2026 Voter Guide: Iowa House District 36
Updated: 16 hours ago
Election: November 3, 2026 | Live. Work. Thrive.: Healthcare, Education, Economic Opportunity and Essential Needs
Iowa House District 36 covers portions of Des Moines, including the Sherman Hill area and neighborhoods around Gray's Lake. Voters will choose between Bruce Michalowski (Republican) and incumbent Austin Baeth (Democrat).
What does a State Representative do?
Members of the Iowa House of Representatives serve two-year terms. They introduce legislation, vote on proposed laws and budgets, and determine policies affecting taxes, education, healthcare, environmental protection and other state responsibilities.
Meet the candidates
Bruce Michalowski | Republican
Michalowski is a Des Moines resident who describes his occupation as insurance and estate planning. His published candidate biography lists theological undergraduate and graduate education and experience communicating with lawmakers and advocacy groups at the Iowa Capitol.
He has not previously served in the Iowa Legislature. His campaign emphasizes reviewing government spending, eliminating waste and duplication, independent auditing, individual rights, education performance and limiting taxation.
Austin Baeth | Democrat
Baeth is an internal medicine physician, medical educator and small-business owner. He earned his undergraduate and medical degrees from the University of Iowa and completed internal medicine training at the University of Colorado.
He was first elected to the Iowa House in 2022 and has represented District 36 since January 2023. His official legislative biography identifies experience in healthcare, business and legislative committee work.
His campaign emphasizes cancer prevention and research, public-school funding, environmental health, healthcare and maintaining public services.
Compare their documented 2026 positions
1. State spending and government accountability
Bruce Michalowski: Proposes identifying duplicate government programs, eliminating expenditures he considers ineffective and using independent outside auditors to examine fraud, waste and misuse of public funds.
Austin Baeth: Criticizes tax reductions and education savings account spending as contributors to state revenue pressures. He proposes reconsidering those tax and spending policies and investing in services he associates with population and workforce retention.
Michalowski emphasizes program audits, spending reductions and expenditure controls. Baeth emphasizes the revenue structure and reassessing policy priorities. Neither candidate's October responses provide a complete replacement budget.
2. Public education
Michalowski: Supports strengthening reading, writing, mathematics and science instruction, removing cellphones from classrooms and increasing attention to student testing and grading. He argues that public schools should improve performance and accountability.
Baeth: Proposes annual public-school funding growth that meets or exceeds inflation, supports teachers and calls for phasing out the education savings account program for private-school expenses.
Both discuss education outcomes, but propose different mechanisms. Michalowski emphasizes curriculum fundamentals, classroom conditions and performance measures. Baeth identifies a funding-growth standard and a change to education savings account policy.
3. Property taxes and local services
Michalowski: Says the effects of Iowa's 2026 property-tax law should be assessed over time. He proposes that property taxes generally should not exceed 1% of assessed value, although the reviewed questionnaire does not specify how the resulting revenue changes would be addressed.
Baeth: Criticizes the 2026 property-tax changes, arguing they have placed pressure on local budgets and services. He identifies police and fire services, parks, street maintenance and libraries as examples of services potentially affected.
Michalowski proposes a potential tax ceiling; Baeth emphasizes local-government revenue and service effects. Baeth's statements about specific local cuts are his reported assessment and are not independently measured in this guide.
4. Cancer and environmental health
Michalowski: Identifies agricultural chemical runoff and water contamination as concerns. He supports reducing chemical use and considering agricultural practices that may improve environmental conditions.
Baeth: Proposes another $1 million for University of Iowa public-health cancer research, stronger water-quality standards, free radon testing, tax credits for radon mitigation, tobacco-cessation investments, a cigarette-tax increase and restrictions on commercial tanning-bed use by younger teenagers.
Both discuss environmental conditions as possible health risks. Baeth identifies several specific legislative or budget proposals. Michalowski emphasizes reducing contamination and changing practices. The reviewed statements do not establish that any particular exposure caused an individual's cancer.
5. Eminent domain and carbon-capture pipelines
Michalowski: Raises concerns about eminent domain, landowner rights, pipeline safety and project costs. He calls for examining who benefits and whether proposed pipelines serve a sufficient public purpose.
Baeth: Says eminent domain should be used only when the public benefit substantially outweighs the burden on the property owner. He states he has not been persuaded that the currently proposed Summit carbon-capture pipeline meets that standard, while remaining open to reviewing additional evidence.
Both question the use of eminent domain for the proposed pipeline, but their published answers do not use identical tests or commit to identical statutory language.
6. Long-term economic conditions
Michalowski: Focuses on limiting government spending, reducing waste and protecting taxpayers from expenditures he believes do not produce useful outcomes.
Baeth: Focuses on economic competitiveness through schools, environmental quality, public services and making Iowa a place where workers and families choose to remain.
These statements identify broad policy priorities but do not provide full models of projected employment, population or revenue changes.
Baeth's official legislative record
Baeth has served in the House since 2023. His official Iowa Legislature profile documents his service on committees involving health and human services, state government, natural resources and related policy.
That record confirms legislative experience, but membership on a committee does not automatically establish support for every bill considered by that committee.
Specific voting claims should be checked against the official House Journal. The cancer-related investments proposed in his 2026 questionnaire should not be described as enacted solely because he supports them.
Michalowski has no state legislative roll-call record. His questionnaire and other attributable statements are the basis for describing his intended policies.
Evidence limitations
Neither candidate's published answers provide a complete state budget. The reviewed material does not contain an independent cost estimate for Michalowski's suggested property-tax limit or for all of Baeth's healthcare and environmental proposals.
Original sources and further reading
Research and editorial note
This NAACP Des Moines Branch guide is provided for nonpartisan voter education. It does not endorse or oppose candidates. Candidate proposals are distinguished from verified official actions and enacted law.
Research review updated: October 31, 2026.
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