After knocking on more than 4,000 doors across northwest Iowa, Mike Frantz is bringing his campaign for Iowa Senate to his own doorstep — spending October talking with Storm Lake residents as he works toward Election Day.
Frantz, a Storm Lake Democrat, says he has been knocking on doors throughout Iowa Senate District 3 since May. By late September, he had visited 32 of the district’s 33 communities and talked with residents at more than 4,000 homes.
Storm Lake is the final community in that door-to-door effort, and Frantz says he plans to continue knocking on doors throughout October.
The conversations have helped shape the issues Frantz is emphasizing in the final weeks of the campaign, including education, cancer rates and environmental health, water quality and the cost of living.
He says one issue he didn’t expect to hear about as much was the regulation of THC in Iowa. Frantz says he believes decisions about THC should be based on its potential benefits to the public, particularly for medicinal purposes, rather than state revenue.
Education remains another major focus for Frantz, who spent much of his career in higher education. He says he would support free universal preschool and increased state support for public education.
Frantz also says he wants to address what he sees as disparities in teacher compensation, arguing that experienced teachers should see greater increases in pay as well as starting teachers.
Cancer and water quality have also emerged as recurring topics during Frantz’s door knocking.
The University of Iowa’s 2026 cancer estimates project 21,700 new cancer cases in the state this year, and Iowa’s cancer incidence rate remains among the nation’s highest.
Frantz says the state should restore nitrate monitoring, establish a statewide nitrate standard and invest more in research into potential causes, including environmental factors such as nitrates, radon and so-called forever chemicals.
Cost-of-living concerns have also come up repeatedly in Frantz’s conversations with voters. He says residents have talked about rising grocery, insurance and other household costs, including people who are putting off home repairs because they cannot afford them.
Frantz shared one conversation with an older Spencer woman who told him she normally votes Republican but no longer feels the state’s direction is working for her.
Frantz says those conversations have reinforced his belief that voters want more engagement from their elected officials and more opportunities to find common ground.
He says he has intentionally talked with people across the political spectrum during his campaign.
Frantz launched his campaign in March, saying at the time that running for office was something he had not expected to do. He has described his campaign as an effort to encourage greater civic engagement and what he calls “planting hope” in northwest Iowa.
He has also recently launched new online campaign videos as the race enters its final month.
Frantz is running for the Iowa Senate District 3 seat currently held by Republican Sen. Lynn Evans of Aurelia. Evans was first elected to the Iowa Senate in 2022 and is seeking another term. The district includes all of Buena Vista, O’Brien and Osceola counties, along with portions of Cherokee and Clay counties.
The general election is Tuesday, Nov. 3.
Frantz says he expects to continue knocking on doors in Storm Lake throughout October, giving him an opportunity to hear from more voters before Election Day. And he says he hopes people will look beyond the top races on the ballot and vote all the way down the ticket.
