From the Associated Press (11:20 a.m.):
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A retired Navy admiral, Democrat Mike Franken, will challenge Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley’s reelection this fall after winning his party’s nomination over two competitors. Franken beat former congresswoman Abby Finkenauer and physician Glenn Hurst on Tuesday to earn the right to run against Grassley. The veteran Republican is seeking an eighth Senate term. Franken’s primary win is something of a surprise, given Finkenauer was better known throughout the state. Her 2018 victory over a Republican congressman made her the second-youngest woman elected to Congress. Grassley won the Republican nomination over a state legislator and lawyer from Sioux City, Jim Carlin.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – After running unopposed in Iowa’s primary election, Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds holds a huge fundraising edge over Democrat Deidre DeJear in a state that has become increasingly friendly to conservative candidates. DeJear, a 36-year-old businesswoman who also faced no primary opposition, is seeking to become the first Democrat elected governor of Iowa in 16 years. She will face a tough challenger in Reynolds, whose campaign has raised eight-times more money than the Democrat as she seeks a second full term. The fall campaign became official after polls closed in the state at 8 p.m. CT. Since becoming governor, Reynolds has ticked through a long list of conservative accomplishments.
LOS ANGELES (AP) – U.S. House battles took shape in heavily Democratic California that could tip the balance of power in Congress, while Republican U.S. Rep. Steven Palazzo of Mississippi was forced into a runoff after a congressional ethics watchdog raised questions about his campaign spending. The contests were among primary elections across seven states Tuesday that set up November showdowns in dozens of races. In heavily Democratic California, Republican House members are facing tough challenges in several districts that will help determine control of Congress. In Montana, former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke was in a tight race for a chance to capture a new U.S. House district.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A 47-year-old Iowa man has been sentenced to five years in prison for detonating home made explosive devices on an Ankeny street last year. Chad Allen Williams, of Johnston, was sentenced Friday to federal prison for making a destructive device and being a drug user in possession of a firearm. Federal prosecutors say Williams admitted detonating the devices on May 12, 2021, and June 7, 2021. A third device was placed on a street on June 9, 2021, but it did not detonate. Prosecutors said that device contained a significant amount of shrapnel. When law enforcement searched Williams’ house, officers found drugs, weapons and items to make the explosive devices.
FAIRFIELD, Iowa (AP) – A state judge has ordered that the trial for a 16-year-old teen accused of killing his high school Spanish teacher will be held in Council Bluffs in western Iowa. Judge Shawn Showers on Monday ordered the trial for Willard Miller of Fairfield to be moved about 200 miles from Fairfield in southeast Iowa to Council Bluffs. The trial is set to begin Nov. 1. Miller and his 17-year-old classmate Jeremy Goodale will be tried as adults. They face first-degree murder charges in the beating death of 66-year old Nohema Graber, who taught at the Fairfield High School. The location of Goodale’s trial, set for Aug. 23, has not been set.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Republican House primaries on Tuesday will set the table for the most competitive U.S. House races this fall. A handful of districts will decide whether Democrats can hold their paper-thin margin amid bracing economic headwinds. GOP House primaries in New Jersey, Iowa and California will determine who will face the most prominent and most vulnerable Democrats. Among them are New Jersey’s Tom Malinowski and Iowa’s Cindy Axne. They won by fewer than 2 percentage points in 2020, and their districts have become slightly more Republican since new congressional district lines were set last year.
