The latest vote count in Iowa’s second congressional district race shows Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Ottumwa leading Democrat Rita Hart by 40 votes.
Boards of supervisors in the 24 counties in Iowa’s second district met on Monday and Tuesday to conduct what’s called the official canvass of votes in each county. At 7:30 Tuesday night, Miller-Meeks issued a written statement, declaring the election over and saying she had won. Half an hour later, Hart’s campaign manager issued a written statement, saying the race remains too close call.
Secretary of State Paul Pate will certify election results November 30. He’s notified Lucas County officials they may amend the county’s results if recounts on Thursday and Friday come up with different vote totals.
An attorney for Hart’s campaign has raised concerns that Lucas County’s error was discovered at the 11th hour and wound up putting Miller-Meeks in the lead. Both campaigns have until the end of the week to request recounts in certain counties or even specific precincts and that is likely. This is currently the closest congressional contest in the country.
Read the statements released by the campaigns below.
OTTUMWA, Iowa – Iowa 2nd Congressional District candidate Mariannette Miller-Meeks issued the following statement this evening after each of the district’s 24 counties certified its official canvass and indicated that she has won:
“I express my heartfelt gratitude to the voters of Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District and acknowledge my opponent Rita Hart’s grace and positive demeanor during this challenging campaign. The election is over, and it is time to move forward together and focus on the priorities that will best serve Iowans.”
WHEATLAND, IOWA — Today, Rita Hart for Congress Campaign Manager Zach Meunier released the following statement after remarks by Marianette Miller-Meeks:
“As we have said repeatedly, it is critical that Iowans’ voices are heard and the votes are accurately counted. The vote totals in this race continue to fluctuate, and both Iowa officials and independent news organizations have made it clear that the race is too close to call. Iowa is a state that values election integrity and Mariannette Miller-Meeks’ campaign’s attempts to usurp this process undermines that integrity. We appreciate the hard work of our poll workers and election officials to accurately count all legal ballots and the votes, and are confident by the end of this process that Rita Hart will be the next congresswoman from Iowa’s Second District.”