2026 forecast · Iowa 2nd

Lindsay James and Joe Mitchell are in a toss up for Iowa's 2nd District.

Lindsay James vs Joe Mitchell, an open seat. The model has James ahead by 0.2 points, winning 51 percent of 2,000 simulated elections.

Toss upModel D +0.2Polls R +0.0Updated October 22, 2026
Lindsay James
Democrat
49.2%
169,088 projected votes
Joe Mitchell
Republican
49.0%
168,348 projected votes
51%James
49%Mitchell
James slightly favoredEach square is one simulated election night, James wins about 51 of 100
RatingToss up51% chance for James
Model marginD +0.2Polls R +0.0
80 percent rangeD +7.8 to R +7.42,000 simulations
Projected votes343,692James 49.2%

The district map

Every district in the state, shaded by its rating

Iowa districts

4 districts
Safe DLikely DLean DToss upLean RLikely RSafe R

Vote share

Each candidate's projected share and the range of 80 percent of simulations

Lindsay JamesDemocrat · 51% to win
49.2%
Joe MitchellRepublican · 49% to win
49.0%

Scale runs from 25 to 75 percent. The dot is the forecast, the band is the 80 percent range and the brighter tick marks 50 percent.

Projected district vote

343,692 votes
CandidateVotesShare
Lindsay James D169,08849.2%
Joe Mitchell R168,34849.0%
Rick Stewart L6,2561.8%
Total343,692100%

Each candidate's expected vote in the On Point simulation, at the forecast's projected turnout.

The trend

Each side's chance of winning over the forecast's recent updates

0%25%50%75%100%51% James49% Mitchell14 updates agoToday

Polling

Every poll in the average, and how the model reads it

The Iowa governor polling average
38%40%42%44%46%48%50%52%54%56%58%JulAugSepOct51.6Sand45.0Lahn
The line is the On Point average: a robust LOWESS fit through the polls, weighted by recency, sample, voter screen and pollster grade, refit three times so outliers count for lessDot size is each poll's weight todayHover or use the arrow keys to read any day
What moves the average today
Fox News/Beacon Research and Shaw & CompanySep 28 · 1,008 LV · A++17%Sand +9.0
Emerson College/Nexstar MediaOct 6 · 650 LV · Gold15%Sand +4.0
On Point PollingOct 21 · 491 LV · Gold15%Sand +4.7
New York Times/SienaOct 1 · 606 LV · Gold11%Sand +11.0
New York Times/SienaSep 30 · 600 LV · Gold7.8%Sand +11.0
Suffolk UniversityOct 4 · 500 LV · B+6.4%Sand +12.0
Every other poll together: 28%

This is the same On Point polling average as the full average page. The forecast reads the polls through its own Election Day projection, shown as the On Point average in the table below, and blends it with partisan lean and fundamentals.

Polls of the race

Full average
PollsterSampleAgeMargin
On Point averageWeighted averageR +0.0

Each margin is the poll as the pollster published it. The forecast counts every poll after its house effect and the undecided split, which is what the trail above shows; hover a margin for the counted value. Lean R and Lean D mark partisan leaning firms.

Model margin
James +0.2
Chance of winning
Lindsay James51%
Joe Mitchell49%
Simulated vote
Lindsay James49.2%
Joe Mitchell49.0%
Rick Stewart1.8%
How the model gets there
Partisan leanD +10.0
FundamentalsD +0.6
With pollsD +1.3
Early vote turnoutR +1.1
With early voteD +0.2

Read from 0 ballots cast so far in Iowa, against the party mix the forecast expected of them, with similar states and primary turnout. Early vote tracker

How we got here

From the state's partisan lean to the forecast, one stage at a time

D +12R +12Partisan leanthe state's baselineD +10.0Fundamentalsapproval, economy, candidatesD +0.6With pollsaverage R +0.0D +1.3With early voteturnout so farD +0.2
Methodology
Every county is rebuilt by simulating voters going to the polls, 2,000 times, from On Point Polling survey data, past results, and the polling average. How the model works.