Democrat Lindsay James and Republican Joe Mitchell said they plan to hold debates in their race for the Iowa 2nd Congressional District seat — though dates have yet to be announced.
James, who currently represents Dubuque in the Iowa House, announced Wednesday she would participate in two televised general election debates hosted by Iowa’s News Now and Iowa PBS ahead of the Nov. 3, 2026 general election.
“I’ve spent the past year showing up and hearing from the Iowa families making impossible choices due to Washington’s corruption and rising costs,” James said in a statement. “Through public town halls, meet and greets, small business visits, farm tours, labor meetings, and more, I’ve heard that Iowans need a leader who will fight to lower their cost of living and take on the corrupt politicians. I look forward to making the contrast in this race clear on the debate stage: Joe Mitchell works for himself and the insiders, I work for Iowans.”
Iowa’s 2nd District, covering much of northeast Iowa, is currently represented by U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson in Congress. As Hinson is running for the U.S. Senate seat in 2026, the seat is open.
Mitchell is a former state lawmaker and the founder of Run Gen Z, a young conservative organization. He previously has called for 2nd District debates. Drew Johns, Mitchell’s campaign manager, said in a statement the candidate is prepared to face James on the debate stage.
“The debate will be an opportunity to highlight the differences in this campaign between lifelong Iowan, Joe Mitchell and radical Leftist and former Portland resident, Lindsay James,” Johns said. “She can’t hide from her voting record of higher taxes, more crime, and using taxpayer money to help illegal immigrants before American citizens.”
But the two major party candidates are not the only contenders for Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District. Independent Dave Bushaw and Libertarian Rick Stewart have also qualified to appear on the ballot in Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District. Bushaw told reporters Friday after his appearance at the Des Moines Register Political Soapbox he would be unlikely to appear at an Iowa PBS debate due to changed criteria for qualifying for a debate. The independent candidate also said he had not had contact with other media organizations about potential debates.
Bushaw praised Mitchell for calling for both himself and Stewart, a Libertarian, to be included in 2nd District debates. James’ campaign did not reply to a request for statement on debate participation.
“He has called for me to be included in debates, and I would welcome invitations to any debates,” Bushaw said.
Originally published on iowacapitaldispatch.com, part of the BLOX Digital Content Exchange.
Please disable your ad blocker, whitelist our site, or purchase a subscription
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.