2,169 registered voters, ±3.5-point overall margin of error.New IA-01 outside-spending entryJ Street’s $3M campaign spans five races; Miller-Meeks is a named target, but no Iowa-only dollar share is disclosed.Cournoyer $200M savings claim auditedState records support the core amount and her policy role; attribution and independent-verification context added.Wulf refinance claim auditedJuly “we were able to refinance” wording conflicts with the later court/campaign status showing refinancing was still incomplete.Hinson ad’s bill claims expandedHELPER Act and rural-health sponsorship facts check out; both measures remained pending rather than enacted.Four governor debates scheduledSand and Lahn are set for Oct. 6, 14, 21 and 27 debates across four Iowa markets.Sand “Heart” education ad auditedESA support and expansion are documented; “private over public” and categorical no-accountability framing need context.Lahn cancer-rate superlative checkedOfficial Iowa sources support a fastest-growing U.S. state ranking, not a worldwide ranking.Nunn town-hall claim auditedNo open in-person public town hall is documented in the reporting reviewed, but Nunn has held telephone town halls/listening sessions and other constituent events.Hinson 10× wealth claim auditedHousehold wealth clearly rose, but range-based disclosures do not establish a tenfold increase; comparable bounds are roughly 3½–4×.Willems labor-record ad auditedRockwell and Carter Lake wins are documented; exact job-restoration and “largest-ever” wording receive source-qualified context.Naig water/cancer claim auditedOverall cancer causation is multifactorial, while agricultural nitrate remains a documented major Iowa water-quality source.House 52 attack-ad audit$50,000 settlement was real; contemporaneous report says Marshalltown owed a $5,000 insurance-pool deductible.New Iowa Emerson pollHinson 50–45 Turek; Sand 49–46 Lahn; 750 likely voters, ±3.6-point credibility interval.Sand fiscal-time-bomb claim auditedLSA FY27 numbers support a structural gap financed by carryforward/TRF money; substantial balances remain, so “time bomb” is rhetoric about sustainability.Sand / Turning Point context strengthenedAP identifies a statewide 99-county Turning Point Action operation; earlier bathroom/fear claim remains unverified.Turek campaign-finance claim auditedFEC: about 93% individual receipts, 6% other committees, 1% party committees; outside spending is separate.Turek SF 482 / HF 68 votes auditedHouse Journals confirm both no votes; broader SLF labels require context.POET/Bird ad audit finalized$100K donation timing verified; AG says DNR never referred the matter, undercutting the ad’s “refused” wording.Turek HF 2748 absence verifiedHouse Journal: HF 2748 passed 81–8 with Turek among 11 absent/not voting; broader “abandoned farmers” framing goes beyond the roll call.Linn County voter challenges put in context495-plus registrations were challenged; accepted challenges show stale/ineligible records, not proof those people illegally voted.EPA refinery-waiver follow-through clarified1.76B RIN exemptions are final; the additional 2026–27 reallocation is still a future proposal and covers the projection gap.Turek SF 2391 meat-labeling vote auditedOfficial roll call: Turek voted no; broader “hurt Iowa agriculture” framing is a separate causal/political judgment.Willems opioid-fund balance claim auditedThe eventual ~$20M settlement share is not the same as current cash received; Bird told KCRG/Gray a little over $9M had arrived at her last check.Hinson sheriff roundtable expandedNew sourced policy context covers rural equipment grants and Fourth Amendment/privacy concerns around Flock cameras without duplicating the existing immigration audit.Turek: “Republicans for Turek” list expandsCampaign publishes a named list of 60-plus current/former Republicans; IA Fact Check keeps registration-status attribution tied to the campaign.Hinson stock-trading ad auditedHer House vote and public-stock-trading record are supported; KCRG could not substantiate the ad’s exact “almost 18%” market-performance statistic.Hinson/Turek immigration claims auditedHF 946 wording is overstated; the newsletter did link immigrant-rights guidance; a separate benefits allegation remains open for primary-source verification.Muhlbauer DMACC farm tourFresh agriculture/workforce context: innovation, conservation, markets and retaining young farmers; prospective outcomes kept separate from verified site/program facts.SLF Turek absentee ad auditedThe 58% floor-vote figure is independently supported; the $20,100 was statutory per diem, making “reimbursements” imprecise.Turek farm-foreclosure ranking checkedIowa had serious Chapter 12 stress but ranked third in the latest complete state totals, not first.Turek farm-crisis warning checkedReal stress is documented; the comparison with the 1980s remains a forward-looking warning rather than an established equivalence.Hinson soybean-purchase claim checkedUSDA daily export-sale notices document continued China purchases; full-year target fulfillment remains a separate question.Turek PBM reform proposal documentedColfax pharmacy reimbursement concerns are separated from the candidate's federal policy prescription and Iowa's existing PBM law.Farm Bureau PAC endorsements documentedMike Naig and Ashley Hinson received the group's Friend of Agriculture designation; endorsement context is separated from factual ratings.Wulf receivership and investigation status addedCourt/business records and a sheriff-confirmed investigation are documented with explicit allegation-vs-finding safeguards.Iowa cattle-market letter: federal response addedSept. 