21 candidates to appear at Political Soapbox at 2026 Iowa State Fair ⁠2%

By Brian Smith⁠1%

8/2/2026, 4:01:00 AM

BS Summary: This article contains 10 faulty reasoning types, including Biased Writer Voice, Optimism Bias, and False Dilemma, with Framing Effect as the most egregious example at 8.3% saturation with 58 hits. Analysis detected 263 faulty-reasoning hits from 700 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 8.1% and a BS Rank of ⁠2% (26,397 of 26,881 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 98.20% of the article peer group.

The Des Moines Register will host nearly two dozen candidates at the Iowa State Fair, allowing Iowans to hear directly from the people seeking to represent them — while enjoying the most popular event in the state. 
The Des Moines Register Political Soapbox at the Iowa State Fair gives candidates 20 minutes on a stage along the fair's Grand Concourse. 
As in the past, candidates will be able to decide how to use that time, including whether or not they take questions from the public. 
Photos: The Des Moines Register Political Soapbox through the years 
The Register offered timeslots during every day of the fair — Aug. 13 to 23 — except for Sundays. 
The schedule this year will offer speeches on six of the fair's 11 days. 
A small stage and seating area for the Soapbox will take over the front lawn of the Horner Service Center at the Iowa State Fair. 
The building is located right off the Grand Concourse, to the west of the Administration Building and across Grand Avenue from the Grandstand. 
In total, the Register invited 26 candidates seeking to represent Iowans in statewide or federal offices. 
Any candidate who qualified for the ballot was invited. 
In 2026, that includes candidates for: 
U.S. 
Senate 
U.S. 
House (all four districts) 
Governor 
Attorney general 
Auditor of state 
Secretary of agriculture 
Secretary of state 
Treasurer of state 
As of July 30, 21 candidates accepted the invitation and have scheduled appearances at the Political Soapbox. 
Any candidates who do not appear on the schedule either declined the invitation or did not sign up for a spot by 5 p.m. on July 31. 
Additional appearances may be added before the start of the fair. 
Updates will be posted to DesMoinesRegister.com/Soapbox. 
Friday, Aug. 
14 
The first three candidates to take the Political Soapbox stage will appear on Friday, Aug. 
14. 
11:15 a.m.: Josh Turek, Democratic candidate for U.S. 
Senate 
Noon: Sarah Trone Garriott, Democratic candidate for Iowa's 3rd Congressional District 
4:30 p.m.: Zach Lahn, Republican candidate for Iowa governor 
Saturday, Aug. 
15 
The first Saturday of the Iowa State Fair will be the busiest day at the Political Soapbox with eight candidates scheduled to speak. 
10:30 a.m.: John Norwood, Democratic candidate for treasurer 
11:15 a.m.: Rob Sand, Democratic candidate for Iowa governor 
Noon: Dave Dawson, Democratic candidate for Iowa's 4th Congressional District 
1:30 p.m.: Thomas Laehn, Libertarian candidate for U.S. 
Senate 
2:15 p.m.: Michael Bridgford, independent candidate for Iowa's 1st Congressional District 
3 p.m.: Dave Bushaw, independent candidate for Iowa's 2nd Congressional District 
3:45 p.m.: Rick Stewart, Libertarian candidate for Iowa's 2nd Congressional District 
4:30 p.m.: Ryan Peterman, Democratic candidate for secretary of state 
Monday, Aug. 
17 
Veteran's Day at the Iowa State Fair will also feature a large slate of Republican candidates on the Political Soapbox stage. 
