Bipartisanship
The text of this post is on X; follow the source link to read it.
Oct 13, 2026 · Posts on X (state legislators) · bipartisanship · Source

Attendance 50%; the average within the Iowa Senate is 93.9%. Ranks 48th of 49, where 1st has the highest attendance. 589 roll calls in the IA 2025–26 session.
Attendance is the share of the roll calls Wahls could vote on where a yea, nay or present was recorded, ranked within the Iowa Senate. A missed vote has many causes, from illness to campaigning; the number says how often, not why.
6 measures against State Senate Democrats. Wahls voted against the majority of Iowa Senate Democrats 13 times; party unity 87%, in the bottom tenth of the Iowa Senate (average 95.7%). 49% of Wahls’s itemized money in the 2026 cycle came from Iowa, in the bottom tenth of State Senate Democrats.
The measures on which Wahls sits furthest from the middle of State Senate Democrats, each against the same group, with the CSIP score when there is one. Every number is explained in its own section below.
Attendance
Iowa Senate average 93.9% · ranks 48th of 49 · 589 roll calls
Party unity
Iowa Senate average 95.7% · ranks 46th of 49 · 13 votes against the majority of Iowa Senate Democrats
From Iowa, 2026
Of itemized individual dollars · ranks 664th of 714 State Senate Democrats
Policy criticism
State Senate Democrats average 10% · ranks 62nd of 329
Out of committee
Iowa Senate average 11% · ranks 40th of 48
CSIP ideology
Left of 0, the centre of the scale · ± 0.03
Peer group: State Senate Democrats. Rank 1 is the highest value in the group; the thick bar is Wahls, the thin grey bar the peer average. The headline is the measure on which Wahls is most unusual among peers (Methods, §08).
Wahls claims credit less than 67% of State Senate Democrats. Credit claiming in 8.2% of 817 statements, against 16% for the average State Senate Democrat; 223rd of 329.
An AI model reads each of Wahls’s 817 statements in the IA 2025–26 session (817 posts on X) and marks the kinds of statement it contains: a personal attack, criticism of a policy, discussion of policy, bipartisanship, credit claiming, and extreme labels. A statement can carry several. Every rate is compared with the average for State Senate Democrats and ranked among them.
Share of statements carrying each label, the IA 2025–26 session
| Row | Wahls | Peers |
|---|---|---|
| Policy discussion | 34% | 43% |
| Policy criticism | 18% | 10% |
| Credit claiming | 8% | 16% |
| Personal attacks | 3% | 2% |
| Bipartisanship | 2% | 3% |
statements classified
817 posts on X.
| Part | Value |
|---|---|
| posts on X | 817 |
The thick bar is Wahls; the thin grey bar is the average State Senate Democrats. A longer thick bar means Wahls does this more than peers. Rank 1 is the highest rate in the group.
Wahls used extreme labels in 0.9% of statements, close to the peer average. 7 statements, most often aimed at Donald Trump; peers 0.8%.
Targets named alongside an extreme label, by number of statements
Calls a politician, a party or a policy “far left”, “far right”, “MAGA”, “extreme”, “radical”, “woke”, “fascist” or “communist”. The target is who or what the label was aimed at. The lists show the five most used labels and targets; the toggle shows the rest.