4 rancher orders are now separated from the still-distinct lean-beef import quota Iowa lawmakers criticized.Fresh Iowa governor/Senate poll addedEmerson/Nexstar's Sept. 3 release is now documented with sample, field dates and uncertainty.Federal mail-ballot litigation watchIowa’s current absentee instructions remain posted while proposed federal USPS/mail-ballot restrictions are litigated.Sand housing proposals addedFresh Sept. 3 inspection/red-tape and first-time-homebuyer proposals are now documented with outcome limits.Iowa cattle-market letter addedNunn, Hinson and Miller-Meeks records now include the Sept. 3 delegation letter and candidate-specific context.Lahn glyphosate/EPA claimFresh Radio Iowa remarks checked against EPA’s current safety statement and active 2026 reassessment.Sand court-ruling criticism contextualizedFresh campaign reaction is separated from the Iowa Supreme Court’s April 17 privilege ruling.Jones clean-water paddle tourFresh KCAU report is paired with EPA and Iowa DNR nitrate-assessment context.CLF “kooky and dangerous” anti-Trone Garriott ad reviewedRated mostly unsupported / attack framing; embeds the captured ad frame and separates CLF sponsorship from the Nunn campaign ad.Nunn “Stand Up For Us” ad reviewedVoting-record claim rated partly supported / needs context.Miller-Meeks cancer-policy pledge documentedACS CAN pledge and current legislative record added; the pledge is not an endorsement or a guarantee of future outcomes.Sand preschool expansion proposal contextualizedProposal documented; the cited $17 return is a high-end research estimate, not a guaranteed fiscal result for the Iowa plan.Turek 700+ bipartisan-vote claim gets independent contextKCRG finds the total plausible; the definition of bipartisan voting materially affects what the number means.Sand affordability proposals addedCampaign positions logged; claimed cost/savings effects remain unverified until implementation details exist.Governor data-center tax proposals addedSand and Lahn proposals logged with advocacy claims clearly separated from verified effects.Weekend Senate campaign-event context loggedRadio Iowa reporting on the Hinson and Turek events added without a verdict or forecast.Steak Fry turnout context loggedKCRG event coverage added for Turek, Sand and Trone Garriott without a verdict or forecast.Hinson Clive rally / turnout context addedGray Media's Aug. 29 event report is preserved as campaign context, not a race forecast.Hinson affordability/turnout remarks loggedAug. 29 Clive campaign remarks preserved as candidate-position context, not a verdict.Turek / Trone Garriott term-limit statements loggedAug. 29 Steak Fry remarks are preserved as candidate-position context, not a verdict.Hinson/Turek immigration claims contextualizedPrimary Iowa voting records and Turek’s own statements separate the SF 2340 vote from his later DHS/ICE funding position.Sand Guthrie Center stop addedLocal reporting documents an Aug. 31 campaign gathering; no verdict or crowd-size inference added.Sand statewide CNN profile addedDirect remarks on election reform, water quality, cancer prevention and campaign positioning are now sourced in the governor race record.Hinson direct Aug. 28 interview addedKWBG transcript preserves current health-insurance, beef-import, E15 and attendance statements with existing fact-check context.IA-01 manufacturing/tax-law context addedCurrent reporting preserves Miller-Meeks’ argument and Bohannan’s response with attribution.Bird / Meta settlement terms addedOfficial Iowa AG release confirms Iowa's $126.5M share and required child-safety reforms; campaign interpretation remains separate.KCRG review added to Lahn/Sand ad fact checkIndependent local-TV review reinforces the existing assessment of the $7,500 tax and “billionaire” claims.RFS refinery-waiver proposalDeveloping federal waiver proposal is added with EPA’s finalized RFS rule and Mike Naig’s existing biofuel position.Turek water-quality / cancer positionCurrent candidate statement is added with Iowa Cancer Registry and nitrate-health context; no single environmental cause is treated as proved.Hinson spouse / insurance-group government-affairs reportMeeting-arrangement reporting is added with the campaign response and House Ethics limits; no ethics violation is treated as proven.Turek cancer forum: policy and vote contextHis cancer-research/public-option positions are documented alongside both the missed April pediatric-cancer vote and his later vote for enacted research funding.Sand and Turek directly decline Harris campaign helpSand said “No thanks” and called for new leadership; Turek answered “No.” The statements are campaign-position context, not a Hogwash verdict.Suffolk poll: governor and Senate margins within sampling errorStatewide likely-voter poll: Sand 48%-Lahn 44%; Hinson 45%-Turek 41%, Laehn 4%; reported ±4.4-point margin of error.Developing: Willems Shell Rock pollution ad auditedHistorical excessive emissions are supported; Bird's role, the reported $100,000 POET CEO contribution and present-tense exposure language remain under contextual review.IA-03 Libertarian ballot-access dispute moves to courtSecretary of State rejects Jake Heard’s replacement nomination; Heard seeks judicial review and ballot status remains unresolved.Rob Sand education ad: “below Nebraska” claim gets context2024 NAEP supports Nebraska’s advantage over Iowa in math, but Iowa performs better on key reading measures; there is no single federal overall education ranking.Zach Lahn: Wonder investigation adds stolen-handgun recordA 2023 Wichita police record shows Lahn’s handgun and ammunition were stolen from Wonder school property and later recovered; the reporting also adds detail on Wonder’s related-party debt and governance.Treasurer race: Norwood adds IPERS / in-state deposit policy detailsOfficial IPERS records confirm the treasurer’s voting Investment Board role; Norwood’s exact $2.5 billion out-of-state short-term deposit figure remains attributed to him.Zach Lahn: Wonder school financing and IRS context addedNew reporting and IRS-derived filings add governance context on personal loans, liabilities and net assets without treating disclosed related-party financing as evidence of wrongdoing.Iowa