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Issue record

Housing

In short

Mitchell's campaign backs fewer home-building rules; James's backs less red tape, lower tariffs on building materials and down payment help. Stewart's campaign lists no housing position on the pages checked; Bushaw's backs an FTC probe of private equity buying homes. On the record, Mitchell's firms have state awards for 66 units, not a count of finished homes. James voted for a 2022 mobile-home tenant law, and her own housing bills did not pass.

Campaign positions

What each campaign says.

Joe Mitchell

He says over-regulation and a shortage of homes for sale have priced out buyers, and that deregulating home building would let builders build more for less.

Lindsay James

She wants to cut red tape and roll back tariffs on building materials to build millions of homes, and to give first-time buyers down payment help.

Rick Stewart

No housing position was found. His 2026 Soapbox speech, as reported, did not address it, and his only site is from his 2022 race for governor.

Dave Bushaw

He wants the FTC to investigate private equity buying up homes, rentals, trailer parks and nursing homes, and a new law separating commercial and investment banking.

Evidence timeline

What the record shows.

  1. campaign position

    Joe Mitchell: record does not settle this

    Business positions and three awarded projects totaling 66 units are documented. They do not establish the finished portfolio, household affordability, personal residence or job totals.

    Read the full check

    Full detail

    In the October 1 debate, Mitchell described building affordable homes for seniors and working families in Grinnell, Clear Lake and Dyersville. He said he lives in a duplex he built in his Clear Lake workforce-housing community, called himself an employer and job creator, and put his Eastern Iowa portfolio at almost 100 homes. He said his business had worked in Northeast Iowa for three or four years, he had lived in Iowa all 29 years of his life.. His House disclosure identifies him as managing partner of J Mitchell Real Estate and partner of BAM Development and Bousselot & Mitchell Company. Iowa workforce-housing awards list BAM's 16-unit Sunset St project in Grinnell and 30-unit Emerald Place project in Clear Lake, and Bousselot & Mitchell's 20-unit Dyersville project. Together these are 66 units in awarded projects. Grinnell planning minutes separately document his application-related request. HUD's July 2025 appointment biography describes completed Eastern Iowa development projects without a unit count. Why there is no verdict: The complete almost-100 finished-home portfolio, affordability and occupancy by seniors/working families, employee/job totals, personal occupancy of the duplex, the three-or-four-year business timeline and all-29-years residence, his description of growing up 30 minutes south of the debate location remain unverified by these records. Limit: The 66 awarded units are not a completed-unit or occupancy count and cannot be subtracted from almost 100 to invent an exact missing-project total. No private residence, household or employee records were inspected. These records concern development activity and broad city/project information.

  2. campaign position

    Lindsay James: record does not settle this

    She backed 90-day rent-increase notice in 2022. Her later rent and lease protections remain proposals; legislative sources do not verify the private-equity purchases she described.

    Read the full check

    Full detail

    Her campaign describes work across party lines to protect mobile-home residents. In the October 1 debate, James said she fought for residents against private-equity owners and described purchases across mobile-home communities, nursing homes, storage units and assisted-living facilities. In 2020 she was one of sixteen sponsors, from both parties, of House File 2351 on mobile home park tenants; a subcommittee recommended it and it went no further. In 2022 she voted against the amendment that rewrote House File 2562, then for the bill, which became law. It gives tenants 90 days' notice of a rent increase or a cancelled lease, up from 60, remedies when a landlord fails to supply water or other essential services, and longer protection against retaliation. Her own bills went no further: House File 2337 (2024), 180 days' notice and a public justification for a rent increase; House File 2432 (2024), attorney general enforcement; House File 481 (2025), one rent increase per calendar year with insurance/infrastructure exceptions, which a subcommittee recommended; and House File 482 (2025), ending a lease only for a serious breach. She was first sponsor of the 2024 bills and one of two on the 2025 ones. Why there is no verdict: Her legislative activity is documented. The cited bills and votes do not independently establish the described private-equity purchases across the named sectors; that purchase assertion remains source-limited. Limit: The law she voted for does not limit how often rent can rise or make a landlord justify an increase, which her own bills sought and did not get. HF 481 is a proposed frequency restriction with exceptions, not an enacted rent-price ceiling; HF 482 concerns termination for material lease violations. Those landlord-conduct proposals apply regardless of private-equity ownership.

