DES MOINES, Iowa—Water quality concerns have swelled into one of the most prominent issues shaping how Iowans across 99 counties will vote in the competitive races for governor and the U.S. Senate.
The issue burst into the Hawkeye State’s election cycle after a “Cancer in Iowa” report from the University of Iowa released in the spring ignited fears that nitrates in farm fertilizer runoff are getting into the water supply and contributing to the rise of cancer in the state.
“Our water is disgusting,” Democratic voter Maisie Stilwell said outside an early in-person polling location in Des Moines. “I don’t let my kids touch it. I certainly will not let them drink the tap water, and I know most other parents won’t either because you know it is full of disgusting chemicals and it’s just dangerous.”…