Share of statements per month, the IA 2025–26 session
| Column | Statements | Personal attacks | Policy criticism | Policy discussion | Bipartisanship | Credit claiming | Extreme labels |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan ’25 | 77 | 1.3% | 13.0% | 19.5% | 1.3% | 10.4% | 0.0% |
| Feb ’25 | 106 | 3.8% | 22.6% | 39.6% | 0.0% | 4.7% | 1.9% |
| Mar ’25 | 52 | 3.9% | 17.3% | 30.8% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Apr ’25 | 56 | 0.0% | 28.6% | 32.1% | 1.8% | 3.6% | 1.8% |
| May ’25 | 29 | 0.0% | 13.8% | 20.7% | 0.0% | 3.5% | 0.0% |
| Jun ’25 | 57 | 7.0% | 15.8% | 26.3% | 0.0% | 12.3% | 0.0% |
| Jul ’25 | 59 | 5.1% | 35.6% | 42.4% | 3.4% | 5.1% | 1.7% |
| Aug ’25 | 60 | 5.0% | 11.7% | 15.0% | 3.3% | 18.3% | 1.7% |
| Sep ’25 | 49 | 8.2% | 22.4% | 32.6% | 2.0% | 6.1% | 0.0% |
| Oct ’25 | 31 | 0.0% | 32.3% | 54.8% | 0.0% | 3.2% | 3.2% |
| Nov ’25 | 38 | 0.0% | 13.2% | 31.6% | 2.6% | 15.8% | 0.0% |
| Dec ’25 | 29 | 3.5% | 10.3% | 37.9% | 0.0% | 10.3% | 0.0% |
| Jan ’26 | 28 | 3.6% | 7.1% | 78.6% | 3.6% | 3.6% | 0.0% |
| Feb ’26 | 19 | 5.3% | 21.1% | 42.1% | 5.3% | 31.6% | 0.0% |
| Mar ’26 | 32 | 0.0% | 25.0% | 28.1% | 0.0% | 12.5% | 0.0% |
| Apr ’26 | 24 | 0.0% | 8.3% | 50.0% | 0.0% | 16.7% | 0.0% |
| May ’26 | 38 | 10.5% | 7.9% | 42.1% | 5.3% | 5.3% | 2.6% |
| Jun ’26 | 4 | — (fewer than 10 statements) | — (fewer than 10 statements) | — (fewer than 10 statements) | — (fewer than 10 statements) | — (fewer than 10 statements) | — (fewer than 10 statements) |
| Jul ’26 | 0 | — (fewer than 10 statements) | — (fewer than 10 statements) | — (fewer than 10 statements) | — (fewer than 10 statements) | — (fewer than 10 statements) | — (fewer than 10 statements) |
| Aug ’26 | 3 | — (fewer than 10 statements) | — (fewer than 10 statements) | — (fewer than 10 statements) | — (fewer than 10 statements) | — (fewer than 10 statements) | — (fewer than 10 statements) |
| Sep ’26 | 14 | 0.0% | 21.4% | 35.7% | 7.1% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Oct ’26 | 12 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 8.3% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
Each row is one kind of statement; each cell is a month, shaded against that row’s own peak (darker = closer to the peak), with the peak and the latest value written at the right. The top row counts statements. The strip covers every month of the IA 2025–26 session, the same span as the rates above, including months with no statements. A month with fewer than 10 statements is hatched, not shaded: one or two posts would swing its rate to 0% or 100%. 3 months are hatched here; 1 of them have no statements.
Real statements from the classifier’s example set, with the labels it assigned
Bipartisanship
The text of this post is on X; follow the source link to read it.
Oct 13, 2026 · Posts on X (state legislators) · bipartisanship · Source
Credit claiming
The text of this post is on X; follow the source link to read it.
May 15, 2026 · Posts on X (state legislators) · policy discussion; credit claiming; Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues · Source
Extreme label
The text of this post is on X; follow the source link to read it.
May 12, 2026 · Posts on X (state legislators) · personal attacks; extreme label “extreme” aimed at Donald Trump; target: Donald Trump · Source
Up to five recent statements in each category
Overtly questions a named person’s character, integrity or loyalty, or calls them names. Criticising a record or a policy does not count.
Posts on X (state legislators)
The text of this post is on X; follow the source link to read it.
personal attacks · target: Ashley HinsonSource
Posts on X (state legislators)
The text of this post is on X; follow the source link to read it.
personal attacks · target: Donald TrumpSource
Posts on X (state legislators)
The text of this post is on X; follow the source link to read it.
personal attacks · extreme label “extreme” aimed at Donald Trump · target: Donald TrumpSource
Posts on X (state legislators)
The text of this post is on X; follow the source link to read it.
personal attacks · policy discussion · Foreign Trade and International Finance · Agriculture and Food · target: Ashley HinsonSource
Posts on X (state legislators)
The text of this post is on X; follow the source link to read it.
personal attacks · target: Ashley HinsonSource
Newest first, the IA 2025–26 session
Five statements at a time, newest first; filters apply to the statements loaded so far. Export saves the statements that match. Sources: 817 posts on X.
