Statewide, Iowa — Republicans scored clear wins in Iowa’s first, second and fourth congressional districts, but the Associated Press and other media organizations have not yet called the race in Iowa’s third district.
Unofficial results showed Republican Zach Nunn leading Democratic Congresswoman Cindy Axne by just over 2,000 votes and Nunn declared victory shortly before midnight.
The race was touted as one of the keys to Republicans taking back control of the US House.
“This district, this race, changes the course of America,” Nunn said to cheers. “So I want to say thank you.” By 2 a.m., all 21 counties in the third district had reported results and Nunn’s lead was just over half a percent.
Republican Congresswoman Ashley Hinson of Marion defeated Democrat Liz Mathis by 18 points in the second district race. In a speech to supporters, Hinson celebrated her win and other GOP victories.
The outcomes of several House races around the country are yet to be decided, but Republicans appear poised to have a narrow majority in 2023.
Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks of LeClaire has won a second term in the U.S. House. At 2 a.m., Miller-Meeks held a 20,000 vote lead, far larger than her narrow six vote win in 2020.
Miller-Meeks says the Republican-led congress needs to hold the Biden Administration accountable for the mistakes made during the withdrawal from Afghanistan and congress should investigate how the Centers for Disease Control responded to COVID-19 under the Trump and Biden Administrations.
Secretary of State Paul Pate says due to technical issues, two counties in the first congressional district have not yet released the results from 30,000 ballots that were cast in Warren and Des Moines Counties. Christina Bohannan, the Democrat who challenged Miller-Meeks, told supporters in Iowa City there were still votes to count and she was not conceding the race, but would accept the final results.
In Iowa’s fourth district, Republican incumbent Randy Feenstra of Hull won with 67 percent of the vote. Feenstra held an election night event at the library in Hull.
Feenstra’s Democratic opponent Ryan Melton of Nevada says he woke up feeling invigorated, and getting 30 percent of the vote was a solid result considering all the variables involved in a district with 95,000 more Republicans than Democrats.