absentee-ballot request window opens todayOfficial Iowa guidance confirms Aug. 25 is the first day to file a November General Election absentee request; ballots and in-person absentee voting begin Oct. 14.Auditor race: Wettach proposes private-school budget transparencyRadio Iowa documents Wettach’s call for greater public budget transparency where ESA taxpayer dollars flow; IA Fact Check treats it as policy context, not proof of misuse.VoteVets Hinson health-care ad: KCRG fact check addedIndependent local reporting supports the ad’s modeled Iowa coverage-loss range but finds the “20 rural hospitals” causal claim does not match current risk data.IA-03: Nunn beef-import position addedBrownfield documents Nunn opposing the temporary import expansion as a long-term solution and calling for domestic herd rebuilding, regulatory relief and a new five-year farm bill.Chris Jones: State Fair “systemic change” agriculture agenda documentedFresh independent reporting is cross-checked against Jones’s published platform; specific water/agriculture proposals are recorded as policy commitments rather than guaranteed outcomes.Zach Lahn: data-center / Flock-camera regulatory positions addedLahn backs a temporary data-center pause while Iowa sets rules and calls for state-level regulation of AI-powered license-plate readers; proposals are recorded as policy positions, not guaranteed outcomes.Rob Sand: universal school meals / voucher oversight position addedDirect Franklin County town-hall audio documents Sand backing universal breakfast and lunch and stronger accountability for public voucher dollars; cost and federal-funding outcomes are not treated as established.IA-03: Trone Garriott interview positions addedNew abortion and youth gender-care answers are recorded with SF 538 primary-record context; partisan framing is kept separate from the documented statements.IA-03 fundraising context refreshedA new race guide reports more than $10.1 million raised combined by Trone Garriott and Nunn, based on linked FEC records; totals are context, not a forecast.Turek attendance-ad source context strengthenedIndependent reporting supplies the full fundraiser quote behind Hinson’s “Matters” ad, while Iowa Code clarifies that regular-session per diem is tied to session days rather than each roll-call vote.Senate race: Hinson–Turek cancer-policy context expandedNew national reporting highlights Iowa’s cancer burden; Hinson’s cancer-research bill and Turek’s health-care platform are added as sourced policy context, not outcome predictions.IA-01 candidate guide adds FEC-linked fundraising contextIowa Starting Line links to FEC records showing more than $14 million raised combined by Miller-Meeks and Bohannan; IA Fact Check treats the figures as campaign-finance context, not a verdict or forecast.Banking groups launch supportive Hinson housing/economy adABA and the Iowa Bankers Association launched an Iowa ad praising Hinson’s housing and community-investment record; IA Fact Check labels the message as industry advocacy rather than independent outcome evidence.Iowa governor and Senate polling averages refreshedFiftyPlusOne now shows Sand 49.2% / Lahn 43.5% for governor and Hinson 46.8% / Turek 45.9% for Senate. Both remain polling aggregations—not new surveys or election forecasts.Governor polling average refresh: Sand 49.3%, Lahn 43.6%FiftyPlusOne’s live modeled average now shows a 5.7-point exact gap; IA Fact Check treats it as polling aggregation context—not a new survey, Hogwash verdict or election forecast.AP profiles pivotal Bohannan–Miller-Meeks IA-01 rematchAssociated Press field reporting adds fresh context on the 799-vote 2024 margin, Bohannan’s rural outreach and Miller-Meeks’ defense of her record; it is independent race context, not a poll or forecast.Hinson Pork Tent / Proposition 12 warning addedHinson says a Turek Senate win could threaten the Iowa Pork Tent; the policy dispute is documented, but the tent-closing causal forecast is not established and is not Hogwash-scored.Governor polling average: Sand 49.4%, Lahn 43.6%FiftyPlusOne’s current modeled average shows a 5.8-point gap; IA Fact Check treats it as polling aggregation context—not a new survey or election forecast.Governor: Branstad says he now fully supports LahnFormer Gov. Terry Branstad, a Feenstra primary backer, now says he fully supports Zach Lahn; the same report says both Lahn and Sand oppose eminent-domain use for the Summit carbon pipeline.State Fair straw-poll post-fair snapshot refreshedSecretary of State totals were refreshed after the fair closed across governor, U.S. Senate and all four U.S. House races; the voluntary exercise remains explicitly unscientific, unofficial, nonrepresentative and non-predictive.State Fair straw-poll live snapshot refreshedOfficial voluntary fairgoer totals were refreshed again across governor, U.S. Senate and all four U.S. House races; the exercise remains explicitly labeled unscientific, unofficial and non-predictive.Secretary of Agriculture: Naig and Jones criticize beef-import expansionBoth candidates oppose the temporary import expansion while emphasizing different producer/market concerns; IA Fact Check records the remarks as policy context, not a forecast of prices or farm income.Lindsay James: resurfaced 2023 gender-care remarks authenticatedIowa PBS confirms the historical quotation; the review adds her SF 538 vote and distinguishes her exact wording from broader attack-language paraphrases.State Fair straw-poll live snapshot refreshedOfficial voluntary fairgoer totals were refreshed across governor, U.S. Senate and all four U.S. House races; the exercise remains explicitly labeled unscientific, unofficial and non-predictive.Senate polling average refresh: Hinson 47.0%, Turek 46.1%FiftyPlusOne’s live Aug. 22 modeled average now shows a nine-tenths-point gap. It remains an aggregation of qualifying public polls—not a new survey or election forecast.New ad WinSenate