Health is what Wahls talks about most: 27% of policy statements, above the peer share. Talk and legislation agree at 0.57 on a 0–1 scale (State Senate Democrats average 0.56; 116th of 228).
Each policy statement is tagged by the AI model with one or more of 25 policy areas from the Congressional Research Service list, so the shares say what Wahls talks about. The bills Wahls sponsors and cosponsors carry the same areas, so the two can be compared.
Share of policy statements by area, the IA 2025–26 session
| Row | Wahls | Peers |
|---|---|---|
| Health | 27% | 17% |
| Economics and Public Finance | 24% | 10% |
| Government Operations and Politics | 19% | 14% |
| Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues | 10% | 8% |
| Labor and Employment | 8% | 6% |
The thick bar is the share of Wahls’s policy statements in an area; the thin grey bar is the average share for State Senate Democrats. A statement counts once in each of its areas, so shares can add to more than 100%. The five largest areas are shown; the toggle shows the rest.
Left: share of statements by policy area. Right: share of bills. Areas in order of their share of statements; both sides run from 0 to 35%. Grey ticks are the State Senate Democrats averages.
| Area | Talks about | State Senate Democrats, talks about | Legislates on | State Senate Democrats, legislates on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health | 27% | 17% | 20% | 15% |
| Economics and Public Finance | 24% | 10% | 0% | 3% |
| Government Operations and Politics | 19% | 14% | 16% | 8% |
| Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues | 10% | 8% | 9% | 5% |
| Labor and Employment | 8% | 6% | 16% | 6% |
talk-to-bills agreement, 0 to 1
State Senate Democrats average 0.56. Ranks 116th of 228.
Agreement is 1 minus the distance between the two distributions (Jensen–Shannon): 1 means Wahls legislates on exactly the areas Wahls talks about, in the same proportions; 0 means no overlap. It does not say whether the bills match the positions in the statements, only the subjects. Bills Wahls sponsored count fully, cosponsored bills a quarter. Shown with at least 20 policy statements and 5 bills.
Wahls sits at −0.46 on the CSIP scale, left of 0, more conservative than 77% of State Senate Democrats. Approximate range −0.49 to −0.44, which understates the uncertainty; from 4,278 donors and 714 roll calls.
CSIP, the lab’s Common-Space Ideal Point, places every official, federal and state, on one left–right scale, estimated from roll-call votes, who gives money to whom, and the text of statements. Negative is left of 0, positive right of it; 0 is the centre of the scale, not a definition of “moderate”.
CSIP ideal point
Approximate range −0.49 to −0.44. From 4,278 donors and 714 roll calls. Run 2026-10-25T215945. Blue is left of 0, red right of 0.
The outlined dot is Wahls, coloured by its side of 0 (blue left, red right, deeper further out); the bar through it is the approximate range (±1.96 standard errors), which understates the uncertainty; the grey ticks below are the medians of Wahls’s groups. 0 is the centre of the scale, not “moderate” by definition.
The score summarises how an official votes, who funds them and how they talk, relative to everyone else. It does not grade positions as good or bad, and two officials with the same score can differ on any single issue. The ± range is 1.96 standard errors, which understates the uncertainty: scores whose ranges overlap may not differ at all, and even scores whose ranges do not overlap may not differ.
Every official in each group, on the CSIP scale
| Group | Officials | Median | Share left of Wahls |
|---|---|---|---|
| State Senate Democrats | 825 | −0.7 | 77% |
| Iowa Senate | 49 | +0.4 | 27% |
| All State Senate | 1909 | +0.1 | 33% |
Every small dot is one official on the same scale, coloured by its own score (blue left of 0, red right of 0, grey at 0, deeper further out) and spread up and down only to keep dots apart; where a group is crowded the dots overlap, and darker patches mean more officials. The large outlined dot is Wahls in every row; the rule is each group’s median. The table under the figure gives the share of each group to the left of Wahls.
