Campaign ads and caucus visits

Good morning, and happy Friday!

The Iowa governor's race is going on television.

Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican, launched her first TV ad on Thursday. Titled "Today," it focuses on contrasting the work she and Iowa's Republican Legislature is doing in the state versus the Biden administration in Washington.

The ad is the first from any of Iowa's three gubernatorial candidates to go on the air.

Democrat Deidre DeJear, who is challenging Reynolds, said Thursday the ad shows Reynolds is focused too much on Washington while she isn't spending enough time on solving problems in Iowa. DeJear has not indicated when she will release her first ad.

The new ad comes with the election less than two month away and as Reynolds holds a large fundraising lead over DeJear. A July Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll also found Reynolds led DeJear in support among likely voters by 17 percentage points.

Iowa caucus visits: An interactive map

Sure, the midterms are coming up. But if you're already thinking ahead to the flurry of visits from presidential hopefuls that comes with the Iowa caucuses, we've also got some news for you.

My colleague Tim Webber took a look at historical data from the 2012, 2016 and 2020 caucus cycles to glean some trends and takeaways.

It comes as the Des Moines Register launches a new database where subscribers can peruse the historical data. You can check it out below.

This is statehouse reporter Ian Richardson, and I'm covering the governor's race in the leadup to November. Have thoughts or questions? You can reach me at irichardson@registermedia.com.

And if you know someone who wants to keep their finger on the pulse of this and all the big races in Iowa this year, encourage them to subscribe to this newsletter here.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Campaign ads and caucus visits