Democrat Ryan Peterman launches bid for Iowa secretary of state
Robin Opsahl | Iowa Capital Dispatch
Democrat Ryan Peterman announced he will run for Iowa secretary of state in the 2026 election.
Peterman, 34, who grew up in Bettendorf. He served 10 years as a helicopter pilot in the U.S. Navy after graduating from the Naval Academy, and later returned to work at the Naval Academy as a honor education officer. He also spent a year working as a legislative fellow for U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-New Hampshire. In a news release announcing his campaign, Peterman said these experiences give him a foundation to serve Iowans in the role “with integrity, transparency, and nonpartisan professionalism.”
If elected, Peterman said he would plan to focus on making voting more accessible for Iowans while protecting election security. Under the Republican trifecta at the Iowa Capitol, GOP lawmakers have passed several measures in recent years that Democrats say limits voters’ ability to participate in elections, such as shortening the early voting window and a ban on providing citizens with non-English ballots,voter registration forms and other materials.
“Iowa needs leaders who put country and community before politics” Peterman said. “Our elections should be free from partisan interference and focused on empowering voters. I’m running for Secretary of State because I believe in making it easier — not harder — for eligible Iowans to legally vote, and I will fight every day to ensure they can trust that their voice will be heard and their ballot will be counted.”
The seat is currently held by Republican Paul Pate, who won his fourth reelection to office in 2022 against Democratic challenger Joel Miller, former Linn County auditor. Pate has not yet announced whether he intends to seek another term.
Peterman also said he would focus on ensuring Iowans have faith in the state’s election systems. The most recent changes to Iowa’s voting laws came during the 2025 legislative session through a bill proposed by Pate allowing the Secretary of State’s office to contract with federal and state agencies, as well as private entities, for voter roll verification. The legislation also allows voters to be challenged at the polls over their citizenship status, and laid out a process for marking a voter’s registration status as “unconfirmed” if local or state officials have received information the voter may not be legally qualified to vote, primarily in cases involving unconfirmed citizenship status.
These changes came following Pate’s directive to county auditors ahead of the 2024 general election to challenge the ballots of 2,176 voters identified as “potential noncitizens” based on state information that the Secretary of State’s office was unable to cross-check using a federal database. Pate said in March 277 people on the list were confirmed to not have U.S. citizenship, and 35 noncitizens cast ballots that were counted in the 2024 election.
Peterman kicked off his campaign with an event at Grumpy’s Saloon in the Village of East Davenport, and plans to hold another campaign launch event in Des Moines Wednesday at Star Bar.
Robin Opsahl is an Iowa Capital Dispatch reporter covering the state Legislature and politics. They have experience covering government, elections and more at media organizations including Roll Call, the Sacramento Bee and the Wausau Daily Herald.
Iowa Capital Dispatch is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.