Still deciding how to vote? Here’s a guide to Iowa Capital Dispatch election reporting

In case you need to do a little cramming before you vote, here’s a roundup of race overviews, issue closeups, debate stories and more from Iowa Capital Dispatch:

Presidential race

Trump to Iowa voters: Coronavirus vaccine is a few short weeks away

Biden criticizes the ‘stable genius’ Trump at Des Moines campaign rally

Biden in final debate vows an immigration overhaul in his first 100 days as president

Trump in final debate slams pandemic aid as a ‘big bailout’ for blue cities and states

Debate: Trump tells far-right group to ‘stand back and stand by’

Biden says he’ll support election outcome but Trump urges supporters to ‘watch very carefully’

Trump and Biden quarrel over mask mandates and state shutdowns in first presidential debate

Trump, at convention, praises oil pipelines and coal, doubts wind and solar can meet demand

Iowa’s U.S. Senate race

Race overview: Senate race between Joni Ernst, Theresa Greenfield remains a dead heat

Issue closeups:

• As Iowa farmers struggle, fighting for ethanol industry becomes a key issue in Iowa’s Senate race
• COVID-19 and health care become top priorities in Senate race as Iowans look to Congress for aid
• After summer of protests, Senate candidates commit to different levels of criminal justice reform

Debates:

• In heated first debate, Ernst and Greenfield clash on vacant court seat, mask mandate
• Ernst, Greenfield each call for apologies during second U.S. Senate debate
• Senate debate: Amid technical glitches, candidates differ on racial issues

Interviews:

• Theresa Greenfield stops short of saying how she’d vote on election-year Supreme Court nominees
• Ernst says no one ‘should be surprised’ she voted with Democrats on ACA lawsuit

Report: Ernst said she’s ‘skeptical’ of COVID-19 death numbers

Ernst, Greenfield spar over which candidate best supports ethanol, agriculture

Iowa’s congressional races

1st District  

Race overview: Finkenauer, Hinson spar over fundraising, Statehouse records in Iowa’s 1st Congressional District

Issue closeups:  

• Finkenauer and Hinson clash over taxes, energy and infrastructure
• 1st District candidates differ on education, police reform and immigration
• 1st District candidates spar over health care, but agree on pre-existing conditions

Coastal donors plow cash into Iowa campaigns

How the Chamber of Commerce learned to love House Democrats

2nd District

Race overview: Tight 2nd District race features two candidates with state experience

Issue closeups:

• 2nd District candidates debate climate change, environmental regulations
• 2nd District candidates differ on future of ACA, how to fight COVID

Debate: Hart, Miller-Meeks split on federal mask mandate

Miller-Meeks: Reynolds, Trump should continue reopening economy in part to prevent suicides

Hart calls for anti-corruption bill on campaign finance, lobbying, gerrymandering

Miller-Meeks: Increase in fuel tax could pay for infrastructure

Hart: Congress should stop environmental rollbacks, support ethanol

3rd District

Race overview: Axne-Young rematch centers on health care coverage, showing up for work

Issue focus:

• Health care splits 3rd District candidates
• Third District candidates split on Paris Agreement, other environmental issues
• Third District candidates: Police ‘bad actors’ should be addressed

Interviews:

• Axne: Pandemic revealed broad weakness in health system
• Young opposes Paris climate agreement; Axne supports it

Debates:

• Axne, Young spar over COVID-19 response shortly after President Trump leaves hospital
• Axne, Young split on marijuana, Trump’s rally, classic rock, favorite coffee flavor

Axne, Young trade barbs over ads on health care, allegiance to party leaders

David Young: Stimulus package should advance in stages

4th District

Race overview: Without Steve King, Iowa’s 4th District is in for a shakeup

Issue focus:

• Scholten supports universal health care; Feenstra says repeal the ACA
• In Iowa’s 4th District, prioritizing ethanol is focus for Feenstra and Scholten
• Feenstra, Scholten differ on tax policies and methods to sustain Social Security

Debate: Feenstra, Scholten disagree on COVID-19 policy, immigration

Interviews:

• D. Scholten: Lack of national COVID-19 plan prolonging virus spread
• Feenstra: Protecting people with pre-existing conditions is ‘paramount,’ but Affordable Care Act has to go

Scholten’s magic-wand issues: campaign finance and antitrust reform

Voters, voting, election laws, lawsuits

Battle for the Ballot: A five-day series on voter access and barriers to the ballot

Des Moines’ suburbs are changing. So are the women voting in them.

Iowa surpasses 1 million absentee ballot requests

Election Day troubleshooting: What do to if your absentee ballot is absent, you’re not registered or other voting issues

What happens in Iowa if elections are too close to call?

Mysterious ‘pop-up PACs’ activate in some competitive U.S. Senate races

‘It’s a 2020 election. Everything is crazy’: Iowa county auditors prepare for Election Day

Lawsuit seeks to block counties’ use of private money for election expenses

Judge invalidates absentee ballot applications in Johnson County lawsuit

For more campaign reporting and Election Day updates, see IowaCapitalDispatch.com/Election-2020-page