HAWKEYE, Iowa —

An independent candidate, Dave Bushaw, announced he would join the race for Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District in 2026.

Bushaw, a 31-year-old Hawkeye resident, is campaigning for the seat currently held by U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson, a Republican. Hinson is running for the open U.S. Senate seat, as Sen. Joni Ernst is not seeking another term in office.

While Bushaw has had experience in Democratic politics — he worked as an organizer for U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign in 2019 and 2020 in Iowa, Nevada and South Carolina — the candidate said he is running as an independent because “both parties walked away from the people who built this country.”

“There’s the Republican wing and the Democratic wing, but they are both part of the same bird that feeds the cor

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