Voters across Iowa are heading to the polls Tuesday in the 2026 primary election. Quad-City Times reporters will provide live updates throughout the day from polling places across the region, tracking turnout, key races and voter activity. Later this evening, our team will report from candidate watch parties and election gatherings as results come in, bringing readers the latest developments from across the Quad-Cities and eastern Iowa.
Polls closed at 8 p.m., but those in line when polls closed will still be allowed to vote.
View the latest update here:
Democrat Andrew Fitzgerald secures party’s nomination
11 p.m.: Democrat Andrew Fitzgerald secured his party’s nomination Tuesday for Iowa House District 98 and will advance to the general election in a district that includes western Davenport, Buffalo and surrounding rural areas.
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Fitzgerald led with 750 of votes counted to opponent Ruth Ann Gallagher’s 666, according to the Scott County unofficial election results.
Fitzgerald will be competing against Republican challenger, Nath Ramker, who ran unopposed Tuesday night. Democrat incumbent Monica Kurth who, declined to rerun, won the 2024 race against Ramker by only 45 votes, after he called for a recount.
Adam Peters ousts Democratic lawmaker Ken Croken
10:35 p.m.: Former nonprofit director and political organizer Adam Peters ousted incumbent Democrat Ken Croken for a central Davenport statehouse seat Tuesday night.
It was a campaign of experience versus youth, with Croken highlighting bills pushed for in his four years as a lawmaker in Des Moines, and with Peters promoting his vision for energizing the party and bringing disinterested Democrats back into the fold.
According to unofficial tallies, Peters received 1,554 votes to Croken's 914 votes.
The primary effectively decided the next representative as no Republican has filed to run for Iowa House District 97, which represents central and eastern Davenport.
Reid Keller, assistant choir director at Davenport Central High School, said he knows Peters personally and that he is capable of bringing necessary change to represent a greater number of Davenport residents.
“I think that every representative has a demographic, and I feel like he is representative of what we need,” he said.
Keller believes a large part of Davenport is not being represented, and said Peters is the candidate who can give a voice to those with needs that have gone unanswered.
“Just taking into consideration everybody who lives in central Davenport, because not everybody who lives in Davenport looks like me,” he said. “I feel like he's going to take into consideration the needs of all instead of just the needs of some.”
Watch parties are in full swing
10 p.m.: About 40 people stood inside and outside the Raccoon Motel at Adam Peters' election night watch party, waiting for results to drop. Peters said no matter the results, he's proud of the campaign, its community support, and the nonprofits its uplifted.
9:40 p.m.: Scott County Board of Supervisors Candidate and former Republican State Representative Luana Stoltenberg attended Pautsch’s watch party Tuesday evening.
Stoltenberg, who is running in the primary for an at-large seat in Scott County, said she is anticipating election results and that she is glad to celebrate among friends.
“It’s always good to have people around you and support you, no matter what the results are,” she said.
Stoltenberg said, following a potential victory in the primary, she would focus on continuing outreach efforts, and that she looks forward to learning and entering into the board’s process if she wins in November.
9:15 p.m.: About 40 people attended David Pautsch's watch party at the J Bar, most glued to their phones looking for results. Only a handful of precincts in the state were reporting by 9 p.m., but David Pautsch said he was optimistic about his chances. He said he believed the state's Republicans were looking for "more integrity in government, more constitutional representation, not just club voting to please the party."
Ken Croken is watching the primary at a suite at Modern Woodmen Park as the River Bandits play against the South Bend Cubs. He was gathered with a small group of friends, family and supporters. Nikhil Wagle, a democratic candidate for Iowa State Senate District 47, joined Croken.
Croken said the deciding factor in House District 97 will be the will of voters. He said he is running on his record and is focused on issues. The result is entirely up to them
“As will all elections, the deciding factor is the will of the people,” Croken said.
Turek claims early victory
9:40 p.m.: Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Josh Turek declared victory in the primary Tuesday night.
Multiple news organizations, including the Des Moines Register, The New York Times, the Associated Press and others reported Turek's win over state Sen. Zach Wahls, of Coralville.
Result tracking: 8:48 p.m.
