Michael Bridgford
Candidate for Iowa 1st Congressional District · Independent
On the 2026 ballotChallenger · Iowa 1st Congressional District · Nov 3 General
Ballot status source: Iowa Secretary of State — Candidate List, November 3, 2026 General Election: United States Representative District 1, No Party, filed 6/1/2026 · read Aug 1, 2026
The District
What Iowa 1st Congressional District covers
Covers all of Jasper County, Clinton County, Jackson County, Johnson County, Cedar County, Iowa County, Jones County, Keokuk County, Mahaska County, Marion County, Warren County, Washington County, Lee County, Van Buren County, Scott County and 5 more.
Includes Davenport, Clinton (part), Bettendorf (part), Iowa City, Muscatine, Buffalo, Burlington, Camanche, Coralville, DeWitt, Eldridge, Fairfield and 226 more.
408 precincts · District lines: Congressional lines: U.S. Census Bureau (1:500,000 cartographic boundary, 119th Congress) · Precinct lines: Iowa Legislative Services Agency, Iowa Precincts (as of the 2022 reprecincting) statewide layer (services.arcgis.com/vPD5PVLI6sfkZ5E4 Iowa_Precincts); U.S. Census Bureau 2020 TIGER/Line VTDs where no official layer; Iowa Legislative Services Agency precincts (2016 file) for the 2020 general
Results
Certified results for Iowa 1st Congressional District
United States Representative District 1
Iowa General Election 2024-11-05 · Nov 5, 2024| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mariannette Miller-MeeksRepublican | Republican | 206,955 | 50.0% |
| Christina BohannanDemocrat | Democrat | 206,156 | 49.8% |
| Write-in | 967 | 0.2% |
Certified — Iowa county canvass results as published by the Iowa Secretary of State (Clarity ENR final county uploads; county totals reconcile exactly to the State Board of Canvassers canvass summary) · Iowa Secretary of State — Election Night Reporting / Precinct Results by County
United States Representative District 1
Iowa General Election 2022-11-08 · Nov 8, 2022| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mariannette Miller-MeeksRepublican | Republican | 162,947 | 53.4% |
| Christina BohannanDemocrat | Democrat | 142,173 | 46.6% |
| Write-in | 260 | 0.1% |
Certified — Iowa county canvass results as published by the Iowa Secretary of State (Clarity ENR final county uploads; county totals reconcile exactly to the State Board of Canvassers canvass summary) · Iowa Secretary of State — Election Night Reporting / Precinct Results by County
United States Representative District 1
Iowa General Election 2020-11-03 · Nov 3, 2020| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ashley HinsonRepublican | Republican | 212,088 | 51.2% |
| Abby FinkenauerDemocrat | Democrat | 201,347 | 48.6% |
| Write-in | 434 | 0.1% |
Certified — Iowa county canvass results as published by the Iowa Secretary of State (Clarity ENR final county uploads; county totals reconcile exactly to the State Board of Canvassers canvass summary) · Iowa Secretary of State — Election Night Reporting / Precinct Results by County
Key Votes
The record
No public voting record
No public voting record: the candidate has never held elected public office (KCCI, 2026-08-12). Checked 2026-09-24.
Sep 24, 2026 · Official · GOTV Intel review of official candidate records
Newest first. A close vote was decided by 5% of the votes cast or less (or 10 votes or fewer, under a fifth of the votes). Broke with party: voted against most of their party, where the record gives the party split.
Their Money
Campaign finance
- Last Change
- Profile updated · Sep 24
- Raised
- $189,523cycle to date through Jun 30
- Cash on Hand
- $124,859cycle to date through Jun 30
- Spent
- $64,664cycle to date through Jun 30
- Debts Owed
- $100,000cycle to date through Jun 30
- Next Report Due
- Q3 Report · Oct 15
View on FEC.govFEC, cycle to date through Jun 30, 2026
Top Payees
Who the campaign paid most, as its filing reports it.