  3. campaign position

    Lindsay James: record does not settle this

    Proposals and a mobile-home-law vote document housing work in 2020-2025, including cross-party activity. Specific 2019 and 2026 actions remain unestablished.

    Read the full check

    Full detail

    In the October 1 debate, James said she had fought every year on affordable housing policies, including bipartisan work, and pointed to protections for mobile-home residents. Separate from her mobile-home bills, James was a named sponsor of HF 2610 on March 5, 2020, proposing a rise in the annual workforce-housing tax-credit allocation ceiling from $25 million to $30 million. On April 10, 2023 she was among the sponsors of HF 693, proposing $50 million for qualifying homeowners' exterior repairs, and HF 697, proposing a low-income housing tax credit and larger first-time homebuyer savings deductions. The three bills' histories record introduction and committee referral, without passage or enactment. Other housing records include the cross-party 2020 mobile-home HF 2351, her 2021 eviction/foreclosure-prevention HF 657 proposal, her final vote for the 2022 mobile-home law HF 2562, and mobile-home proposals in 2024 and 2025. The April 5, 2022 journal records her among the 60 final-passage ayes on HF 2562, separate from her vote against its preceding amendment; the history records signature on May 17, 2022. Why there is no verdict: Specific affordable-housing actions for 2019 and 2026 were not established from the captured sponsor indexes. The exact every-year assertion remains unverified without inferring that other advocacy was absent. Limit: These records establish repeated work in 2020-2025 and specific cross-party participation, not homes built, delivered repair grants, lower rents or cross-party work in each year. Introduced bills and the enacted 2022 mobile-home law remain separate.

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Sources42 source records

How we use sources

  1. The Issueshttps://joemitchell.com/issues

    Joe Mitchell for Congress · Reviewed Oct 1, 2026

    Campaign issues page, sixteen sections from corporate PAC money to elections. Positions are attributed, not independently verified facts.

    candidate statement

    For: Joe Mitchell: campaign position

  2. Bring Down the Cost of Living for Working Iowanshttps://www.lindsayforiowa.com/issues/issue-1

    Lindsay for Iowa · Reviewed Oct 1, 2026

    Campaign issue page on housing, child care, utilities, groceries, long-term care, paid leave and taxes.

    candidate statement

    For: Lindsay James: campaign position

  3. Libertarian wants to repeal income tax, welfare programs, immigration policyhttps://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/libertarian-wants-repeal-income-tax-004220831.html

    Iowa Capital Dispatch (republished by Yahoo News) · Published Aug 15, 2026 · Reviewed Oct 1, 2026

    Report by Cami Koons on his August 15, 2026 speech at the Des Moines Register Political Soapbox, with direct quotes. The original Capital Dispatch page (iowacapitaldispatch.com/2026/08/15/libertarian-wants-to-repeal-income-tax-welfare-programs-immigration-policy/) blocks the desk's script, so this Yahoo copy is cited; a browser read of the original on October 1, 2026 found the same article text, both quoted lines included. His only 2026 platform statement found.

    original reporting

    For: Rick Stewart: campaign position

  4. Rick Stewart, The First Choice for Iowa Governorhttps://www.rickstewart.com/

    Rick Stewart · Reviewed Oct 1, 2026

    The site at the domain of the email address on his 2026 filing. It is his 2022 campaign for governor: its pages were last changed in June 2022 and its newest post is from March 2022. Links X (@rickstewart) and Facebook (IowaRick). No 2026 campaign site was found.

    candidate statement

    For: Rick Stewart: campaign position

  5. Where Dave Bushaw Stands on the Issueshttps://www.davebushaw.com/platform

    Dave Bushaw for Congress · Reviewed Oct 1, 2026

    Campaign platform page. Positions are attributed, not independently verified facts.