Hinson missed-votes / wealth attack checkedThe nearly-200-vote record has a documented basis; a June fundraiser episode is supported with a seven-of-11 count. Household wealth rose substantially, but “lining her pockets” / office-caused enrichment is not established.Auditor race: Wettach pledges to seek reversal of 2023 auditor-access restrictionsWettach tied the pledge to Iowa’s enacted 2023 SF 478; IA Fact Check records it as a candidate policy position, not a Hogwash verdict or prediction about repeal.Senate polling average refresh: Hinson 47.0%, Turek 46.2%FiftyPlusOne’s live Aug. 22 modeled average now shows an eight-tenths-point gap. It remains an aggregation of qualifying public polls—not a new survey or election forecast.AG race analysis: Sabato moves Iowa to Leans RepublicanLouis Jacobson’s state-AG analysis shifts Bird–Willems from Likely Republican to Leans Republican; the lower-office assessment is analytical context, not a poll, Hogwash verdict or formal Crystal Ball “official” rating.State Fair straw-poll live snapshot refreshedOfficial voluntary fairgoer totals were refreshed across governor, U.S. Senate and all four U.S. House races; the exercise remains explicitly labeled unscientific, unofficial and non-predictive.Iowa Senate polling average: Hinson 47.0%, Turek 46.2%FiftyPlusOne’s modeled Aug. 22 average has the race separated by about eight-tenths of a point. It is an aggregation of qualifying public polls, not a new survey or election forecast.AG race: voter-ID and election-enforcement positions documentedBird explicitly backed voter ID; Willems committed to enforcing Iowa law and protecting eligible voters. Bird’s broader characterization of Willems’s voter-ID position remains attributed rather than treated as independently established.Sand and Turek campaigns distance themselves from Harris campaign involvementBoth campaigns told the Washington Examiner they are not seeking former Vice President Kamala Harris’s support or campaign involvement; IA Fact Check records this as campaign-strategy context, not a claim verdict.AG race: Willems pollution-enforcement attack reviewedBird’s 2025 pollution settlements and outside criticism are documented; the broader claim tying campaign money to favorable treatment is not established by the reviewed record.IA-02: James “nearly 27,000” coverage-risk claim checkedThe broad projected coverage-loss risk is supported, but the best district estimate reviewed is about 25,100 and the figure is modeled rather than a count of people who have already lost coverage.Zach Nunn: BOI small-business accomplishment claim checkedH.R. 736 did pass the House 408–0 and FinCEN has permanently exempted U.S. companies from BOI reporting; the bill itself did not become law, so direct causal credit for the later Treasury rule needs context.IA-03: Nunn girls’ sports / locker-room ad reviewedTwo cited Trone Garriott Senate votes are real; the ad’s broader affirmative characterization goes beyond what the roll calls alone establish and is marked as needing context.Lahn ad “billionaire” claim checkedFamily wealth and major family campaign contributions are documented, but no reliable reviewed source establishes Rob Sand personally has a net worth of $1 billion or more. The label is unsubstantiated in the reviewed record.Vilsack and agriculture leaders endorse SandTom Vilsack and more than 50 farmers/former agriculture leaders backed Sand and Muhlbauer at an Aug. 19 farm-policy roundtable; endorsement praise is treated as campaign context.Bird defends Iowa voter-data transfer as DOJ says pursuit will continueIowa’s DOJ voter-data transfer is documented; Bird’s Aug. 20 support is documented; legal necessity and the broader federal authority remain disputed rather than treated as an Iowa-specific final ruling.Nunn joins bipartisan fertilizer supply-chain pushLetter is documented; broader China fertilizer/sulfuric-acid restrictions are independently supported, while one specific sulfur-buying allegation remains source-dependent.State Fair straw-poll live snapshot refreshedUpdated official live totals across the six covered federal/governor races; the voluntary fairgoer exercise remains explicitly labeled unscientific and non-predictive.IA-02: James–Mitchell lobbying-status dispute checkedJames called Mitchell a “state legislator turned lobbyist.” Records show his developers association hired registered lobbyists and pursued policy change, but reviewed Iowa reports list Mitchell as the client contact rather than as a registered lobbyist.Lahn $7,500 Sand tax-increase ad reviewedSand 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. Central claim: Mostly Hogwash.Zach Lahn: governor-term-limit exception documentedLahn says he supports term limits for many offices but not Iowa governor; a separate May podcast remark said he could serve as governor “for the next two decades.” The site records the statements as policy-position context, not a motive claim.Secretary of Agriculture: campaign-sponsored Naig–Jones poll addedChange Research for the Jones campaign found Naig 42%, Jones 40%, 16% unsure on the initial ballot, within the stated ±3.1-point margin. A later 46–40 Jones result followed candidate biographies and is labeled separately as message-exposed polling.Iowa Senate: Turek “700 bipartisan votes” TV ad reviewedAn independent review counted at least 775 Turek votes for Iowa legislation supported by members of both parties, supporting the ad’s rounded “700 votes” claim. His pledge to work with President Trump is future-facing; SLF’s $33 million Iowa ad commitment is documented separately as outside-spending context.Race rating IA-02: Cook rates James–Mitchell Lean RepublicanCook Political Report currently lists the open 2nd District as Lean Republican; Iowa Starting Line reports a shift from Likely Republican. IA Fact Check treats the change as analyst context, not a poll or guaranteed outcome.Race rating Iowa Governor: Cook shifts