1:30 p.m.: Joe Mitchell, Republican candidate for Iowa's 2nd Congressional District 
2:15 p.m.: Zach Nunn, Republican candidate for Iowa's 3rd Congressional District 
4:30 p.m.: Paul Pate, Republican candidate for secretary of state 
5 p.m.: Mike Naig, Republican candidate for secretary of agriculture* 
5:20 p.m.: Brenna Bird, Republican candidate for attorney general* 
5:40 p.m.: Ashley Hinson, Republican candidate for U.S. 
Senate* 
* Note: The final three candidates on Aug. 17 will be allotted 10 minutes to address fairgoers. 
This change was made at the request of the candidates. 
Thursday, Aug. 
20 
After a few days off, the Soapbox will return for the final long weekend of the fair, starting on Thursday, Aug. 20, with one speech. 
3 p.m.: Lindsay James, Democratic candidate for Iowa's 2nd Congressional District 
Friday, Aug. 
21 
The Soapbox will also host one speech on Friday, Aug. 
21. 
1:30 p.m.: Nate Willems, Democratic candidate for attorney general 
Saturday, Aug. 
22 
The final speeches of the 2026 Des Moines Register Political Soapbox take place on Saturday, Aug. 
22. 
Noon: Taylor Wettach, Democratic candidate for auditor 
3 p.m.: Chris Jones, Democratic candidate for secretary of agriculture 
Brian Smith is an audience strategist and senior editor at the Des Moines Register. 
He's been the director of the Political Soapbox at the Iowa State Fair since 2019. 
Contact him at bsmith@dmreg.com or 515-284-8214. 
Article reasoning-pattern comparisonThis article: 0.0%Brian Smith: 0.0%The Des Moines Register: 1.2%Confirmation Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Brian Smith: 0.0%The Des Moines Register: 1.0%Anchoring Bias0.0%This article: 3.3%Brian Smith: 0.8%The Des Moines Register: 1.5%Availability Heuristic3.3%This article: 0.0%Brian Smith: 0.0%The Des Moines Register: 0.6%Representativeness Heuristic0.0%This article: 0.0%Brian Smith: 0.0%The Des Moines Register: 0.4%Hindsight Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Brian Smith: 0.0%The Des Moines Register: 0.5%Overconfidence Bias0.0%This article: 8.3%Brian Smith: 3.4%The Des Moines Register: 2.4%Framing Effect8.3%This article: 0.0%Brian Smith: 0.0%The Des Moines Register: 1.1%Loss Aversion0.0%This article: 3.6%Brian Smith: 0.9%The Des Moines Register: 0.7%Status Quo Bias3.6%This article: 0.0%Brian Smith: 0.0%The Des Moines Register: 0.1%Sunk Cost Effect0.0%This article: 5.3%Brian Smith: 1.3%The Des Moines Register: 3.8%Optimism Bias5.3%This article: 0.0%Brian Smith: 0.0%The Des Moines Register: 0.8%Pessimism Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Brian Smith: 0.0%The Des Moines Register: 1.6%Negativity Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Brian Smith: 0.0%The Des Moines Register: 0.9%Self-Serving Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Brian Smith: 0.0%The Des Moines Register: 0.4%Fundamental Attribution Error0.0%This article: 0.0%Brian Smith: 0.0%The Des Moines Register: 0.2%Actor-Observer Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Brian Smith: 0.0%The Des Moines Register: 1.2%In-Group Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Brian Smith: 0.0%The Des Moines Register: 0.4%Out-Group Homogeneity Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Brian Smith: 0.0%The Des Moines Register: 0.6%Halo Effect0.0%This article: 0.0%Brian Smith: 0.0%The Des Moines Register: 0.0%Horn Effect0.0%This article: 0.0%Brian Smith: 0.0%The Des Moines Register: 0.0%Dunning-Kruger Effect0.0%This article: 0.0%Brian Smith: 0.0%The Des