Statewide Iowa — Republican Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks expects her bid for a second term in the U.S. House to be among the most closely watched races in the country.
Miller-Meeks won her first race in 2020 by a six-vote margin.
During a weekend appearance on “Iowa Press” on Iowa PBS, Miller-Meeks joked that her margin of victory would be at least triple what it was in 2020. Miller-Meeks also discussed running in the new first congressional district, where about 35 percent of registered voters are Democrats, 32 percent are Republicans and the rest are independents.
Miller-Meeks says she’s visited all 24 counties in Iowa’s current second congressional district four times since being sworn into office last January. Miller-Meeks says she decided to seek reelection in Iowa’s new first congressional because it covers most of the territory in her current district but Miller-Meeks also considered running in the district that includes Ottumwa, so she could keep representing her hometown.
While there’s no requirement that members of congress live within the boundaries of the district they represent they just have to live within the state. Four of Iowa’s congressmen moved after district lines were redrawn in 2001 and 2011. Miller-Meeks, a Republican, won’t be selling her home in Ottumwa, but does plan to establish a residence in the new first district.
Miller-Meeks, who is an eye doctor, has worked at a clinic in Burlington and she taught in the University of Iowa Medical School in the late 1990s. She may face a GOP Primary in 2022. Kyle Kuehl, a Bettendorf business owner, also announced his candidacy as a Republican in the new 1st District. Democrat Christina Bohannan, a University of Iowa Law School professor who’s a member of state legislature, announced earlier this year she intended to challenge Miller-Meeks in 2022.