Sand–Lahn to Lean DemocratCook Political Report moved the open Iowa governor race from Toss Up to Lean Democrat. IA Fact Check treats the change as analyst context, not a poll or guaranteed outcome.Race rating Iowa U.S. Senate: Cook shifts Hinson–Turek to Toss UpCook Political Report moved the open Iowa Senate race from Lean Republican to Toss Up. The latest Emerson/Nexstar poll in the record showed Hinson 48%, Turek 45%, within its ±3.7-point credibility interval.Ad review Nate Willems: Bird “Radical” TV ad checkedPublic biographies support the narrow no-documented-prosecutor point, but the ad’s sex-offender graphics omit that Willems voted against a broad substitute containing an automatic five-year mandate and then voted for final SF 340’s risk-based monitoring system. The roll call alone does not show why he opposed the substitute. Tax claims receive context.Hogwash Meter artwork and pig indicator correctedThe meter artwork itself now has a complete rounded perimeter with protected canvas space on every edge, so the left, right and bottom are no longer cut off. The moving pig marker is larger, cleaner and more prominent with a precise pointer to its rating position.Hogwash Meter fit correctedThe rounded meter is now slightly inset and centered inside claim columns so its left, right and bottom border stay fully visible; mobile views now preserve the full seven-step graphic instead of cropping its edges.Claims now sit directly above their Hogwash Meter ratingClaim and media reviews now follow a clear claim → meter → verdict/confidence → explanation sequence so each rating is visually tied to the statement being reviewed.Sitewide: Iowa Hogwash Meter replaces the temperature gaugeClaim and media reviews now use a horizontal seven-position Iowa-themed evidence scale with a moving pig indicator, dynamic verdict, and separate evidence-confidence treatment; political labels remain unscored.IA-02: James and Mitchell commit to televised debatesJames accepted Iowa’s News Now and Iowa PBS debates; Mitchell says he is prepared to debate. Dates and four-candidate participation remain unsettled under current broadcaster criteria.Zach Lahn: cancer-research funding proposal addedAt an Aug. 18 ACS CAN forum, Lahn proposed shifting funding from some state university degree programs into pediatric or other cancer research and expanding lower-cost water-quality monitoring; available reporting does not specify programs, dollar amounts or an implementation mechanism.IA-03: Aug. 19 official list still omits Jake HeardThe Secretary of State’s 1:36 p.m. list still shows only Nunn and Trone Garriott. Because it predates the 5:00 p.m. vacancy deadline, Heard’s documented Libertarian nomination remains separate from unresolved official ballot acceptance.Iowa Voter Help: Adams County General Election guidance addedAdams County identifies the Nov. 3 General Election and publishes current precinct guidance; its sample-ballot lookup still carries a 2024 label, so 2026 General Election sample ballots are not marked available yet.Joe Mitchell: term-limits / stock-trading platform documentedMitchell backs congressional term limits and a stock/prediction-market trading ban. IA Fact Check documents the 12-year proposal and the key legal distinction: term limits require a constitutional amendment, while trading restrictions can be enacted by statute.Iowa Voter Help: Ringgold County General Election guidance addedRinggold County now has an official Nov. 3 General Election page with absentee-voting guidance and the state poll finder; IA Fact Check flags conflicting stale date labels on the county page and does not mark General Election sample ballots available yet.IA-03: Libertarians nominate Jake Heard as Battaglia replacementThe Libertarian Party selected Jacob “Jake” Heard for the Third District vacancy. IA Fact Check documents the party nomination separately from still-unconfirmed official state ballot acceptance.IA-03: Marco Battaglia campaign exit addedThe Libertarian Party says Battaglia ended his campaign after a medical emergency. The state’s Aug. 14 candidate list shows Nunn and Trone Garriott but no Libertarian replacement yet.08/19 7:16 AMIowa Voter Help: Clay County General Election polling guidance addedClay County now identifies the November 3 General Election and links its current polling places/precincts plus official Iowa polling-place, registration and absentee-voting tools; finalized precinct-specific General Election sample ballots are not posted yet.08/19 6:25 AMIowa Voter Help: Wayne County General Election polling guidance addedWayne County now lists all four precinct/polling locations, the August 25 absentee-request start, October 14 absentee-voting start, October 19 registration/mail-request deadline and 7:00 AM–8:00 PM Election Day hours; finalized precinct-specific General Election sample ballots are not linked yet.08/19 5:11 AMIowa Voter Help: Tama County General Election polling guidance addedTama County now lists 13 voting precincts and 7:00 AM–8:00 PM Election Day hours; the county says sample ballots, candidate list and public notice will be posted once available.08/19 4:23 AMZach Lahn: nitrate / colon-cancer claim reviewedLahn called high nitrate in water “one of the top causes of colon cancer” and said agricultural technologies can completely remove the problem; NCI finds mixed colorectal evidence and USDA reports substantial—not complete—nitrate removal.Zach Lahn: “10,000 farms lost” claim checked against USDAUSDA confirms long-term Iowa farm loss, but its 2002-to-2022 Census count fell by 3,744 farms—not 10,000; the campaign does not identify the alternate definition or dataset behind its figure.Iowa Voter Help: Scott County General Election timeline expandedScott County now lists the August 25 absentee-request start, October 14 ballot-mailing start, October 19 registration deadline and 7:00 AM–8:00 PM Election Day hours; finalized precinct-specific General Election