Iowa voters broke midterm turnout records in the general election Tuesday, with more than 1,380,528 residents casting their ballots.
Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate told reporters Wednesday the 2026 general election was “the largest midterm in three decades here in Iowa” in voter turnout. This year’s election fell slightly short of the turnout in 1990 — a year when 63.47% of registered voters cast ballots, in comparison to 2026, when preliminary reports show a participation rate of 63.34%. But it surpassed the previous record for the most votes cast, beating the total of 1,329,930 votes during the 2018 midterms.
The 2018 and 2026 election cycles share similarities, coming as midterm cycles during President Donald Trump’s first and second terms in office, and resulting in major Democratic victories across the state…