Iowa — 2nd District

Democrat Lindsay James and Republican Joe Mitchell sparred over tariff policies, immigration, the Iran war and each other's backgrounds during a debate ahead of the closely watched race for Iowa's Second Congressional District.

James, a state representative from Dubuque, and Mitchell, a former state lawmaker and real estate developer from Clear Lake, are vying to fill the northeastern Iowa seat left vacant after current Republican Rep. Ashley Hinson launched a U.S. Senate campaign.

Republicans have held the district for three consecutive terms in what used to be a Democratic stronghold that swung rightward over the last decade. But Democrats see an opening to reclaim the seat through their midterm momentum and growing voter discontent with the Trump Administration.

Election forecasters, including the Cook Political Report, have rated the race “lean Republican.” Recently, Sabato’s Crystal Ball shifted it to a “toss-up,” meaning either candidate could win.

The debate was moderated by Kay Henderson, host of Iowa Press; Erin Murphy, Des Moines bureau chief for The Gazette; and Skylar Tallal, Statehouse reporter for Iowa's News Now. It comes less than a week before early voting begins Oct. 14, when Iowans can start casting their ballots.

Independent Dave Bushaw and Libertarian Rick Stewart will also be on the Nov. 3 ballot but were not invited to participate in the debate. Iowa PBS Director of Communications Caryline Clark said James and Mitchell were invited to participate in the debate since they met "pre-established, objective criteria" in accordance with Federal Election Commission and Federal Communications Commission guidelines.

James and Mitchell first faced off in an Oct. 1 debate hosted by Iowa’s News Now.

Here's what James and Mitchell said about the race's key issues.

Candidates spar over impact of tariffs on Iowa's economy, workforce

Nearly a week after Iowa state lawmakers approved tax incentives for a $15 billion steel mill in southeastern Iowa, both candidates clashed over how tariffs imposed by the Trump administration have affected the project and the state's economy.

Mitchell said the proposed steel plant is a product of President Donald Trump's trade policies, arguing that they have helped bring jobs that were outsourced to other countries back to America. He argued Trump's approach has been the best for American business growth and has already brought John Deere jobs to Iowa.

"This will be the largest economic development project in the state's history," Mitchell said, adding he would've voted for the measure if he were still in the Legislature. "We want to bring American jobs back to Americans; we want to reassure manufacturing jobs; we want to grow domestic manufacturing."

Multiple companies in the 2nd District, including Whirlpool and John Deere, have announced mass layoffs in recent years as they expand their operations in other countries. Whirlpool's layoffs, which have cut 879 jobs as of June, prompted Hinson and Republican Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks to write a letter to the company, criticizing its decision.

James voted alongside 74 other Republican and Democratic lawmakers to approve up to $1.36 billion for the Mesabi Metals project, citing the job creation and economic benefits it will bring to southeastern Iowa. But she dismissed the role Trump's trade policies played in bringing the mill to Iowa, contending they are driving costs up for consumers and sending American jobs overseas.

"They're (tariffs) hitting our manufacturing communities and driving jobs overseas. John Deere has sent jobs overseas to Mexico. Whirlpool, I stood with those workers on the picket line as they watched their jobs disappear," James said. "All because of these impulsive and chaotic tariffs that are driving up costs and causing folks to make these impossible choices."

Division on how to address the Iran war

While James and Mitchell agreed Congress should have a say in curbing Trump's war powers as the Iran war continues, they would take different approaches to do so.

In September, Miller-Meeks and Republican Rep. Zach Nunn, who are running in competitive reelection races, broke with Trump and voted for a resolution to curb his war powers.

Mitchell, who has previously suggested every president in the last century has abused their war power privileges, said he would like to see an end to the war while also protecting against the threat of nuclear weapons. He rejected supporting the resolution proposed by Democrats, calling it a "knee-jerk and partisan action" to defy the president.

"We need to have a broader, more bipartisan conversation with Democrats and Republicans, because I do think the Bush administration, the Obama administration, the Biden administration and the current administration have overstepped on what they can do from an executive standpoint," Mitchell said. "We want to bring our men and women in uniform back here to the states."

James said she would vote for a resolution to curb the president's war powers if elected and called for an immediate end to the war she says is taking a toll on Iowans' pocketbooks.

"I'm someone who does not believe that Iran should have a nuclear weapon," James said. "But what we have seen happen there is we have seen billions of dollars, upwards of $47 billion, go to an endless and chaotic war in Iran that has driven up costs for Iowa's hardworking families, and it's resulted in the loss of Iowans' lives."

James and Mitchell acknowledged the economic burden the war is imposing on Iowans through skyrocketing gas prices. They both said they support temporarily suspending the gas tax at the state and federal level.

Candidates agree on rooting out corruption while questioning each other's backgrounds

Mitchell and James share nearly identical anti-corruption platforms, including policy proposals like age and term limits for members of Congress, bans on congressional stock trading and ending the lawmaker-to-lobbyist pipeline. But that's where their messaging on corruption diverges.

In between questions, the candidates took continuous jabs at each other's backgrounds.

James has hit Mitchell on his background in politics, painting him as an "out-of-touch" political insider. She pointed to his time spent fundraising at Trump's Florida resort, Mar-a-Lago and time running the Iowa Real Estate Developers Association, claiming he lobbied on behalf of an industry he works in.

"While I was holding 54 public town halls listening to my constituents, Joe was spending his time partying at Mar-a-Lago," James said. "There's someone who has the wrong priorities and is deeply out of touch with the challenges that our families are facing."

Mitchell disputed ever being a registered lobbyist, noting he only headed the special interest group. He criticized James' time growing up in Portland, Oregon, and argued that it has informed her voting record in the Legislature on issues including immigration and taxes.

"We don't judge Lindsay for being from Portland, Oregon. We judge her for bringing her values to Iowa," Mitchell said.

James rebutted Mitchell's claim, acknowledging she couldn't choose where she was born, but she did choose to settle down in Iowa.