    candidate statement

    For: Dave Bushaw: campaign position

  6. October 1 debate, Joe Mitchell on built homeshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxmmjLQ5-9M&t=272s

    Iowa's News Now (KGAN/KFXA) · Published Oct 1, 2026 · Reviewed Oct 7, 2026

    Retained native-caption window 04:32.240-04:54.160. Statement paraphrased; a second matching transcript and exact quotation certification were not obtained.

    candidate statement

    For: Joe Mitchell: record does not settle this

  7. October 1 debate, Joe Mitchell on housing community residencehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxmmjLQ5-9M&t=2702s

    Iowa's News Now (KGAN/KFXA) · Published Oct 1, 2026 · Reviewed Oct 7, 2026

    Retained native-caption window 45:02.480-45:32.560. Statement paraphrased; a second matching transcript and exact quotation certification were not obtained.

    candidate statement

    For: Joe Mitchell: record does not settle this

  8. October 1 debate, Joe Mitchell on almost 100 homes employerhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxmmjLQ5-9M&t=3182s

    Iowa's News Now (KGAN/KFXA) · Published Oct 1, 2026 · Reviewed Oct 7, 2026

    Retained native-caption window 53:02.880-53:21.599. Statement paraphrased; a second matching transcript and exact quotation certification were not obtained.

    candidate statement

    For: Joe Mitchell: record does not settle this

  9. Joe Mitchell, candidate financial disclosure report (document)

    Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives · Reviewed Oct 7, 2026

    Candidate report covering January 1, 2024 through November 30, 2025, with January 6 and January 13, 2026 stamps; amendment checkbox is empty. Schedule C lists a $47,974 salary from Federal Housing Finance Agency, Chief of Staff in the current-year column. Schedule E identifies managing partner of J Mitchell Real Estate and partner of BAM Development and Bousselot & Mitchell Company, among other firms. Income-reporting periods do not establish service dates. SHA256 edd81304c8e6e69e74685f766e2ff01175bc3482dab64b6f6da77be6841aa288.

    official office record

    For: Joe Mitchell: record does not settle this

  10. Workforce Housing Tax Incentive awards, fund year 2024 (document)

    Iowa Economic Development Authority · Reviewed Oct 1, 2026

    Awarded projects for fund year 2024. Lists BAM Development, LLC's Sunset St Development in Grinnell (16 units, $610,080 total credit) and Emerald Place Development in Clear Lake (30 units, $1,000,000). These are awards, not proof the homes were built or the credits claimed.

    official office record

    For: Joe Mitchell: record does not settle this

  11. Workforce Housing Tax Credit awards, September 2024 (document)

    Iowa Economic Development Authority · Reviewed Oct 1, 2026

    Awards of September 2024. Lists Bousselot & Mitchell Company's 2nd Ave SE Dyersville Development (20 units, $949,800 total credit). An award, not proof the homes were built or the credit claimed.

    official office record

    For: Joe Mitchell: record does not settle this

  12. Grinnell planning minutes, April 3, 2023https://www.grinnelliowa.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Item/4675?fileID=2782

    City of Grinnell · Reviewed Oct 7, 2026

    Public planning minutes document Mitchell's application-related development request. They do not establish completed housing or personal residence.

    official office record

    For: Joe Mitchell: record does not settle this

  13. HUD Announces Joe Mitchell as Great Plains Regional Administratorhttps://www.hud.gov/news/hud-no-25-104

    U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development · Published Jul 23, 2025 · Reviewed Oct 1, 2026

    HUD release of July 23, 2025 naming him Regional Administrator for Region VII (Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska). It says he served in the Iowa House from 2019 to 2023 and rose to Assistant Majority Leader. His campaign calls the post Regional Director.

    official office record

    For: Joe Mitchell: record does not settle this

  14. Meet Joehttps://joemitchell.com/about

    Joe Mitchell for Congress · Reviewed Oct 1, 2026

    Campaign biography. Used for his account of his legislative record, his housing work and his federal posts, and for his no-corporate-PAC pledge. Attributed, not independently verified, except where a card checks it.