Wahls reported $33.4K in the 2026 cycle, below the State Senate Democrats’ median of $55.5K. State filings report no small-donation total. 49% of itemized individual money came from Iowa.
Campaign money from state campaign-finance filings, as aggregates only; the lab never shows an individual donor. Campaigns must report by name every person who gives them more than $200 in a cycle (“itemized”); smaller gifts are reported only as one total (“unitemized”), so donor counts, donor states, employers and occupations describe itemized donors only. State filings report no small-gift total, so these figures add up itemized contributions only.
itemized in the 2026 cycle
From 266 itemized donors. State Senate Democrats’ median $55.5K.
Each square is one percent of itemized contributions in the 2026 cycle.
| Source | Amount | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Individuals (itemized) | $17.1K | 51.2% |
| PACs and other committees | $4,650 | 13.9% |
| Party committees | $11.6K | 34.9% |
Totals say how much a campaign took in, not how it was spent, and they rise sharply when a seat is up for election; compare cycles with that in mind.
Itemized contributions, 2020 to 2026. The grey line is the State Senate Democrats’ median for 2026.
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| 2020 cycle | $67.2K |
| 2022 cycle | $855.7K |
| 2024 cycle | $276.3K |
| 2026 cycle | $33.4K |
Itemized contributions by donor state. 49% came from Iowa.
State filings report no total for small gifts.
Not reported in state filings.
Individuals who gave more than $200, by donor state
| State | Value |
|---|---|
| Iowa | $8,387 |
| Illinois | $1,555 |
| Virginia | $1,300 |
| California | $1,180 |
| Arizona | $1,000 |
| Washington | $594 |
| Colorado | $500 |
| New York | $413 |
| Oregon | $291 |
| Massachusetts | $204 |
| District of Columbia | $190 |
| Minnesota | $175 |
| Maryland | $175 |
| Ohio | $150 |
| New Jersey | $150 |
| Connecticut | $110 |
| New Hampshire | $100 |
| North Carolina | $100 |
| New Mexico | $75 |
| South Carolina | $53 |
| Vermont | $50 |
| Louisiana | $50 |
| Georgia | $43 |
| Wisconsin | $35 |
| Nebraska | $35 |
| Florida | $30 |
| Missouri | $26 |
| Alaska | $25 |
| Hawaii | $25 |
| Pennsylvania | $20 |
| Kansas | $15 |
| Texas | $15 |
| Michigan | $10 |
| Kentucky | $5 |
| Maine | No data |
| Idaho | No data |
| Montana | No data |
| North Dakota | No data |
| Rhode Island | No data |
| Nevada | No data |
| Wyoming | No data |
| South Dakota | No data |
| Indiana | No data |
| Utah | No data |
| West Virginia | No data |
| Delaware | No data |
| Arkansas | No data |
| Tennessee | No data |
| Oklahoma | No data |
| Mississippi | No data |
| Alabama | No data |
itemized donors
People who gave more than $200
from Iowa
Of itemized individual dollars
Every state the same size. Darker states gave more itemized money; hatched states had no itemized donors; the outlined state is Iowa. Gifts of $200 or less carry no address and are left out.
Itemized, 2026 cycle.
No occupations reported.
PAC and committee contributions, 2026 cycle.
Itemized, 2026 cycle.
No employers reported.
Aggregates only. Individual donors are never named.
Wahls voted with the majority of Iowa Senate Democrats on 87% of party-line votes and missed 50% of 589 roll calls. Iowa Senate on average: 95.7% party unity, 93.9% attendance. Across all roll calls, Wahls voted against the majority of Iowa Senate Democrats 13 times.
589 roll calls Wahls could vote on in the IA 2025–26 session, compared with Iowa Senate. Attendance is the share with a vote recorded. Party unity counts only party-line roll calls, where most Democrats and most Republicans voted on opposite sides, and is the share of those where Wahls voted with the majority of Iowa Senate Democrats. The count of votes against that majority covers every roll call where the majority took a side.
votes against the majority of Iowa Senate Democrats
Party unity 87%, Iowa Senate average 95.7%, ranks 46th of 49. 589 roll calls in the IA 2025–26 session.
