Democrat Julie Stauch launched a campaign for Iowa governor on June 3, 2025. (Photo courtesy of Julie Stauch for All Iowans)
Democrat Julie Stauch published a resume and cover letter Tuesday for a job she hopes Iowans will hire her for in 2026 — the Iowa governor’s seat.
Stauch, 68, is a former Democratic political operative who has worked on the Iowa caucus campaigns for Democratic presidential candidates including Pete Buttigieg in 2020, Bill Clinton in 1996 and Michael Dukakis in 1988. She has also worked on state campaigns, including Democrat Mike Franken’s 2022 U.S. Senate race against U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, as well as having served as chief public affairs officer for Planned Parenthood of the Heartland.
A handful of other Democrats, including State Auditor Rob Sand, have also joined the race to become the Democratic gubernatorial candidate in 2026. The Republican primary field is also expected to be contested following Gov. Kim Reynolds’ announcement that she will not seek reelection, with U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra and Iowa Sen. Mike Bousselot, R-Ankeny, announcing exploratory committees for a run in 2026.
Republicans have held a trifecta of control at the Iowa Capitol for several years, and Iowa has had a Republican governor for more than a decade. In an interview with the Iowa Capital Dispatch Tuesday, Stauch said she believed 2026 will see a change in party control because of growing dissatisfaction and disagreements within the Republican Party, pointing to issues like the use of eminent domain in carbon sequestration pipeline projects.
She said Iowans are looking for change, and she believes there’s more appetite for non-GOP candidates in the upcoming state elections than in previous recent cycles.
“This is a huge change here coming at us,” Stauch said. “… People don’t trust anybody. They don’t trust any institutions. They don’t trust any political party.”
Stauch said she believes her campaign is a way to address voters’ concerns because she is coming into the field as a person who can both argue on behalf of Iowans’ top interests, while also having experience on working across the aisle to get important measures moved forward.
Stauch said her launch of a resume and cover letter, available on her campaign website, was a way to build trust. On her website, she allows for Iowans to submit requests for “interviews” in the style of job interviews during a hiring process, where she plans to meet with Iowans and talk about her qualifications to become governor and learn about their top concerns.
“I’m really taking this seriously about I’m applying for a job,” Stauch said. “And I’m interviewing with all the different people who are the decision makers on a job, to find out what they want to see, if we can work together… because that’s how we have to we have to build trust.”
Though Stauch has years of experience in politics, this is her first time running as a candidate. The West Des Moines Democrat said her top issues heading into the campaign are improving Iowa’s water quality, supporting public schools, addressing current problems in Iowa’s health care system and protecting eminent domain. However, she said her goal on the campaign trail was learn what issues Iowans want their governor to champion.
“If Iowans would come back and say they don’t care about any of the things that I care about, I would make their (top issues) the priority, because that’s what the governor’s supposed to do,” Stauch said. “And we have had 15 years of governors that really don’t care about the people of Iowa.”
Sand, the only Democrat to currently hold statewide elected office in Iowa, is currently considered a frontrunner in the race to become the 2026 Democratic nominee for Iowa governor. Stauch argued that her campaign is offering a different approach on how to “connect and and get to know Iowans” from Sand’s campaign that could offer a model for other Democrats in future elections.
She also said she believes having candidates compete in primaries is an overall benefit for the party, serving as a way to have candidates hone their messages and get more members of a party registered to vote ahead of the general election.
“Think about caucus years and how all that competition inside a party — whether it’s Democrat or Republican –all that competition builds your numbers, builds your base, builds your enthusiasm, and you get more people turning out in the general,” Stauch said.