Moines Register: 0.4%Recency Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Brian Smith: 0.0%The Des Moines Register: 0.0%Primacy Effect0.0%This article: 0.0%Brian Smith: 0.0%The Des Moines Register: 0.0%Blind-Spot Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Brian Smith: 0.0%The Des Moines Register: 0.0%Ad Hominem0.0%This article: 0.0%Brian Smith: 0.0%The Des Moines Register: 0.6%Straw Man0.0%This article: 2.0%Brian Smith: 0.5%The Des Moines Register: 1.5%Appeal to Authority2.0%This article: 3.9%Brian Smith: 1.0%The Des Moines Register: 1.4%False Dilemma3.9%This article: 0.0%Brian Smith: 0.0%The Des Moines Register: 0.6%Slippery Slope0.0%This article: 0.0%Brian Smith: 0.0%The Des Moines Register: 0.0%Circular Reasoning0.0%This article: 0.0%Brian Smith: 0.0%The Des Moines Register: 1.1%Hasty Generalization0.0%This article: 0.0%Brian Smith: 0.0%The Des Moines Register: 0.1%Red Herring0.0%This article: 0.0%Brian Smith: 1.3%The Des Moines Register: 0.3%Bandwagon0.0%This article: 0.0%Brian Smith: 0.0%The Des Moines Register: 2.1%Appeal to Emotion0.0%This article: 0.0%Brian Smith: 0.0%The Des Moines Register: 0.4%Begging the Question0.0%This article: 1.4%Brian Smith: 0.4%The Des Moines Register: 1.7%Post Hoc (False Cause)1.4%This article: 0.0%Brian Smith: 0.0%The Des Moines Register: 0.0%Tu Quoque0.0%This article: 0.0%Brian Smith: 0.0%The Des Moines Register: 0.2%Burden of Proof0.0%This article: 0.0%Brian Smith: 0.0%The Des Moines Register: 0.0%Appeal to Nature0.0%This article: 0.0%Brian Smith: 0.0%The Des Moines Register: 0.2%Composition/Division0.0%This article: 0.0%Brian Smith: 0.0%The Des Moines Register: 1.8%Anecdotal0.0%This article: 0.0%Brian Smith: 0.0%The Des Moines Register: 0.0%No True Scotsman0.0%This article: 1.3%Brian Smith: 0.3%The Des Moines Register: 0.6%Ambiguity (Equivocation)1.3%This article: 0.0%Brian Smith: 0.0%The Des Moines Register: 0.0%Gambler’s Fallacy0.0%This article: 0.0%Brian Smith: 0.0%The Des Moines Register: 0.1%Middle Ground0.0%This article: 0.0%Brian Smith: 0.0%The Des Moines Register: 0.0%Personal Incredulity0.0%This article: 0.0%Brian Smith: 0.0%The Des Moines Register: 0.0%Special Pleading0.0%This article: 0.0%Brian Smith: 0.0%The Des Moines Register: 0.0%Genetic Fallacy0.0%This article: 0.0%Brian Smith: 0.0%The Des Moines Register: 0.8%Unattributed Quote0.0%This article: 0.0%Brian Smith: 0.0%The Des Moines Register: 0.0%Quote-first Misdirection0.0%This article: 7.7%Brian Smith: 1.9%The Des Moines Register: 2.9%Biased Writer Voice7.7%This article: 0.0%Brian Smith: 0.0%The Des Moines Register: 1.3%Indoctrination0.0%This article: 0.0%Brian Smith: 0.0%The Des Moines Register: 0.1%Politically Left Leaning Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Brian Smith: 0.0%The Des Moines Register: 0.4%Politically Right Leaning Bias0.0%This article: 0.9%Brian Smith: 0.2%The Des Moines Register: 1.6%Attempt to Sell a Product or S…0.9%

700 words analyzed.

Speakers

22speakers34%attributed speech460writer words
Selected voice

Brian Smith

57%flagged-word coverage
35 attributed words15% of attributed speech37% writer coverage
0%10.0%20.0%Attempt to Sell a Product +17.1 ptsWriter: 0.0%Brian Smith: 17.1%17.1%Biased Writer Voice-11.7 ptsWriter: 11.7%Brian Smith: 0.0%0.0%

Attribution is sentence-level. Pattern percentages are calculated only from words assigned to that voice.

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Analysis

Hover over highlighted words in the article to view the associated bias or fallacy analysis.