sample ballots are not marked available yet.Iowa Voter Help: Davis County General Election polling places addedDavis County’s official 2026 General Election page lists all six polling-place/precinct groupings, 7:00 AM–8:00 PM Election Day hours and October 14 as the start of absentee voting; finalized 2026 General Election sample-ballot links are not posted yet.Zach Lahn: “#1 to worse than Mississippi” education-ranking claim reviewedOfficial NAEP results show Iowa’s standing varies by grade and subject; the campaign does not identify a single ranking or calculation that supports a blanket “worse than Mississippi” comparison or a 50% ranking drop.Iowa Voter Help: Marion County General Election guidance addedMarion County now lists official absentee and registration deadlines, 7:00 AM–8:00 PM Election Day hours, and 17 precincts for election-night reporting; finalized precinct-specific General Election sample ballots are not posted yet.IA-01 / IA-02 / IA-03: Get Out the Vote PAC endorsements documentedThe PAC currently lists Christina Bohannan, Lindsay James and Sarah Trone Garriott among its featured endorsements; FEC records identify it as an active unauthorized hybrid PAC, and the support alone does not establish candidate coordination.Zach Nunn: cancer-policy roundtable funding claims reviewedNunn’s July ACS CAN roundtable included a supported $128M NCI increase, but the cited $50B figure belongs to the separate Rural Health Transformation Program; the $51.3B figure is an NIH-wide funding target.Zach Lahn: Sand “On Call” disaster/residency ad reviewedThe new statewide ad relies on documented Kansas-home and aircraft-travel evidence, but its categorical Kansas-residence wording is disputed and its claim about future disaster availability is a prediction, not an established fact.Iowa Voter Help: Franklin County polling-place notice and General Election guidance addedFranklin County now lists its General Election absentee/registration calendar and says Wisner/Scott voters will use the Latimer Community Center; finalized precinct-specific General Election sample ballots are not posted yet.Iowa Voter Help: Benton County General Election guidance addedBenton County now lists official absentee and registration deadlines for the November 3 General Election and identifies 18 precincts; finalized precinct-specific General Election sample ballots are not posted yet.Six Iowa federal candidates: ACS CAN Cancer Promise commitments documentedACS CAN lists Josh Turek, Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Lindsay James, Zach Nunn, Sarah Trone Garriott and Dave Dawson as signers; the pledge is a policy commitment, and ACS CAN explicitly says it is not an endorsement.Iowa Voter Help: Chickasaw County General Election absentee guidance addedChickasaw County now lists August 25 as the first day to accept General Election absentee-ballot requests and publishes its current precinct/polling-place list; finalized precinct-specific General Election sample ballots are not posted yet.Iowa Voter Help: Kirkwood Community College bond question posted for 18 countiesJohnson County’s official General Election page now publishes Public Measure NC, an $88 million Kirkwood Community College bond question affecting voters in 18 counties; it requires 60% approval. Final precinct sample ballots are still expected later.Iowa Voter Help: Cedar County General Election guidance addedCedar County now lists absentee-voting dates, extended auditor hours, Election Day hours and an official polling-locations document; finalized precinct-specific General Election sample ballots are not posted yet.Iowa Voter Help: Cerro Gordo County General Election guidance addedCerro Gordo County now lists 2026 General Election voting hours, absentee and registration deadlines, and a precinct-list link; no finalized precinct-specific General Election sample ballot is posted yet.Iowa Voter Help: Delaware County General Election guidance addedDelaware County now lists 2026 General Election absentee, registration and Election Day dates; no finalized precinct-specific General Election sample ballot is posted yet.Iowa Voter Help: Jasper County General Election polling guidance addedJasper County’s official election resources list 20 precincts with polling locations plus absentee and registration deadlines; no finalized 2026 General Election sample ballot is listed yet.Iowa Voter Help: Mitchell County General Election guidance addedMitchell County now lists 2026 General Election voting hours, absentee-voting dates and extended auditor-office hours; no finalized precinct-specific General Election sample ballot is listed yet.Iowa Voter Help: Crawford County General Election polling locations addedCrawford County’s official election page lists all eight precinct groupings, Election Day locations and key absentee deadlines; no finalized 2026 General Election sample ballot is posted yet.Derek Wulf: House District 76 ballot replacement documentedOfficial Iowa candidate records now list Matt Reisetter as the Republican House District 76 candidate after Wulf became the GOP lieutenant-governor nominee; the change is treated as ballot status, not misconduct.Iowa Voter Help: Shelby County General Election polling locations addedShelby County’s official election page lists six precinct/polling-location groupings and addresses; no finalized 2026 General Election sample ballot is posted yet.Iowa Voter Help: Hancock County General Election polling locations addedHancock County’s official election page lists all 10 Election Day precinct locations and key absentee deadlines; no finalized 2026 General Election sample ballot is posted yet.Iowa Voter Help: Jones County General Election polling locations addedJones County’s official election page lists eight Election Day polling locations and key absentee deadlines; no finalized 2026 General Election sample ballot is posted yet.Iowa Voter Help: Lucas County General Election polling locations