    candidate statement

    For: Joe Mitchell: record does not settle this

  15. About Lindsayhttps://www.lindsayforiowa.com/about

    Lindsay for Iowa · Reviewed Oct 1, 2026

    Campaign biography, including a list of what she says she did in the legislature. Attributed, not independently verified, except where a card checks it.

    candidate statement

    For: Lindsay James: record does not settle this

  16. October 1 debate, Lindsay James on mobile home recordhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxmmjLQ5-9M&t=2857s

    Iowa's News Now (KGAN/KFXA) · Published Oct 1, 2026 · Reviewed Oct 7, 2026

    Retained native-caption window 47:37.520-48:03.040. Statement paraphrased; a second matching transcript and exact quotation certification were not obtained.

    candidate statement

    For: Lindsay James: record does not settle this

  17. House File 2351 (2020), bill historyhttps://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislation/billTracking/billHistory?billName=HF2351&ga=88

    Iowa Legislature · Reviewed Oct 1, 2026

    Mobile home park and manufactured home community bill introduced February 12, 2020 by sixteen members of both parties, Lohse first, with Mitchell third and James eleventh. A subcommittee recommended passage; no further action.

    official legislative record

    For: Lindsay James: record does not settle this

  18. Iowa House members, 88th General Assembly (2019-2020)https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislators/house?ga=88

    Iowa Legislature · Reviewed Oct 1, 2026

    The Legislature's roster with each member's district and party. Used for the parties of House File 2351's sponsors: Lohse, Kaufmann, Mitchell and five others Republican, Judge, Matson, James and five others Democrat.

    official office record

    For: Lindsay James: record does not settle this

  19. Iowa House Journal, April 5, 2022, pages 781-783 (document)

    Iowa Legislature · Published Apr 5, 2022 · Reviewed Oct 1, 2026

    Roll calls on House File 2562. Amendment H-8309: ayes 60, nays 37, James among the nays and Mitchell among the ayes. Passage: ayes 60, nays 37, both among the ayes.

    official legislative record

    For: Lindsay James: record does not settle this

  20. House File 2562 (2022), bill historyhttps://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislation/billTracking/billHistory?billName=HF2562&ga=89

    Iowa Legislature · Reviewed Oct 1, 2026

    Mobile home and manufactured housing bill. Passed the House 60-37 on April 5, 2022 and the Senate 32-16; signed May 17, 2022 as 2022 Iowa Acts, chapter 1070.

    official legislative record

    For: Lindsay James: record does not settle this

  21. 2022 Iowa Acts, chapter 1070 (House File 2562) (document)

    Iowa Legislature · Reviewed Oct 1, 2026

    The enacted text. Among other changes it lengthens the notice of a rent increase, and of cancelling a rental agreement, in a mobile home park from sixty to ninety days; adds section 562B.23A, letting a tenant recover costs or rent when a landlord fails to supply running water or other essential services; extends the period in which a tenant's complaint raises a presumption of retaliation from six months to a year; requires utility charges to be explained; and binds a buyer of a park to the existing rental agreements.

    official legislative record

    For: Lindsay James: record does not settle this

  22. House File 2337 (2024), bill historyhttps://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislation/billTracking/billHistory?billName=HF2337&ga=90

    Iowa Legislature · Reviewed Oct 1, 2026

    Sponsored by James first among nine; rent increases in manufactured home communities and mobile home parks. Introduced February 6, 2024 and referred to Commerce; no further action.

    official legislative record

    For: Lindsay James: record does not settle this

  23. House File 2337 (2024), bill text (document)

    Iowa Legislature · Reviewed Oct 1, 2026

    Its explanation: a park landlord could not raise rent without 180 days' notice, a public forum with residents and a justification report filed with the city or county; a tenant facing a rise of 5 percent or more could end the lease without penalty.

    official legislative record

    For: Lindsay James: record does not settle this

  24. House File 2432 (2024), bill historyhttps://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislation/billTracking/billHistory?billName=HF2432&ga=90

