Libertarian candidate for Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District and a previous Libertarian candidate for governor. A 2026 ballot objection concerning the name used on his filing was rejected, leaving him on the general-election ballot.
Myra Matejka / Rick Stewart, via Wikimedia Commons
Previously ran statewide as the Libertarian candidate for governor.
Survived a June 2026 State Objection Panel challenge to his ballot name.
Campaign ads, attacks and response media reviewed
Iowa Secretary of State live State Fair straw-poll snapshot
Source: Iowa Secretary of State · Snapshot: August 22, 2026
Current U.S. House — District 2 tally: Joe Mitchell (R) 269 — 69.87%; Lindsay James (D) 92 — 23.90%; Rick Stewart (L) 14 — 3.64%; Dave Bushaw (NP) 10 — 2.60%.
How to read it: This is an official tally from the Secretary of State’s State Fair participation exercise, but it is unscientific and unofficial. Fairgoers self-select into the poll; it is not a representative sample of Iowa voters, has no reported margin of error and should not be used as a forecast or substitute for scientific polling. Totals can change while the fair remains open.
IA-02 general-election debate commitments and Iowa PBS schedule
Sponsor: Lindsay James / Joe Mitchell campaigns; Iowa PBS / Iowa’s News Now · Updated: September 1, 2026
What is being said: Lindsay James previously said she would participate in televised general-election debates, and Joe Mitchell’s campaign said he was prepared to debate.
What the record shows: Iowa PBS announced on September 1 that James (D) and Mitchell (R) will participate in a 60-minute 2nd Congressional District debate airing live Thursday, October 8 at 7 p.m. The debate will be moderated by Iowa Press host Kay Henderson, broadcast statewide and streamed online from Iowa PBS studios in Johnston without a live audience. The ballot-qualified field also includes Libertarian Rick Stewart and no-party candidate Dave Bushaw; the reviewed Iowa PBS announcement names only James and Mitchell and does not establish that Stewart or Bushaw will share that stage.
Iowa PBS context: Iowa PBS uses published federal general-election debate criteria in addition to ballot qualification. Meeting ballot requirements alone does not guarantee an invitation.
IA Fact Check context: The Oct. 8 Iowa PBS date and the two candidates named by the network are confirmed. Participation beyond James and Mitchell remains unresolved unless Iowa PBS issues another announcement.
RFK Jr. call urging consideration of leaving IA-02 race
Sponsor: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. / White House-linked political outreach; later subject of Sen. Ron Wyden Hatch Act complaint · Date: June 11 / July 14, 2026
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. called Libertarian IA-02 candidate Rick Stewart on June 11. A recording reviewed by The Washington Post and Associated Press shows Kennedy discussing the risk that Stewart could help Democrats win the seat, calling himself a White House “liaison,” suggesting Stewart could “make an agreement,” and offering to be his advocate. Sen. Ron Wyden later filed a Hatch Act complaint seeking an Office of Special Counsel investigation.
IA Fact Check assessment: Outreach documented; explicit quid pro quo and Hatch Act violation not adjudicated
The call itself is documented by a recording. Stewart said he understood Kennedy to be trying to get him out of the race and interpreted the exchange as an implied quid pro quo. But AP reported that Kennedy made no specific request and no specific offer to Stewart in the recording. Wyden’s July 14 filing alleges that Kennedy used his federal position to influence congressional elections and describes the exchange as an unlawful quid pro quo; that is an official complaint, not an adjudication. IA Fact Check did not locate an Office of Special Counsel ruling or court finding resolving the allegation. The record therefore supports that Kennedy used White House and official-duty references while discussing Stewart’s candidacy, but it does not establish a completed job-for-withdrawal bargain or a legally adjudicated Hatch Act violation.
Republican ballot challenge over candidate name
Sponsor: Republican Party objectors / State Objection Panel proceeding · Date: June 2026
A Republican-backed objection argued Stewart should not appear as “Rick Stewart” rather than his full legal name.
IA Fact Check assessment: Challenge rejected — Stewart remained on ballot
The State Objection Panel rejected the objection, concluding the commonly used shortened name would not confuse voters. The challenge is relevant election-process history, but it did not remove Stewart from the ballot.
Fairness note
This profile separates documented actions and quotations from campaign interpretation. Where an opponent uses a political label, the label is presented as advocacy rather than converted into a factual finding unless the underlying evidence supports the narrower claim.