Precincts reporting: 308 of 1,658
U.S. Representative District 1 - Republican
Mariannette Miller-Meeks: 2,237 votes
David Pautsch: 853 votes
U.S. Representative District 1 - Democrat
Christina Bohannan: 6,636 votes
Travis Terrell: 1,172 votes
Sate Representative District 96 - Republican
Mark Cisneros: 301 votes
Matt Conard: 127 votes
Sate Representative District 96 - Democrat
Nick Salazar: 208 votes
Michelle Servadio Elias: 120 votes
Republican ballot includes governor, 1st Congressional District
7:15 p.m.: Erie Johnson, 50, voted on the Republican ticket Tuesday evening at the Duck Creek Lodge to vote for the candidates least aligned with Republican President Donald Trump, he said. He supported Eddie Andrews for governor. He said he switches between Democrat and Republican for primary elections and is likely to vote for a Democrat in November. In 2016, for example, he registered as a Republican to vote against Trump, he said.
At Asbury Methodist Church in Bettendorf, Dave Scott said he and his wife voted on the Republican ticket for candidates they believed would keep Iowa heading in a good direction.
Trump's recent endorsement of U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra for governor was a motivating factor for them to support Feenstra. Plus Feenstra's recent ads guided them in his direction.
Scott said he was happy with U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks' job performance and voted to keep her in office.
"We voted for her before and we voted for her again," Scott said.
At Asbury Methodist Church in Bettendorf, 332 voters had cast ballots.
Encouraging others to vote
6:15 p.m.: Mark Donnelly, 65, brought Alex Montoya, 19, to the polls for Montoya's first election. They voted at the Duck Creek Lodge Tuesday evening.
Donnelly said he's concerned about challenges facing the Latino community, including an apprehension to vote. Donnelly said he likes Christina Bohannan, and said he's talked with her about those challenges.
Donnelly said he voted for Wahls for U.S. Senate because a progressive group, NextGen endorsed him.
Duck Creek Lodge precinct sees strong turnout
6 p.m.: At Duck Creek Lodge, just over 400 people had voted as of 5 p.m., a stronger turnout than normal for a primary so far, precinct chair Ed Jacque said.
Two voters at the Duck Creek Lodge, Rod and Candy Vanscoy, wanted to support Josh Turek for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate.
They made their decision after watching the debate between him and his opponent, Zach Wahls.
"I liked Turek's answers," Candy Vanscoy said.
"I thought Turek was more relatable in terms of his position on things, talking more down to earth," Rod Vanscoy added. "We want to see Iowa become more of a purple state than a red state."
They thought Turek, being from a district that voted for Trump, would be able to win over more Republican and independent voters.
"You want somebody who can win," Rod Vanscoy said. "Because if you don't win, you don't have the power to be able to do what you want to do."
Supporting Christina Bohannan for Congress and Rob Sand for governor was important to them, too.
The Vanscoys also voted for Ken Croken in the House District 97 race. They liked Croken's experience being a lawmaker for four years.
"(Adam) Peters through the neighborhood, that's what we saw," Rod Vanscoy said. "And I know people want somebody younger, which I think makes sense, but I mean, we're old too. We're not ready to walk out to pasture."
Hungpo Kuo, 61, voted for Marianette Miller-Meeks for Congress at Duck Creek Lodge.
“Well, I vote for Republicans, so I have to pick up from all this choice, look at their background, what they are for. So, what would they support? I choose whoever for the local economy, whoever for the environment, for Iowa, we have our special issues for cancer and water quality, fluoride, you know, water. Whoever has said that, I didn't vote exactly like that. I kind of vote eventually for whoever Donald Trump supported.”
Polls open for the Iowa primary
7 a.m.: Polls are open in Iowa for the 2026 primary election. They close at 8 p.m.
Voters can find their polling location on the Iowa Secretary of State website.
Iowa voters need to show photo identification, such as a driver's license, when they vote. Voters registering on Election Day need to show proof of residence if the address on their ID is not their current address. Proof of address can be a lease, utility bill, bank statement or paycheck.
If a voter can't prove who they are and where they live with those documents, a registered voter from the precinct may attest for them. Both will have to sign an oath swearing the statements being made are true.