addedLucas County’s official election page now lists Election Day locations for all seven precincts; no finalized 2026 General Election sample ballot is posted yet.IA-02 / IA-03: RFK Jr. third-party candidate calls and Hatch Act complaint addedRecorded outreach to Rick Stewart and reported outreach to Marco Battaglia are documented; Wyden’s Hatch Act complaint is included while explicit quid pro quo, campaign coordination and a legal violation remain unadjudicated.Zach Nunn: Pete Hegseth State Fair campaign appearance documentedHegseth urged Nunn’s reelection and said he was appearing in a personal capacity; OSC guidance is included without treating the appearance alone as proof of a Hatch Act violation.Four Iowa Democrats: JStreetPAC “Blue Iowa” fundraiser/support addedJStreetPAC lists Josh Turek, Christina Bohannan, Lindsay James and Sarah Trone Garriott as supported candidates for an Aug. 26 virtual fundraiser; the PAC page also says it is not authorized by any candidate committee.Zach Lahn: mRNA vaccine ban position and factual rationale reviewedLahn’s support for pulling COVID shots and banning mRNA vaccines is documented. FDA confirms a real myocarditis risk, while the broader “experimental” and “ineffective against transmission” framing is too sweeping.Zach Lahn: “over 25%” Iowa land-ownership claim checkedISU data support a 25% combined share for farmland owned by part-time Iowa residents or nonresidents, but that is broader than “out-of-state investors and foreign governments”; foreign interests are a much smaller separately tracked share.Governor cancer policy: ACS questionnaire positions and response status addedSand’s direct answers on Medicaid, follow-up screening, HPV vaccination and tobacco taxes are now documented; Lahn had not yet submitted questionnaire answers and is scheduled for an ACS CAN cancer forum Aug. 18.Josh Turek: Hinson “Matters” statewide attendance ad reviewedThe ad’s missed-vote statistic has support for a defined 2026 period, while “skips work half the time” is broader than roll-call attendance proves; the “Iowans don’t care” portrayal remains context-sensitive.Joe Mitchell: homestead-tax-credit / residency question reviewedRecords reported from Henry County and Des Moines raise an eligibility question; Iowa's six-month occupancy rule is clear, but no assessor ruling or fraud finding was located, so a violation is not treated as established.Zach Lahn: State Fair polling-trend claim checkedLahn said “The trend is that we’re closing the gap.” Public summer polls all show Sand ahead, but different pollsters and overlapping field periods do not establish a comparable closing trend.IA-01 and IA-03: Q2 FEC campaign-finance snapshots addedAdded June 30 FEC cash, receipts and disbursement totals for Christina Bohannan, Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Sarah Trone Garriott and Zach Nunn, with fundraising treated as public record rather than evidence of wrongdoing.Ashley Hinson: $17M additional Democratic-aligned fall ad campaign documentedSenate Majority PAC added $17 million in Iowa fall advertising on top of an earlier $13.4 million reservation; the health-care attack has a factual basis in P.L. 119-21, with important rural-health funding context preserved.Iowa Voter Help: Story County supervisor-district voting change addedStory County will elect all three county supervisors by district in 2026 instead of at large; voters cast a supervisor vote only in their own district, with the official district and precinct maps linked.Rob Sand State Fair incident: bathroom rumor separated from documented factsVideo supports sustained heckling/following and a police escort; the claim that Sand was “scared” and “hid in a bathroom” comes from an opposition participant and is not independently established.Iowa cancer policy: Sand, Lahn, Jones and Naig records expandedNew statewide reporting prompted a primary-source cross-check of cancer/water policy: specific Sand, Lahn and Jones proposals are now documented, along with Naig’s pre-office Monsanto government-affairs record—without implying causation or wrongdoing.Ashley Hinson: pork-industry contribution scrutiny addedAdded reported $65,350 in pork-linked contributions alongside Hinson's Save Our Bacon record, while separating documented policy alignment from unsupported donor-influence or quid-pro-quo claims.Iowa Voter Help: Pottawattamie County General Election guidance addedPottawattamie County now lists absentee/early-voting dates, a Saturday voting opportunity and Election Day hours; candidate information and finalized General Election sample ballots are not yet posted.Iowa Voter Help: Black Hawk County supervisor-district voting change addedBlack Hawk County will elect all five supervisors by district in 2026 instead of at large; voters cast a supervisor vote only in their own district, with official precinct maps and election guidance now linked.Iowa Voter Help: Dallas County polling-location changes addedDallas 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.Ashley Hinson: Epstein-file donor contribution scrutiny addedAdded FEC-linked contribution reporting, the discharge-petition context and Hinson’s later Aye vote on the 427–1 transparency bill—without implying wrongdoing from a donor merely being named in records.Rob Sand: abortion-week / Roe exchange addedThe 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.Ashley Hinson: $750,000 pro-crypto outside campaign documentedAdded America First Digital’s statewide support campaign, its stated crypto-policy agenda and Hinson’s CLARITY Act vote—with no unsupported quid-pro-quo inference.Zach Lahn: AP profile adds agriculture and residency contextIndependent field reporting clarifies Lahn’s “big ag” position, Kansas biography and anti-establishment campaign message.Ashley Hinson: One Nation “over $9,000” TV claim checkedVerified 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.Ashley Hinson: health-care / hospital