    Iowa Legislature · Reviewed Oct 1, 2026

    Sponsored by James first among ten; lets the attorney general enforce the mobile home park landlord and tenant law. Introduced February 12, 2024 and referred to Judiciary; no further action.

    official legislative record

    For: Lindsay James: record does not settle this

  25. House File 481 (2025), bill historyhttps://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislation/billTracking/billHistory?billName=HF481&ga=91

    Iowa Legislature · Reviewed Oct 1, 2026

    Sponsored by Judge and James; rent increases in manufactured home communities and mobile home parks. A subcommittee including James recommended passage March 5, 2025; no further action.

    official legislative record

    For: Lindsay James: record does not settle this

  26. House File 481 (2025), bill text (document)

    Iowa Legislature · Reviewed Oct 1, 2026

    Its explanation: a park landlord could raise a tenant's rent no more than once a calendar year, except for higher insurance or infrastructure costs passed on to tenants.

    official legislative record

    For: Lindsay James: record does not settle this

  27. House File 482 (2025), bill historyhttps://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislation/billTracking/billHistory?billName=HF482&ga=91

    Iowa Legislature · Reviewed Oct 1, 2026

    Sponsored by Judge and James; limits when a park landlord may end a tenant's rental agreement. Introduced February 19, 2025, referred to State Government and then Judiciary; no further action.

    official legislative record

    For: Lindsay James: record does not settle this

  28. House File 482 (2025), bill text (document)

    Iowa Legislature · Reviewed Oct 1, 2026

    Its explanation: a park landlord could cancel a rental agreement only if the tenant had materially violated it.

    official legislative record

    For: Lindsay James: record does not settle this

  29. October 1 debate, James on housing work every yearhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxmmjLQ5-9M&t=2851s

    Iowa's News Now (KGAN/KFXA) · Published Oct 1, 2026 · Reviewed Oct 7, 2026

    47:31-47:59, source segments 1323-1336; annual and bipartisan wording retained. Retained native-caption paraphrase, not a certified exact quotation.

    candidate statement

    For: Lindsay James: record does not settle this

  30. HF 2610, GA88, historyhttps://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislation/billTracking/billHistory?billName=HF2610&enhanced=true&ga=88

    Iowa Legislature · Published Mar 5, 2020 · Reviewed Oct 6, 2026

    Workforce housing tax incentives: proposed raising the annual allocation ceiling from $25 million to $30 million and extending eligibility to rehabilitation, repair or accessibility work on pre-1990 single-family homes. James is named among the sponsors. Complete loaded history ends with introduction/referral, without passage or enactment of this bill.

    official legislative record

    For: Lindsay James: record does not settle this

  31. HF 2610, GA88, texthttps://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/publications/LGI/88/attachments/HF2610.html

    Iowa Legislature · Published Mar 5, 2020 · Reviewed Oct 6, 2026

    Workforce housing tax incentives: proposed raising the annual allocation ceiling from $25 million to $30 million and extending eligibility to rehabilitation, repair or accessibility work on pre-1990 single-family homes.Introduced proposal, not enacted text. Details read from operative provisions as well as the separate explanatory section.

    official legislative record

    For: Lindsay James: record does not settle this

  32. HF 693, GA90, historyhttps://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislation/billTracking/billHistory?billName=HF693&enhanced=true&ga=90

    Iowa Legislature · Published Apr 10, 2023 · Reviewed Oct 6, 2026

    Proposed a neighborhood housing renovation grant program, including $50 million from available American Rescue Plan Act money for qualifying owner-occupied exterior repairs. James is named among the sponsors. Complete loaded history ends with introduction/referral (plus the end-of-2023 marker for GA90), without passage or enactment of this bill.

    official legislative record

    For: Lindsay James: record does not settle this

  33. HF 693, GA90, texthttps://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/publications/LGI/90/attachments/HF693.html