The thick bar is Wahls, the thin grey bar the Iowa Senate average. The scale runs from 50% to 100% to show the gap.
| Row | Wahls | Peers |
|---|---|---|
| Attendance | 50% | 93.9% |
| Party unity | 87% | 95.7% |
A missed roll call has many causes, from illness to campaigning, so attendance says how often, not why. A vote against the majority can be on procedure as well as substance, and many fall on roll calls where both parties split; the key votes below show the ones that decided something.
25 roll calls the lab flagged as key in the IA 2025–26 session
| Party split (yea–nay) | Why it’s key | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 2, 2026 | HF 2801 A bill for an act modifying the major economic growth attraction program, and including effective date provisions. Shall the bill pass? | Did not vote | — | pass | D 2–13 · R 26–6Democrats 2 yea, 13 nay; Republicans 26 yea, 6 nay | became law · party crossover |
| May 3, 2026 | SF 2472 A bill for an act relating to state and local government taxes, fees, financial authority, and budgets, by modifying property assessment provisions, divisions of revenue, and funding from the secure an advanced vision for education fund, establishing a program for first-time homebuyers, modifying an Shall the bill pass? | Yea | With majority | pass | D 11–1 · R 30–0Democrats 11 yea, 1 nay; Republicans 30 yea, 0 nay | became law |
| May 3, 2026 | HF 2788 A bill for an act relating to abortions including definitions, informed consent, dispensing of abortion-inducing drugs, and other abortion-related provisions. Shall the bill pass? | Nay | With majority | pass | D 0–11 · R 30–0Democrats 0 yea, 11 nay; Republicans 30 yea, 0 nay | became law |
| May 2, 2026 | HF 2765 A bill for an act providing for the regulation of mining, making penalties applicable, and including effective date provisions. Shall the bill pass? | Did not vote | — | pass | D 15–0 · R 31–0Democrats 15 yea, 0 nay; Republicans 31 yea, 0 nay | became law |
| May 2, 2026 | HF 1036 A bill for an act relating to human trafficking, including screening children, civil statutes of limitations, an annual stakeholder meeting and report, depositions of victims, restitution, restorative facilities and protective services, and investigation and prosecution, and including effective date Shall the bill pass? | Did not vote | — | pass | D 14–0 · R 31–0Democrats 14 yea, 0 nay; Republicans 31 yea, 0 nay | became law |
Automatically: a final-passage or override vote where the measure became law, the margin was under 10%, at least 10% of either party voted against its majority, or the bill was among the 25 most mentioned in officials’ own statements. Up to 25 per window, most recent first; five are shown. Bars show yea on the left, nay on the right, per party.
The colleagues who voted the same way as Wahls most often
The colleagues who voted the same way as Wahls least often
The share of roll calls both members voted on where they voted the same way, among colleagues sharing at least 50 such votes. High agreement with members of the other party is common on routine votes.
IA 2025–26 session, loads in batches
Wahls sponsored 57 bills in the IA 2025–26 session; none became law. Cosponsored 0 others. 1.8% of sponsored bills got out of committee (Iowa Senate average 11%; 40th of 48).
The bills Wahls sponsored and cosponsored in the IA 2025–26 session, from the official bill records, and how far each got: introduced, referred to or acted on in committee, passed one chamber, passed both, became law. A bill counts at every stage it has reached, so the blocks only shrink to the right.
Counts for the IA 2025–26 session
| Role | Introduced | In committee | Passed one chamber | Passed both chambers | Became law |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sponsored | 57 | 57 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Cosponsored | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Ink blocks are bills Wahls sponsored, ochre blocks bills Wahls cosponsored; the figure above each block is the count. Most bills in any legislature never leave committee, so a short staircase is the norm.
of sponsored bills got out of committee
Iowa Senate average 11%. Ranks 40th of 48.
Colleagues who most often cosponsor with Wahls, by number of shared bills in the IA 2025–26 session; the square shows their party.
