There are some Republican state legislators who have opponents from their own party in the 2026 election, and one of those is in Iowa Senate 5 District.
The incumbent is Dave Rowley, of Spirit Lake. His opponent is Stacy Besch, of Algona.
Besch is proud of her work pointing to the dangers of human trafficking on the Team Iowa initiative.
On her campaign page, she describes the need to defend second Amendment rights and push back on what Besch calls “tax inflation.”
Over his seven years in office, Rowley said he has fought for conservative policies to make Iowa a better place for families, including moving to a flat state income tax rate of 3.8 percent for all.
The June 2 primary election will determine which Republican moves to the November general election.
Iowa Senate 5 District encompasses Clay, Dickinson, Emmet, Kossuth and Palo Alto counties.
