On Monday morning, Dave Bushaw, a lifelong northeast Iowan from Fayette County and Independent candidate running for United States Congress, was flanked by supporters and family as he climbed the steps to the Iowa Secretary of State office in Des Moines to submit his ballot access signatures, qualifying him as a ‘No Party’ candidate in Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District election.
Bushaw says state election officials informed his campaign on Tuesday that his Affidavit of Candidacy and ballot access signatures have been accepted. He will appear on the November 3rd, 2026 ballot as the first ‘No Party’ candidate that Iowa has seen in decades.
Bushaw submitted 2,615 qualifying signatures, more than 150% of the total required for ballot access (1,726 minimum to qualify). Additionally, a congressional candidate is required to collect a minimum of 47 signatures from half (11 out of 22) of the counties in the district.
“I was the last one to sign,” Bushaw notes. “I wanted to make sure I could earn the trust and support of Working Class folks across my district first. I’m humbled that so many people believe in me and our message.”
Bushaw, a longtime community organizer, and his supporters went well beyond the bare minimum, achieving more than 200% of the required totals from all 22 counties. His top performing counties were Black Hawk with 302%, Dubuque with 321%, and Bushaw’s home county – Fayette – with 460%.
“I’m from rural Iowa, born and raised,” Bushaw says. “I know how it feels to be left out of big decisions, especially when it comes to decisions made in Washington. We weren’t going to let a single county feel like they didn’t play a part in making history and getting us on the ballot in November.”
“Worth County has about 7,000 residents in the entire county. We reached 238% there and had two events in Fertile that turned out dozens of interested folks.”
Bushaw also touts that he will be the only lifelong northeast Iowan on the ballot in the November election. Democratic Party candidate, Lindsay James, spent most of her life in California and Massachusetts before settling in Dubuque in 2015. James was elected to the Iowa House in 2018.
Republican Party nominee, Joe Mitchell, served in the Iowa House as recently as 2023 based out of Henry County in the 1st Congressional District. He recently relocated to Clear Lake, Cerro Gordo County, in the 2nd Congressional District.
During a follow-up press conference, Bushaw discussed his vision for this campaign and beyond:
“We set out with a goal to answer a question: can a Working Class Poor candidate, with no party machine to harvest ballot access signatures, and no major funding to hire signature harvesters, build the necessary grassroots infrastructure and meet minimum requirements to qualify for the ballot? We have an answer today, and that answer is a resounding: YES.”
Bushaw intends to continue building his campaign of Working Class Iowans through the summer and fall; attending parades and county fairs, doorknocking, hosting events, training volunteers, and fundraising.
Bushaw continues, “What we’re building right here in Iowa is a roadmap for the Working Class all across this country to fight back against a corrupt two party system that fulfills every desire for their billionaire owners while working people struggle to make basic ends meet. Enough is enough.”
“My message to the corrupt two parties and the Ruling Elite Class is simple: We are the Working Class — expect us.”
