Ryan Melton, a Democrat from Nevada, previously announced his third attempt to win a seat. He lost by wide margins to Randy Feenstra, a Republican from Hull, in the previous two elections. Melton suspended his 2026 campaign after disclosing that he recently lost his job as an insurance manager and was dealing with a health matter.

The state now has a new way of verifying its voter rolls and changes to how Iowa's recounts are conducted. Two new election laws went into effect July 1.Despit

In April, Democrat Angel Ramirez of Cedar Rapids won a special election to the Iowa House to replace former Rep. Sami Scheetz, who resigned after being appointed to the Linn County Board of Supervisors. Ramirez defeated Republican Bernie Hayes.