Iowa
Iowa Democrats and Republicans gain voters, independent voters decrease
DES MOINES, Iowa (Iowa Capital Dispatch) – The Iowa Democratic and Republican parties both gained voters over the past month, while the number of voters with no party affiliation dropped significantly.
According to data from the Iowa Secretary of State’s office, the Democratic Party gained more than 27,000 registered voters from June to July, bringing the total number of active Democratic voters in Iowa to 527,675. Despite Democratic gains, Republicans still hold a strong statewide advantage in voter registration with 711,587 active voters, gaining more than 17,000 registered voters over the past month.
The largest change in voter registration occurred among voters affiliated with no party, as the number of registered independent voters decreased by more than 32,000. As of July 1, there are 555,309 active independent voters in Iowa.
“I think part of what’s going on is that people changed their registration to reflect a party preference so they could vote in the party primary,” Karen Kedrowski, an Iowa State University political science professor and Carrie Chapman Catt Center director, said. “These are not really new voters. They’re probably independents who lean Democratic or Republican and changed their party registration to be able to vote in the primary.”
Kedrowski said that in recent years, the number of registered Republican voters have remained constant, the number of independent voters has gone up and the number of registered Democrats has gone down.
Kedrowski said the increase in Democratic registrations appears consistent with national trends, which she said reflect heightened motivation among Democratic and left-leaning voters opposed to President Donald Trump’s policies.
“There’s just a lot more excitement about participating in the election on the part of Democratic voters,” Kedrowski said. “They’re highly mobilized because they’re largely unhappy with what’s happening with the administration.”
Kedrowski said that it is extremely difficult to predict election results based on monthly data trends, but the excitement among Democrats could lead to the party making gains in Iowa, with the state returning to its “purple” roots, meaning a state that votes for both Republicans and Democrats closely.
“It’s definitely worrisome for Republicans because it shows there’s going to be momentum for the Democrats,” Kedrowski said. “Instead of seeing this as the Democrats becoming ascendant in Iowa, it might be more Iowa returning to being a swing state.”
Kedrowski cautioned that monthly voter registration alone does not predict election outcomes.
The voter registration figures reflect only “active” voters. According to Iowa Code 48a, voters who do not participate in one or two consecutive general elections will be labeled as “inactive,” but can still participate. If a voter misses three general elections, their voting status will be “canceled,” and the person would have to reregister.
Copyright 2026 Iowa Capital Dispatch. All rights reserved.
Temu sued by Oklahoma AG over alleged deceptive practices
Oklahoma AG sues Temu, alleging illegal data harvesting, deceptive practices and counterfeit Oklahoma merchandise.
Online retailer Temu has sold cheap and counterfeit goods, used underhanded marketing tactics and lied about when and how it takes customers’ data, Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird says.
Bird is suing the China-based retail giant, accusing it of numerous violations of the Iowa Consumer Fraud Act. Temu, which has aggressively been promoted in the United States under its “Shop like a Billionaire” tagline, competes with Amazon and other online retailers and operates online marketplaces for third-party sellers.
The lawsuit, filed July 1, cites years of complaints to the Attorney General’s Office, Better Business Bureau and other watchdog groups about the quality and reliability of Temu shopping, with reports often citing purchased merchandise that bear little resemblance to the photos of items offered for sale.
Those complaints are just the tip of the iceberg, Bird alleges. Her suit accuses Temu of dishonest pricing practices, such as labeling items for sale despite listing them at their normal price. Temu also allegedly uses “gamification” tricks to encourage users to make purchases, sign up their friends on Temu, and other actions, but often fails to deliver on the promised benefits, it says.
In some cases, the company is accused of simply fabricating sales. “Numerous” Iowans have reported receiving and being charged for Temu packages they never ordered and were unable to return, the complaint alleges.
The company also has lied about its business practices in other ways, including covering up its use of forced labor to manufacture many of the items it sells, Bird claims.
App allegedly violates data privacy laws
Temu isn’t just angling to make a sale, Bird claims. She also accuses the company of vacuuming up customers’ private data, even hiding code in the company’s mobile apps to bypass users’ cell phone security and collect private data without their consent.
