Zach Nunn. (RI Photo)
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 early this morning show Republican Zach Nunn leading Democratic Congresswoman Cindy Axne by just over 2000 votes. Nunn declared victory shortly before midnight.
“I have been privileged to fight for you on the battlefield…I now am humbled to serve as your congressman in Washington, D-C,” Nunn said during a speech at Iowa GOP Election Night headquarters.
The race was touted as one of the keys to Republicans taking back control of the U.S. 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.
“I think it goes without saying, but wasn’t this a decisive victory for Iowa tonight?” Hinson said, to cheers. “It was very clear that tonight Iowans embraced the Iowa way and we rejected the D.C. way.”
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. “When I’m seeing, it is the most critical time to stand up and speak up and fight for our values,” Hinson said.
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.
“People wanted to send a message to Washington, D.C., that they wanted to get the country back on track,” Miller-Meeks said, “and they wanted someone who was paying attention to their pain and suffering.”
Miller-Meeks said 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.
“There certainly may be other things that other members of congress want to investigate,” Miller-Meeks said. “I think we need to be very tempered in our approach and, most importantly, we need to pass legislation to show that we can govern and that we’re attentive to the needs of people.”
Secretary of State Paul Pate announced on Twitter that “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% of the vote.
(By Radio Iowa’s O. Kay Henderson and Dar Danielson)