REAL DUBUQUE NEWS (RDN)
Polls closed in Iowa: Rdn follows the election returns live all night
LOCAL NEWS WIRE • November 03, 2026
Polls closed at 8 p.m. CT Tuesday. RDN is tracking the governor, the U.S. Senate seat, Amendment 1 and the full Dubuque County slate as returns post.
KEY FACTS & RECORD HIGHLIGHTS
- Polls closed at 8:00 p.m. CT on Tue Nov. 3 in Iowa.
- Governor (open seat): Rob Sand / Dave Muhlbauer (D) vs. Zach Lahn / Derek Wulf (R).
- U.S. Senate (open seat): Ashley Hinson (R) vs. Josh Turek (D) vs. Thomas Laehn (L).
- Constitutional Amendment 1: a yes vote requires a two-thirds vote of both legislative chambers to raise the income tax rate or create a new income tax.
- U.S. House District 2 (open seat, Cook toss up): Joe Mitchell (R), Lindsay James (D), Rick Stewart (L), Dave Bushaw (no party).
- State House 65: Shannon Lundgren (R, incumbent) vs. Carolyn Wiezorek (D); State House 72: Jennifer Smith (R, incumbent) vs. Matt Robinson (D).
- County Attorney: Scott Nelson (R, incumbent) vs. Steve Drahozal (D).
- County Supervisor, vote for two: Wayne Kenniker (R, incumbent), Jason Davis (R), Kristin Dietzel (D), Rick Dickinson (D).
- Also on the card: State House 64 (Jason Gearhart, R incumbent, vs. Brian Bruening, D), State House 67 (Craig Johnson, R incumbent, vs. Michael Coonrad, D), and County Recorder (Ann E. Sweeney, D, vs. Michael Rabagia, no party).
- First returns typically post between 8:30 and 9:00 p.m. as Dubuque County precincts start reporting.
- Livestream windows tonight: 8:05 p.m. (first returns), 10:00 p.m. (calls segment), 11:30 p.m. (wrap).
- Every figure tonight is labeled unofficial until the county and state canvasses certify it.
REAL DUBUQUE NEWS (RDN)
DUBUQUE: Polls are closed across Iowa. The 2026 general election is in the hands of the counters now, and Real Dubuque News is tracking the returns race by race through the night. Results go out as RDN articles and social posts as the numbers post, with every figure labeled unofficial until the county and state canvasses certify it.
RDN is watching the open governor's seat (Rob Sand and Dave Muhlbauer (D) against Zach Lahn and Derek Wulf (R)), the open U.S. Senate seat (Ashley Hinson (R), Josh Turek (D) and Thomas Laehn (L)), Constitutional Amendment 1, and the open 2nd Congressional District seat (Joe Mitchell (R), Lindsay James (D), Rick Stewart (L) and Dave Bushaw (no party), a Cook Political Report toss up).
On the Dubuque County slate: State House District 65 (Shannon Lundgren (R, incumbent) vs. Carolyn Wiezorek (D)), District 72 (Jennifer Smith (R, incumbent) vs. Matt Robinson (D)), county attorney (Scott Nelson (R, incumbent) vs. Steve Drahozal (D)), two county supervisor seats (Wayne Kenniker (R, incumbent), Jason Davis (R), Kristin Dietzel (D), Rick Dickinson (D)), plus State House Districts 64 and 67 and the county recorder race.
First returns typically post between 8:30 and 9:00 p.m. as Dubuque County precincts start reporting. RDN's livestream windows tonight: 8:05 p.m. for the first returns, 10:00 p.m. for the calls segment, 11:30 p.m. for the wrap.
Official Attribution: Iowa Secretary of State election results, electionresults.iowa.gov (runbook primary source) • Dubuque County elections results page, elections.dubuquecountyiowa.gov/pages/election-results (runbook county cross-check) • Photo: Wikimedia Commons file Dubuque_County_Courthouse.jpg (verified visually 2026-11-03; credited per standing-set README)