attack ad fully reviewedAdded the original DSCC video and separated the supported Medicaid coverage-loss claim from the more qualified hospital-closure causation claim.Zach Nunn: tax-cut claims expanded with distributional contextAdded CBO context on who benefits, the “every family” claim, Medicaid enrollment effects and SNAP reductions.Josh Turek: Obama endorsement basketball video addedAdded the original campaign video and independent AP verification of the July 29 endorsement.Iowa Voter Help added: official poll finder + sample-ballot guidanceNew voter-help section links directly to Iowa's official polling-place search and official county-auditor sample-ballot resources.Josh Turek: “Work Without Worry” policy record addedAdded his Iowa legislation and federal proposal addressing Medicaid income/asset limits for employed people with disabilities.Rob Sand: kids-online-safety plan addedUnder-16 social-media ban proposal, parental consent rules, algorithm audits and minors’ privacy protections.Ashley Hinson: statewide debate commitments addedAccepted Iowa PBS and Nexstar invitations for two general-election debates against Josh Turek.Important Bohannan Pledge/patriotism claim correctedAuthentic quote preserved; Iowa House record shows she voted yes on the school-Pledge legislation.Major development Zach Lahn residency/eligibility deep diveExpanded public-record review of Kansas ties, voter registration, aircraft data, homestead treatment and eligibility claims.Joe Mitchell: Mar-a-Lago campaign-spending scrutiny addedAdded reported campaign expenditures, current FEC context and source trail.
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Iowa · General Election · November 3, 2026

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2026 General Election ballot watchPrecinct samples are published county-by-county closer to Election Day. IA Fact Check will add direct official sample-ballot links here as they become available.

2026 General Election county updates

Johnson County: The auditor lists five permanent polling-place moves since the 2024 General Election (Iowa City 4, Madison, North Liberty 2, North Liberty 7 and Washington) and says official General Election sample ballots will appear in its Polling Place Lookup in September. Official Johnson County election page.

Scott County: The auditor has posted General Election absentee-voting guidance and says the Quad City Veterans Outreach Center, 4515 N Fairmount in Davenport, has been approved as a satellite-voting site; hours will be posted after they are set. Official Scott County election page.

Polk County: The election office lists August 25 as the first day to submit absentee-ballot requests, October 14 as the first day for in-person early voting, October 19 as the absentee-request and pre-registration deadline, and says sample ballots and polling places will be posted once finalized. Official Polk County election page.

Dallas County: The auditor’s 2026 General Election page now lists current polling locations and identifies four locations changed since the prior election: Clive 6 (Westwind Church), Lincoln/Washington/Linn (Linden Lions Club), Urbandale 14 (Heartland Presbyterian Church) and Urbandale 16 (The Mission Church). It also lists October 14 as the first day for in-person early voting and October 19 as the absentee-request and pre-registration deadline. The page does not yet provide a finalized General Election sample-ballot link. Official Dallas County election page.

Black Hawk County: Beginning with the 2026 election, county supervisors are elected from five districts rather than at large. All five district seats are on the November 3 General Election ballot; voters cast a supervisor vote only for the district in which they live. The county election office publishes the official district-to-precinct mapping, interactive maps, polling-location guidance, and October 14 / October 19 absentee-voting deadlines. Its sample-ballot index does not yet list 2026 General Election ballots. Official supervisor-district page · Official General Election page.

Pottawattamie County: The auditor’s official 2026 General Election page lists August 25 as the first day to submit an absentee-ballot request, October 14 as the start of in-person absentee voting and the date absentee ballots are ready to be mailed, October 19 as the last day the auditor can mail an absentee ballot, and October 31 as a Saturday early-voting opportunity. Election Day polling hours are 7:00 AM–8:00 PM. The county’s candidate-information area is still marked “Coming Soon,” and the page does not yet publish finalized 2026 General Election sample ballots. Official Pottawattamie County General Election page.

Story County: For the 2026 Primary and General elections, Story County is moving from at-large county-supervisor elections to three district-based contests under Senate File 75. All three supervisor seats are on the November 3 General Election ballot, and voters elect only the supervisor for the district in which they live. The county says the initial terms are two years for District 1 and four years for Districts 2 and 3; its jurisdictional-maps page now links the Board of Supervisors district map and precinct polling-location map. Official Story County district-election notice · Official jurisdictional maps.

Ballot watch: These pages provide official election guidance, but none of these seven counties is yet publishing finalized precinct-specific 2026 General Election sample ballots. IA Fact Check will link the official samples when posted.

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Need confirmation?The county auditor is the official local election administrator. Use the state directory above for contact information and election-specific notices.

Sources: Iowa Secretary of State Polling Place Search · Iowa.gov Sample Ballot Guidance · Iowa County Auditor Directory

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