The score is the share of sponsored bills that a committee reported out or a chamber passed, with at least 5 sponsored bills, ranked within the peer group. Members of the majority party and committee chairs move more bills, so the rank reflects position in the chamber as well as effort. Cosponsorship partners are the five colleagues who share the most of Wahls’s bills; the toggle shows more.
Sponsored and cosponsored, with status and policy area; five are shown, the toggle shows the rest
| SF 2397 | A bill for an act relating to a public entity’s purchase or collection of health information from an entity not subject to the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. | Sponsor | Feb 19, 2026 | In committee | Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues(model) | Subcommittee: Sweeney, Trone Garriott, and Webster. Feb 19, 2026 |
| SF 2398 | A bill for an act relating to the defense of justification for violent crimes. | Sponsor | Feb 19, 2026 | In committee | Crime and Law Enforcement(model) | Subcommittee: Schultz, Blake, and Bousselot. Feb 19, 2026 |
| SF 2381 | A bill for an act relating to nonmedical pregnancy resource centers, making appropriations, and including effective date provisions. | Sponsor | Feb 18, 2026 | In committee | Health(model) | Subcommittee: Sweeney, Trone Garriott, and Webster. Feb 19, 2026 |
| SF 2276 | A bill for an act providing for the processing and marketing of meat and poultry products, including by prohibiting vertical integration, providing for a health and safety program, and providing for the divestiture of interests in processors by certain retailers, and providing penalties. | Sponsor | Feb 11, 2026 | In committee | Agriculture and Food(model) | Subcommittee: Driscoll, Zimmer, and Zumbach. Feb 11, 2026 |
| SF 2277 | A bill for an act relating to rights of employees and requirements of employers with respect to labor union membership. | Sponsor | Feb 11, 2026 | In committee | Labor and Employment(model) | Subcommittee: Driscoll, Sires, and Wahls. Feb 12, 2026 |
A site that has not changed in 90 days. Wahls’s official site had 0 pages when last crawled.
The lab crawls Wahls’s official and campaign websites (weekly for Congress, monthly for the states) and keeps every page’s text, so changes can be read later; it also records social accounts and describes the images Wahls posts with a vision model.
pages crawled
changes in 90 days
pages crawled
changes in 90 days
“Pages crawled” is the size of the site at the last crawl; “changes in 90 days” counts pages whose text differed from the previous crawl. Sites change for many routine reasons, such as new press releases, so a high count is not by itself notable.
No images from Wahls’s posts have been described.
Written by a vision model and may be wrong. Open the post to see the original. Five are shown; the toggle shows the rest.
8 turns, Jan 15, 2026 to May 3, 2026
Transcribed from chamber video or captions by the lab. They are not classified for kinds of statement.
How this page was made. Profile built Oct 28, 2026; site last built Oct 28, 2026. Every number on the page is computed from the sources listed here, by the same rules for every official; nothing is written by hand.
The headline is the measure on which Wahls is most unusual among State Senate Democrats, chosen by one rule for every official of every party. The candidates are the rate of each kind of statement and of extreme labels, party unity, attendance, the small-donor share, the in-state share and total receipts of the latest cycle, the share of sponsored bills that got out of committee, talk-to-bills agreement, and the CSIP score’s place within the party group.
The builder ranks every measure within the same peer group the page compares it with, and writes each official’s percentile: the share of the group below the value, ties counting half, so 0.5 is the median and a value shared by many never ranks first. A measure’s score is how far that percentile sits from the median (0 in the middle, 0.5 at either end), and the highest score leads if it is above 0.25, outside the middle half of the group. Scores within 0.03 of each other are a tie, broken in this order: votes against the party majority, kinds of statement, ideology, roll calls missed, small donations, in-state money, legislation, agreement, extreme labels, receipts.
A measure counts only with at least 200 statements, 100 roll calls or 5 sponsored bills behind it and a peer group of at least 10. Two things never lead: high party unity or attendance, where most members sit, and a high rate of a kind of statement backed by fewer than 10 statements. When nothing qualifies, the headline is a neutral fact instead: statements classified, or years in office. The wording always names the direction (“in the bottom 5% of …”, “votes against the majority of …”).
Bulk files with the same data for every official:
America’s Political Pulse · Polarization Research Lab