- IMPRINT.COM · printing$716
- CANVA · design and printing$427
- SIGNS 4 USA · yard signs$378
- NATION BUILDER PAYMENTS · online processing fees$242
Campaign finance — BRIDGFORD FOR IOWA: July Quarterly 2026, through Jun 30, 2026
Jun 30, 2026 · Official · Federal Election CommissionFinance Reports
Financial disclosure — Candidate report 2026
Candidate report for 2026, paper filing filed 8/13/2026 (52 pp., scanned). Itemized contents not transcribed in this pass; open the filing for reported assets, income, liabilities and positions.
Aug 13, 2026 · Official · Clerk of the U.S. House of RepresentativesCampaign finance — BRIDGFORD FOR IOWA: July Quarterly 2026, through Jun 30, 2026
Raised $189,523.47 this cycle · spent $64,664.28 · cash on hand $124,859.19 · debts owed by the committee $100,000.00 — through Jun 30, 2026. Where the money came from (cycle to date, as reported): Individuals $61,852.37 (33%); PACs and other political committees $5,000.00 (3%); The candidate (contributions) $22,671.10 (12%); Other loans $100,000.00 (53%). Where it went (itemized operating expenditures this cycle, FEC-processed through Sep 20, 2026): individuals (staff, contractors, reimbursements) $37.2K; direct mail $1,143; other $378; digital $242.
Jun 30, 2026 · Official · Federal Election Commission
Money shows as the filings named here report it. Payees are who the campaign paid; individual contributors are not shown.
Advertising
Who is advertising for and against Michael
Advertising summary — for and against (2026 cycle)
For: own campaign $800 on Google; outside Google ads $0–$0; Snap $0; broadcast TV orders $0; FEC independent expenditures $0. Against: outside Google ads $0–$0; opponent campaign ads $0–$0; Snap $0; broadcast TV orders $0; FEC independent expenditures $0. 2026 cycle. Broadcast TV: FCC political files searched through 2026-09-24 (orders with stated totals counted). Meta not included.
Sep 23, 2026 · Official · Ads summary (2026 cycle)Google/YouTube ads — Bridgford for Iowa (supporting)
The candidate's own campaign (Bridgford for Iowa). 1 ads since Nov 2024; Google-reported $800 since Nov 6 2024 (exact, advertiser-wide).
Sep 23, 2026 · Official · Google Political Ads Transparency Report (bundle updated 2026-09-23 21:37 PT) · source
Spend as each platform or filing reports it. Each line is a separate measure, and they are not added together.
In Their Words
What they have said, on the record
“The parties, they just want to fight. They’re not interested in actually solving the problem.”
“Unfortunately, our farmers now are approaching a similar type of crisis to the 1980s, and the politicians are playing political football with ag policy.”
“People feel as though they’re not being represented, they’re not being heard, and we’re going to change that this year.”
“This is a three-time rematch of the same two partisan candidates. And I think there are a lot of people that are frustrated and fatigued with that.”
“Right now, it's a record-tight margin in the House. You know, Speaker Mike Johnson was elected by two votes. Just one or two independents could have a really outsized impact on day one.”
“The parties are serving the special interests that fund the campaigns. They're serving party bosses. And it's time for normal folks to say, enough's enough, and it's time to bring change to Washington.”
Show all 10 statementsShow fewer
“I think there's an exhausted majority of Iowans that are really frustrated with a broken two-party system that's just not serving them and not serving the country.”
“If, in this environment, there were just a couple of independent representatives, and neither party had a majority, then we could see potentially a speaker come from the middle, and that could totally change how Congress functions.”
“Health care is a very complicated issue. I mean, it now makes up 20% of our GDP, and there’s been a lot of cost creep there. So that’s, again, where we need to be working together to find practical solutions to actually impact people.”
“Washington is stuck. The last few Congresses have been the least effective in history, and we’ve reached a point where we’ve got to do something different. I don’t see the parties moderating or being incentivized to actually get solutions done in many ways.”
