Why It Matters
With Iowa’s 2026 general election approaching and political attack advertising dominating the airwaves, a growing coalition of current and former officeholders is pushing back against what they describe as a dangerous erosion of civil discourse — one they say has moved well beyond harsh words and into physical threats.
What Happened
Several Iowa organizations are now working to counter the decline of political civility, bringing together a bipartisan group of past and present elected officials to encourage more respectful engagement in campaigns and at the Iowa Statehouse.
Scott Raecker, executive director of the Robert D. and Billy Ray Center at Drake University and a former Republican member of the Iowa House for nearly 14 years, has been among those raising the alarm. During his own legislative tenure, Raecker received two threatening emails, both of which he turned over to law enforcement. “I think civility has certainly declined over the last several decades, including on social media and the anonymity of being able to make comments,” he said.
The concerns are not abstract. In May, Republican candidate Adam Steen received a death threat during a campaign event in Oskaloosa, when a man repeatedly called Smokey Row coffee shop threatening to “shoot and stab” attendees. Steen went on to lose his bid for the Republican party nomination in the June 2 primary.
Iowa Senate President Amy Sinclair, a Republican from Allerton, addressed the issue directly at the opening of the 2026 legislative session, urging colleagues toward civil discourse. “I watched in horror this past year as two of our neighboring colleagues were targeted and shot in their own homes,” Sinclair said in her January remarks, referencing the June 2025 assassination of Minnesota state Representative Melissa Hortman and the critical injuries suffered by Minnesota Democratic lawmaker John Hoffman and his wife. Conservative activist Charlie Kirk was also assassinated in September 2025.
Those events, combined with the memory of the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, have added urgency to the civility conversation in Iowa and across the country.
By the Numbers
Nearly 14 years — Raecker’s tenure in the Iowa House before moving to his current role at Drake University.
2 — Threatening emails Raecker received and reported to law enforcement while in office.
June 2025 — When Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman was assassinated at her home.
September 2025 — When conservative activist Charlie Kirk was assassinated.
15 to 20 years — The timeframe Kelly Shaw cites for the escalation of culture-war politics contributing to polarization.
Zoom Out
Iowa’s efforts reflect a broader national pattern. Kelly Shaw, co-director of the Center for Cyclone Civics at Iowa State University and a former two-term mayor of Indianola, noted that incivility among local elected officials increased significantly during her time in office. She pointed to social media, the isolation brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the spread of political misinformation as key drivers of growing polarization.
Shaw framed the problem as the product of roughly 15 to 20 years of intensifying culture-war politics that have filtered down from national campaigns into city councils and school boards. The trend is visible across the country, where threats against local officials have prompted several states to strengthen legal protections for public servants.
The 2026 Iowa governor’s race is already drawing national attention, with prominent figures from outside the state weighing in — a dynamic that can amplify partisan tensions and make the work of civility advocates more difficult at the local level.
What’s Next
Civility-focused organizations in Iowa plan to continue outreach through the remainder of the 2026 election cycle, engaging candidates and voters ahead of the general election. Raecker’s center at Drake and Shaw’s program at Iowa State are both positioned to serve as institutional anchors for those efforts.
Whether bipartisan appeals for restraint gain traction will depend in part on whether candidates and party organizations choose to embrace or ignore the message — particularly as campaign advertising intensifies in the months ahead.