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.
Joe Mitchell’s campaign told Iowa Starting Line that it’s all one big misunderstanding. 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.
“1101 Emerald Cove Drive is a development with multiple units up for rent. The Zillow listing is being modified to reduce confusion over what units in the space are available for rent,” said Drew Johns, Mitchell’s campaign manager. Johns is also listed as the agent for one of the other homes in the development, representing J Mitchell Real Estate LLC.
Johns said the listings were authorized by Jeff Ketels, Emerald Cove’s general contractor, who is also listed as the agent on several other properties in the development. Ketels’ signature refers to him as the president of Stonegate Builders Group LLC.
The property was also previously listed for rent between November 6, 2025 and January 20, 2026.
“Once again, a dark money, left-leaning group is trying to influence the outcome of an election, with information that was not vetted,” Johns said. “We can be sure that this article will be slanted and intend to drive a false storyline about Joe’s residency in Clear Lake.”
When did Joe Mitchell move to Clear Lake?
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. The campaign said the issue was resolved with the Henry County Assessor.
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.
What the law says
Federal law doesn’t require US House candidates to live in the district they seek to represent, only in the state. For example, despite registering to vote at the Le Claire home of then-state Senator and current Lieutenant Governor Chris Cournoyer, US Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks resides in Ottumwa, outside Iowa’s 1st Congressional District that she represents in Congress.
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.
He faces Democrat Lindsay James of Dubuque on Nov. 3 in the race for Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District. The midterm election is Nov. 3. Early voting is ongoing.
