Iowa voters rank water quality among top issues, poll shows
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Illustration: Maura Losch/Axios
A majority of Iowa voters rank water quality and environment among their top five issues heading into the 2026 midterm election, according to a poll commissioned by the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future.
Why it matters: Concerns about nitrates and Iowa's high cancer rates are turning water quality into a ballot box issue.
Driving the news: The Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future in Baltimore commissioned a survey polling 800 likely Iowa voters in July about their concerns regarding the state's water quality.
- The majority of respondents (75%) came from text-to-web interviews, while an online panel made up the other 25%.
By the numbers: 60% of likely voters put the issue in their top five, including 78% of Democrats, 64% of independents and 41% of Republicans.
- Water quality and the environment ranked behind cost of living, health care, and Social Security and Medicare.
- Younger voters especially prioritized water quality and the environment. 73% of those under 50 ranked it in their top five, compared with 55% of voters ages 50-64 and 48% of those 65 and older.
Zoom in: The issue is particularly notable among independents, who make up the majority of Iowa's electorate and are expected to be especially consequential in the state's tight races.
- "People brought up nitrates and cancer kind of unprompted before we asked further questions about that," says Patti Anderson, policy director at Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future. "So that shows that people are really paying attention to this."
Yes, but: The majority of Iowans also feel favorably toward the state's agriculture industry, despite research showing ag pollutants are a major driver of the state's water quality problems.
- But there's a distinction: There's high favorability for small and medium-size farms versus corporate-owned agriculture.
- 90% of Iowans surveyed viewed small and medium-size independent farms favorably, while just 14% viewed large-scale corporate or industrial farming operations favorably. 76% viewed large operations unfavorably.
Between the lines: The results complicate the long-standing idea that criticizing agricultural practices is synonymous with criticizing Iowa farmers, says Kerri Johannsen, senior director of policy and programs with the Iowa Environmental Council.
- "Even people working in the ag industry, they don't identify with big ag and ag corporations," Johannsen says. "There's a difference."
The bottom line: For candidates who want a shot at winning this November, water quality can't be ignored.
- "I would be paying attention to the fact that people are really clued in," Anderson says. "They know a lot about this, and they care a lot about this."
Disclosure: Linh is a journalism fellow this year at the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future.