There are 87 judges statewide that will appear on the 2026 general election ballot for a
retention vote. This document provides information about these judges.
Iowa Code Section 46.20, Declaration of candidacy, states that a judge who is required to stand
for retention may file a declaration of candidacy with the state commissioner of elections at
least 104 days before the general election preceding expiration of the term of office. If a judge
fails to file the declaration, the office shall be vacant at the end of the term.1
The Office of Iowa Secretary of State provided a report with the final list of judges on the
general election ballot this November.
Iowa is divided into eight judicial districts. A chief judge, who is selected by the Iowa Supreme
Court, heads each district.
Included in this information is the political party affiliation for each judge. Also included is the primary election history, since it identifies the ballot type: (D)emocratic or (R)epublican. The two major political parties have very different views on abortion, as documented in their respective state party platforms.
The 2026 Iowa Democratic Party platform has not been published online.2 The 2024 Democratic Party platform states under “Reproductive Rights & Family Planning”, “We support:” “Codifying Roe v. Wade” (line 761), and “Full-funding for comprehensive-family-planning-programs/providers/PP” (line 763). Under “Acronyms Used in This Section”, “PP – Planned Parenthood”. The 2024 Democratic platform is available at:
The 2026 Iowa Republican Party platform states under the “Life” section, “1. We believe that life begins at conception and must be protected to natural death.”, and “2. We oppose using public revenues for abortion or funding organizations which advocate it.” The 2026 Republican platform is available at:
Additionally, political contributions made from a judge are summarized, since these contributions may indicate support for Democratic or Republican candidates or organizations. This contribution information is recorded in the:
- Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board (IECDB) website at https://webapp.iecdb.iowa.gov/publicReports/searchable-database
- Federal Election Commission (FEC) website at https://www.fec.gov/data
Finally, court opinions written or joined by a judge that are related to protecting the unborn are identified. These opinions are found on the Iowa Courts website at:
https://www.iowacourts.gov/iowa-courts
1 https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/code//46.pdf
2 https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/iowa-democrats-unsupported-claims-hide-205530027.html