Author

Robin Opsahl

Robin Opsahl

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 Attorney General Brenna Bird, shown here in an an April 2023 file photo, headed a coalition of Republican state attorneys general calling for media organizations to cease their business relationships with Gaza-based contract photojournalists accused of being affiliated with Hamas. (Jared Strong/Iowa Capital Dispatch)

Iowa AG Brenna Bird calls for news outlets to cut ties with alleged Hamas-affiliated freelancers

By: - December 5, 2023

Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird led a coalition of 13 other Republican state attorneys general calling for media organizations to cut ties with Gaza-based journalists with alleged ties to Hamas. The Republican state attorney general sent a letter Monday to top officials at the New York Times, Associated Press, CNN and Reuters, claiming the news […]

GOP presidential candidates brawl in Florida debate, while Trump rallies nearby

By: and - November 9, 2023

Five Republican candidates for president tussled over support for Ukraine and abortion policy at a debate in Miami Wednesday evening, while the leading contender for the nomination, former President Donald Trump, sought Latino votes in an event across town. Trump, who consistently garners more than 50% in polls of Republican voters, once again declined to […]

Former Vice President Mike Pence spoke at the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition’s annual fall banquet in Des Moines Sept. 16, 2023. (Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch)

Former Vice President Mike Pence ends 2024 presidential bid

By: - October 28, 2023

Former Vice President Mike Pence dropped out of the 2024 presidential race Saturday. “It’s become clear to me, this is not my time,” Pence said at the Republican Jewish Coalition Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. Pence launched his presidential bid in June at an Iowa event where he was criticizing his former running mate former […]

Trump, under federal gag order, says Biden is using courts to ‘illegally’ attack him

By: - October 16, 2023

CLIVE, Iowa — Former President Donald Trump, in Iowa Monday after being issued a gag order in federal court, said President Joe Biden and the federal justice system are “illegally” attacking him on political grounds. Trump campaigned in Iowa instead of attending a court hearing in Washington, D.C., where he is charged with four felony […]

GOP presidential hopefuls tear into each other and absent Trump at second debate

By: and - September 28, 2023

The candidates polling from second to eighth in the race for the Republican nomination for president largely agreed on policy, fought over their records and took aim at former President Donald Trump at their second debate of the year Wednesday night. Trump, who leads polls of the race by substantial margins, skipped the event at […]

Ralph Reed, founder and chair of the Faith and Freedom Coalition, interviewed 2024 presidential candidates at the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition’s fall banquet in Des Moines Sept. 16, 2023. (Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch)

GOP presidential candidates focus on abortion, Israel, parental rights at evangelical event

By: - September 17, 2023

Republican presidential candidates emphasized their support for abortion restrictions, parental rights and Israel while working Saturday night to win over evangelical Iowa caucusgoers. More than 1,000 people gathered in Des Moines for the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition annual fall banquet. The conservative Christian organization has played an influential role in the Republican presidential race […]

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson speaks at the Des Moines Register Political Soapbox Aug. 19, 2023. (Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch)

Arkansas’ Asa Hutchinson calls on Trump to participate in GOP debate

By: - August 20, 2023

Presidential hopefuls former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and Libertarian Chase Oliver held the final political stops at the Iowa State Fair Saturday, finishing out the parade of 2024 candidates who came to campaign in the first-in-the-nation state. As of Friday, more than 800,000 people had walked through the state fair gates. Among attendees have been […]

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson spoke with Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds at the Iowa State Fair Aug. 15, 2023. (Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch)

GOP presidential candidates Hutchinson, Binkley and Scott campaign at Iowa State Fair

By: - August 15, 2023

Three more Republican presidential candidates spoke to Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds Tuesday in the Iowa State Fair’s second week. Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, Texas pastor Ryan Binkley and U.S. Sen. Tim Scott met with Reynolds for “fair-side chats.” The fair in Des Moines is a must-stop for most presidential candidates. Former President Donald Trump […]

Iowa Republicans cheer Trump as most opponents tread carefully

By: - July 29, 2023

Iowa Republicans emphasized they were open to hearing from all 13 presidential candidates Friday at the state party’s Lincoln Dinner, but many in the audience were ready to send former President Donald Trump back for a rematch. “In Iowa, we are a neutral, objective state,” Republican Party of Iowa Chairman Jeff Kaufmann said. “We’re going […]

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and his wife, Kathryn, talk to attendees at an event on June 9, 2023, in Ankeny, Iowa. (Jay Waagmeester/Iowa Capital Dispatch)

ND Gov. Doug Burgum launches campaign ads in Iowa, New Hampshire

By: - June 12, 2023

Republican presidential candidate Doug Burgum released two ads Monday that will air in Iowa and New Hampshire, his campaign announced. The $3 million ad campaign will air on TV stations in the first two states to hold nominating contests — the Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary — in 2024. Burgum, the governor of North […]

Former Vice President Mike Pence launched his 2024 presidential campaign in Ankeny Wednesday, June 7. (Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch)

Former VP Mike Pence launches 2024 bid, criticizes Trump’s Jan. 6 actions

By: - June 7, 2023

Former Vice President Mike Pence announced his candidacy for president to a crowd at Des Moines Area Community College in Ankeny, focusing on the differences between him and former President Donald Trump, who is also running again in 2024. While Pence praised the conservative successes he and Trump achieved in office, he said he is […]

Republican U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst addressed bikers at Big Barn Harley-Davidson in Des Moines before their ride to the Iowa State Fairgrounds for her annual “Roast and Ride” fundraiser Saturday, June 3. (Photo by Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch)

GOP candidates compete for Iowans’ support at Sen. Joni Ernst’s ‘Roast and Ride’

By: - June 5, 2023

Presidential candidates worked to balance promoting their ability to unify the country while highlighting their fight against the “woke” left as Iowans gathered Saturday for U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst’s “Roast and Ride” fundraiser at the Iowa State Fairgrounds. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and his wife Casey took their children to get ice cream and sit […]