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No endorsement
The race
Iowa House District 71 elects one state representative for a two-year term on November 3, 2026. The seat is open: incumbent Lindsay James (D) is not on the general-election ballot. No published district-level competitiveness rating was located for this district at this sourcing depth; the chamber-level ratings printed in the research file are not district ratings and are not presented as one. The confirmed general-election roster, from the Iowa Secretary of State's candidate list (final edition, August 19, 2026), is: Sam Wooden (Democratic).
The candidates, claim by claim
Sam Wooden (D). Sam Wooden appears on the confirmed general-election roster for this district (Iowa Secretary of State candidate list, final edition of August 19, 2026; Ballotpedia general-election table). No detailed voting-record, biography, or signature-claim file for this candidate was verified at this sourcing depth beyond the facts printed in this article, and none is invented here.
Pros: A nominee giving the district's Democratic voters a choice on the ballot. Cons: No documented break with the Democratic Party toward this publication's values was located in the compiled record — no Manchin-test break. The organizing vote adds to a Democratic caucus whose program this publication opposes; that caucus weight is lighter in the House than in the Senate, but it does not create an exception where no break exists. The flaw, plainly: Enabler class, not extremist — a reliable party-line vote, which is the standing reason the exception for a Democrat is not earned here. No candidate in this race was classified extremist: the tier requires the candidate's own socialist program (documented DSA membership, self-described democratic socialism, or an authored socialist program), and none was documented for any candidate here at this sourcing depth.
OUR CALL
No endorsement. No Republican is on this ballot — the roster is Sam Wooden (D) — and no Democratic nominee here was found to pass the Manchin test (a documented in-service break with their party toward this publication's values) at this sourcing depth. Party-line service is enabler class, the standing reason the exception is not earned. In the House, a Democrat's organizing vote is lighter than in the Senate, but it still creates no exception without a break. No lean is issued: the file supports no direction without an endorsement. The race is uncontested on the confirmed roster, and this article is in the short form that is correct for an unopposed race: roster, what is sourced, and the call — nothing padded, nothing invented.
For the complete Election 2026 breakdown — every race, claim by claim — see the full coverage on our website.
Vote early. Research your candidates. Choose the best moderates, whatever their party — no extremism from either side. And encourage your friends and family to do the same.
Sources
- Iowa Secretary of State, Candidate List — November 3, 2026 General Election (final edition, last updated August 19, 2026) — confirmed general-election roster, parties, filing dates — https://mononacountyiowa.gov/files/public_notice/2026_general_election_75629.pdf
- Iowa Secretary of State, Candidate List — November 3, 2026 General Election (July 9, 2026 edition, direct from sos.iowa.gov) — earlier edition used to identify post-primary vacancy fills by difference — https://sos.iowa.gov/sites/default/files/2026-07/2026%20General%20-%20Candidate%20List%20Database%20-%20All%20Elections_1.pdf
- Ballotpedia, "Iowa House of Representatives elections, 2026" — general-election table (incumbent markers), retiring-incumbents and primary-defeat lists — https://ballotpedia.org/Iowa_House_of_Representatives_elections,_2026
- Record gaps: no district-level legislative voting records, campaign-finance figures, or biographies beyond the offices and facts printed above were verified for the nominees in this district at this sourcing depth; no district-level competitiveness rating for this district was published in the sources consulted
- Standing check: no pedophile-association material meeting the proven standard (knowing association with or defense of a convicted pedophile) was located for any candidate on this ballot
Result pending. No verified call (Associated Press or official) as of November 4, 2026. This page will be updated when the race is called or certified. The original article above is unchanged.
AI-assisted article — but the sources are human, and the facts are very real.
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