| New reporting uncovered that the home Joe Mitchell is registered to vote at was listed online by his property development company as available for rent on Zillow for months this year – raising questions about whether he even lives in the Second District.
REMINDER: Mitchell “moved” to Clear Lake just days before launching his campaign for Congress.
The report highlights how Mitchell advertised his supposed home online on Zillow from July 15th through October 17th. Mitchell still owns his condo in Des Moines and his campaign “did not address the question of whether Mitchell uses it as a second residence.”
DCCC Spokesperson Katie Smith:
“Joe Mitchell must answer whether he is actually living where he is registered to vote in Clear Lake – at the home he listed on Zillow as available for rent for months – or in his condo in Des Moines that he refuses to answer questions about.”
Iowa Starting Line: Joe Mitchell’s Clear Lake address was listed for rent weeks before Election Day
- One Republican changed his voter registration from Des Moines to Clear Lake in 2025, where he filed to run for Congress. While Joe Mitchell has been on the campaign trail, his Clear Lake address was listed for rent, raising questions about where his primary residence is: Is it in the district where he’s running for office or at his condo in Des Moines.
- According to the listing, Mitchell advertised his house as a new 3-bedroom, 3-bath, 1,837-square-foot unit available to rent for $2,900 per month on July 15. After being contacted for a tour, the listing was removed on Oct. 17, less than a month from Election Day.
- According to the campaign, Mitchell’s company Emerald Cove LLC uses his address to advertise any properties across the development that are available for rent.
- The Zillow listing does not mention it as a model for other properties available in the development. And other properties in the development have their own separate listings on the website.
- On Oct. 15, the listed realtor Jeff Ketels was contacted for a tour of Mitchell’s house. And on Oct. 17, the listing was removed. Iowa Starting Line asked the campaign why Mitchell’s listing was removed that day and if its use was part of the subdivision’s normal operation.
- The property was also previously listed for rent between November 6, 2025 and January 20, 2026.
- This is not the first time Mitchell’s address has raised questions. Mitchell grew up in southeast Iowa and represented the Mount Pleasant area in the Iowa House. In June 2022, after losing his Iowa House primary to state Rep. Jeff Shipley, Mitchell bought a condo at The Plaza in downtown Des Moines.
- Iowa Starting Line first reported that records showed Mitchell claiming a homestead tax credit on a property in Mount Pleasant, while his voter registration records and business filings all pointed to him living in Des Moines. Iowa law requires a homeowner to live in a property at least six months a year to claim the credit.
- Voter registration records obtained by Iowa Starting Line showed Mitchell was registered to vote at the Des Moines apartment from October 2023 through September 2, 2025, outside of Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District. That September, Mitchell changed his voter registration to the newly built house in Clear Lake, which is within the district, and just six days later, he announced his congressional campaign using the address.
- The campaign confirmed that Mitchell never sold his condo in Des Moines, but did not address the question of whether Mitchell uses it as a second residence.
- Since moving into the district in 2025, Mitchell has presented himself in outlets like the Des Moines Register and The Gazette as a Clear Lake resident.
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