    Iowa Legislature · Published Apr 10, 2023 · Reviewed Oct 6, 2026

    Proposed a neighborhood housing renovation grant program, including $50 million from available American Rescue Plan Act money for qualifying owner-occupied exterior repairs.Introduced proposal, not enacted text. Details read from operative provisions as well as the separate explanatory section.

    official legislative record

    For: Lindsay James: record does not settle this

  34. HF 697, GA90, historyhttps://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislation/billTracking/billHistory?billName=HF697&enhanced=true&ga=90

    Iowa Legislature · Published Apr 10, 2023 · Reviewed Oct 6, 2026

    Proposed an Iowa credit for qualified low-income housing developments financed with tax-exempt bonds and increased first-time homebuyer savings-account deduction limits. James is named among the sponsors. Complete loaded history ends with introduction/referral (plus the end-of-2023 marker for GA90), without passage or enactment of this bill.

    official legislative record

    For: Lindsay James: record does not settle this

  35. HF 697, GA90, texthttps://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/publications/LGI/90/attachments/HF697.html

    Iowa Legislature · Published Apr 10, 2023 · Reviewed Oct 6, 2026

    Proposed an Iowa credit for qualified low-income housing developments financed with tax-exempt bonds and increased first-time homebuyer savings-account deduction limits.Introduced proposal, not enacted text. Details read from operative provisions as well as the separate explanatory section.

    official legislative record

    For: Lindsay James: record does not settle this

  36. iowa hf2351 88 historyhttps://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislation/billTracking/billHistory?billName=HF2351&enhanced=true&ga=88

    Iowa Legislature · Reviewed Oct 7, 2026

    Official record of this named measure and its sponsors, text or history. Introduced proposals, committee votes, resolutions, floor passage and enactment are distinct outcomes.

    official legislative record

    For: Lindsay James: record does not settle this

  37. iowa hf657 89 historyhttps://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislation/billTracking/billHistory?billName=HF657&ga=89

    Iowa Legislature · Reviewed Oct 7, 2026

    Official record of this named measure and its sponsors, text or history. Introduced proposals, committee votes, resolutions, floor passage and enactment are distinct outcomes.

    official legislative record

    For: Lindsay James: record does not settle this

  38. iowa hf657 89 text (document)

    Iowa Legislature · Reviewed Oct 7, 2026

    Official record of this named measure and its sponsors, text or history. Introduced proposals, committee votes, resolutions, floor passage and enactment are distinct outcomes.

    official legislative record

    For: Lindsay James: record does not settle this

  39. Lindsay James sponsor index, ga88https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislation/findLegislation/findBillBySponsorOrManager?ga=88&pid=27039

    Iowa Legislature · Reviewed Oct 7, 2026

    Official sponsor/amendment index for the specified General Assembly. No evidence of a named policy in a captured index is not proof that all negotiations or other advocacy were absent.

    official legislative record

    For: Lindsay James: record does not settle this

  40. Lindsay James sponsor index, ga89https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislation/findLegislation/findBillBySponsorOrManager?ga=89&pid=27039

    Iowa Legislature · Reviewed Oct 7, 2026

    Official sponsor/amendment index for the specified General Assembly. No evidence of a named policy in a captured index is not proof that all negotiations or other advocacy were absent.

    official legislative record

    For: Lindsay James: record does not settle this

  41. Lindsay James sponsor index, ga90https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislation/findLegislation/findBillBySponsorOrManager?ga=90&pid=27039

    Iowa Legislature · Reviewed Oct 7, 2026

    Official sponsor/amendment index for the specified General Assembly. No evidence of a named policy in a captured index is not proof that all negotiations or other advocacy were absent.

    official legislative record

    For: Lindsay James: record does not settle this

  42. Lindsay James sponsor index, ga91https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislation/findLegislation/findBillBySponsorOrManager?ga=91&pid=27039

    Iowa Legislature · Reviewed Oct 7, 2026

    Official sponsor/amendment index for the specified General Assembly. No evidence of a named policy in a captured index is not proof that all negotiations or other advocacy were absent.

    official legislative record

    For: Lindsay James: record does not settle this