The complaint states that forensic experts retained by Iowa found the app collects data far beyond what might be necessary to complete transactions, conceals its exfiltration of sensitive data and “reconfigures itself even after having been downloaded to a user’s phone” without consent.
Much of this echoes code previously found in Pinduoduo, another e-commerce app owned by the same Chinese conglomerate, which was banned from the Google Play store in 2023 due to malware concerns. Many of those programmers, and much of the banned code, has been transferred to the Temu app, Bird claims.
Iowa Wave among fake merch sold on Temu
Temu often has been accused of violating intellectual property laws, and those practices have directly affected Iowa, Bird claims. The complaint includes examples of unauthorized University of Iowa, Iowa Wave and Dowling Catholic clothing.
Bird notes in her complaint that a portion of sales of authentic Iowa Wave merchandise goes to benefit pediatric cancer patients and others at the Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital.
Iowa businesses and sellers on other marketplaces also have reported Temu stealing their branding and in some cases simply copying their product photos and descriptions to market unauthorized products.
Iowa joins several states, including Oklahoma, Texas and Nebraska, that have filed consumer protection lawsuits against Temu in recent months. Temu did not respond to a message seeking comment.
William Morris covers courts for the Des Moines Register. He can be contacted at wrmorris2@registermedia.com or 715-573-8166.
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Here’s everything a dispatcher does to get emergency services to your location when you dial 911.
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A 14-year-old Dyersville girl has died from injuries caused by a watercraft collision on Clear Lake on the 4th of July.
The crash involved five people in two personal watercrafts and occurred around 5:30 p.m. near the McIntosh Woods State Park boat ramp on a part of the lake called Little Lake, according to a release from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
Passengers on a nearby pontoon immediately helped the victims before the Iowa DNR water patrol and conservation officers, Ventura and Clear Lake fire departments, Iowa State Patrol, Clear Lake Police Department and the Cerro Gordo County Sheriff’s Office came on scene.
The release does not give the names of the four children involved.
A 35-year-old woman, an 11-year-old girl and a 12-year-old boy, all from Greenwood, South Carolina, were treated at the Mercy-One Medical Center in Mason City and released on July 4. A 15-year-old Mason City girl was transferred to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and is in serious condition.
While the investigation is ongoing, Iowa DNR officers have ruled out alcohol or other impairments as contributing factors to the crash, the release states.
Isabelle Foland is a communities reporter for the Register. Reach her at ifoland@registermedia.com.
As the Iowa State Cyclones get set for the 2026 campaign, the program is also looking toward the future and rebuilding a program that was hit hard by departures.
Last season, Iowa State battled a lot of injuries, but was still able to have a pretty good year. However, following the campaign coming to an end and before bowl season kicked off, the team lost head coach Matt Campbell to the Penn State Nittany Lions.
As expected, a lot of players from the program ended up leaving, leaving the team with nearly an entire roster to rebuild. However, new head coach Jimmy Rogers has been able to come in and make a good impression early on.
While Iowa State might not be as talented as they were last year, they have a good coach and a lot of depth. The Cyclones will be hoping that he can develop and get the most out of some of these new players, but the team certainly won’t be competing for a Big 12 title next season.
For Iowa State, with at least this year being a rebuild for the program, they will be looking toward the future. With that comes a need to recruit well, and that is something Rogers and the staff have been impressive at so far.
Iowa State Recruiting Class Shaping Up Nicely
Following the four-star addition of Chuck Alexander, who flipped from the Louisville Cardinals, the 2027 recruiting class is looking really strong right now for Iowa State. According to Rivals, they rank 49th in the country right now, and that is a strong place to be for the team.
With Alexander being the new top recruit for the team, he will be joining a class that has been highlighted by some good offensive talent so far. Running back Isaiah Hansen is regarded as a very good player at his position, and the team also has offensive lineman Will Slagle.
With the three top recruits so far being offensive players, a future core might be starting to come together for Rogers and the program. While the team might be a bit more defensive-minded this year, there is clearly a focus on improving offensively for the future.
Overall, with time still to go, this class could continue to get better. However, it is really encouraging to see what Rogers and the staff have been able to accomplish so far. Recruiting will be key for Iowa State to get back to where they want to be, and they are off to a strong start.
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