Iowans are long–accustomed to reveling in the nation's spotlight during the quadrennial presidential nominating caucuses. Off–year elections, though, are usually boring, quiet affairs with incumbents routinely piling up large margins. But due to a confluence of events—redistricting, the first Democratic gubernatorial reelection campaign in a generation, the reelection campaign of Iowa's Democratic U.S. Senator, and a closely divided state government—Iowa became the most competitive state in the country in 2002. Four of Iowa's five House seats were in play, and both Senator Harkin and Governor Vilsack faced challengers. In a very real way, Iowa was the hottest of hot spots in campaign 2002. So what happened? By some accounts, nothing, as every incumbent won. By other accounts, it was wall-to-wall politics, inundating citizens with television, mail, and telephone calls until many voters pleaded “please stop!” In this paper, we describe the events on the ground, in the air, and throughout this 2002 center of the political universe.