Interviews and Published Statements
Meet Independent candidate for Congress, Michael Bridgford
TV interview · WHO 13 (Des Moines), launch interview with host Teodora Mitov, 2026-04-16 (14:23) Excerpts from GOTV Intel's transcription: [01:17] “I'm running to represent the exhausted majority of Iowans who are tired of divisive politics that have put Washington in complete gridlock.” [01:17] “To be a Republican, you have to be 100% loyal to MAGA, there's no room for independent thinking. As a Democrat, I see the party shifting towards socialism, engaged in culture wars and endless purity tests.” [04:10] “Well, first of all, we need to pass a farm bill. The last one was passed in 2018, and again, both parties have left us left us behind there. I think we need year round ethanol.” [05:55] “I think that tariffs are a valid economic tool. I think they should be used more surgically.” [06:52] “I'm really hopeful that there's going to be a diplomatic resolution, because on one hand we don't want Iran to have a nuclear weapon.” [08:22] “what the exhausted majority of Americans and Iowans want is a common sense solution of a secure border, fentanyl off the streets, and to deport violent criminals.” [10:02] “I think it's time that we look for a two-tier system that could provide community services, especially for our rural communities and counties, and then also keeps people out of the emergency room” [11:10] “I'm a constitutionalist. I respect the Constitution, the Supreme Court's ruled on that. I see that as settled, and that's where now it needs to go to the states, and states need to take that up.” [11:51] “I think on one hand we need to stay ahead of our adversaries, China and Russia, but on the other hand, there's going to be massive societal impacts”
Apr 16, 2026 · Press · WHO 13 · source
In the News
Press coverage
- Michael Bridgford: Independents in Congress would help get things doneAug 15, 2026 · Press · Iowa Capital Dispatch
- Independent Michael Bridgford looks to shake up familiar race in Iowa 1st Congressional DistrictAug 12, 2026 · Press · KCCI
- Independent Michael Bridgford files to run in Iowa 1st District raceApr 21, 2026 · Press · CBS2 Iowa
- Independent candidate Michael Bridgford enters Iowa 1st Congressional raceApr 18, 2026 · Press · The Gazette (Cedar Rapids)
- Michael Bridgford, Bettendorf, announces Congressional run for 1st DistrictApr 16, 2026 · Press · OurQuadCities
- Independent candidate enters 'toss up' race for 1st Congressional DistrictApr 16, 2026 · Press · Iowa Public Radio
Headlines link to the original reporting, captured on the date shown.
Reach Them
Websites and accounts
- Campaign Websitebridgfordforiowa.comCampaign website captured 2026-09-24T13:04:11Z (full page render, ScreenshotOne). Public metrics: none shown on site.Sep 24, 2026 · Self-published · Bridgford for IowaSelf-published
- Xx.com/Bridgford4IowaSelf-published
- Facebookfacebook.com/bridgfordforiowaSelf-published
- Instagraminstagram.com/bridgfordforiowaSelf-published
- YouTubeyoutube.com/@bridgfordforiowaSelf-published
Polls
Public polls
Public Policy Polling for House Majority PACGeneral election · U.S. House
Christina Bohannan 43% · Mariannette Miller-Meeks 39% · Undecided 18%
Fielded through Jun 19, 2025 · LV · House Majority PAC
Released public polls of this race, as each pollster reported them. A poll is a snapshot, not a forecast.
The 2026 Field
Who else is running for Iowa 1st Congressional District
- Mariannette Miller-MeeksRepublican · Incumbent · On the 2026 ballot
- Christina BohannanDemocrat · On the 2026 ballot
The Paper Trail
Filings, results and exhibits
U.S. Representative · IA-01
Independent · Candidate · On the 2026 ballot
Sep 19, 2026 · OfficialOn the Nov 3, 2026 general ballot — U.S. House, IA-01 (No Party, by petition)
Iowa Secretary of State, 'Candidate List November 3, 2026 General Election' (July 2026 edition): United States Representative District 1 — No Party — Michael Bridgford — filing date 6/1/2026. Listed alongside Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R) and Christina Bohannan (D).
Jun 1, 2026 · Official · Iowa Secretary of State · source
File read Sep 25, 2026. Each item names its source. Record ID p_43mder8tt.
GOTV Intel reports are sourced, cited research leads your campaign confirms against the primary record before use. They are never a consumer report and never for employment, credit, insurance, housing or licensure.