Three of the four Republican incumbents representing Iowa in the U.S. House have won reelection. One county in the first congressional district had not reported its results by midnight and that race has not been called. Republican Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks delivered a speech late last night as election returns showed her with a lead of 413 votes.
“This county has typically voted for me over 60% of their votes,” Miller-Meeks said. “We expect it to increase our margin.”
Miller-Meeks, speaking to supporters gathered at the casino in Riverside, held up copies of the Des Moines Register’s “Iowa Poll” that found voters in the district preferred a Democrat rather than a Republican this year. “Thank you…for motivating district one to come out and vote for Miller-Meeks for a third term,” Miller-Meeks said, to cheers.
The race was considered one of the few toss up contests for a U.S. House seat and millions of dollars worth of campaign ads aired in the district.
“Despite the disgusting vile things that were said about me, despite the over $5.5 million dollars spent to defeat not me, to defeat us,” Miller said. “We are going to Make America Great Again.”
Democrat Christina Bohannan addressed a crowd at Big Grove Brewery in Iowa City as about 97% of precincts were reporting results. “This is a really, really close race,” Bohannan said. “At this point, it is too close to call unfortunately.”
Bohannan ran against Miller-Meeks two years ago, finishing about 20,000 votes behind — compared to the 413 margin at midnight. “There were people across the country who thought that we would never make it this far…and we made it a real toss up race and, as of night, it’s kind of still up in the air,” Bohannan said.
Bohannan told her supporters the campaign had been an incredible journey. “Whatever the outcome of this race is, we did something that nobody thought we could do,” Bohannan said, “and I want you all to remember that in the future because you have the power to do amazing things.”
In Iowa’s third district, Congressman Zach Nunn won with about 51.5% of the vote. “This wasn’t supposed to happen if you pay attention to the polls, if you pay listen to the naysayers,” Nunn said, “…but the only poll that matters is the one on Election Day, and you spoke loud and clear.”
Nunn told supporters at the Iowa GOP’s Election Night headquarters that he’ll focus on national security and border security in the next congress. “This is my promise to every Iowan: not only are we going to be working for you, we are going to be holding Washington, D.C. of all stripes accountable to how we get things done in Iowa,” Nunn said.
The “Iowa playbook” can work for the entire country, according to Nunn. “We’ve been fighting for families, for farmers,” he said, “for Main Street America.”
Nunn also saluted his Democratic challenger Lanon Baccam. Both men served in the Iowa National Guard. Nunn was recently promoted to Colonel in the Air Force Reserve.
Republican Ashley Hinson won reelection with 57% if the vote in Iowa’s second congressional district. “Fellow patriots and fellow Iowans — we got it done!” Hinson said, to cheers from supporters gathered in Cedar Rapids.
Hinson, who defeated a Democratic incumbent in 2020, secured a third term in the U.S. House with last night’s victory. “We sent a message, a loud and clear message, that Iowans believe in strong, conservative leadership,” Hinson said.
Hinson, who was endorsed by Trump earlier this year, said she looks forward to working with a Trump White House. “Our values and our way of life have come under attack by liberals like Kamala Harris who want to turn our country into a liberal wasteland…They’re radical, they’re wrong and we are going to stop them. Are you with me?” Hinson asked, and the crowd cheered.
Sarah Corkery of Cedar Falls, the Democrat who challenged Hinson, got 41.7% and Jodi Puffett of Delhi, the independent candidate in the second district, got about 1% of the vote.
Fourth district Congressman Randy Feenstra finished 40 points ahead of Democratic challenger Ryan Melton of Webster City. “I’m just humbled by the strong support Iowans of all 36 counties in the fourth district showed to reelect me as their voice in congress,” Feenstra said. “I take this very seriously. I work every day to deliver results for our families and our farmers and our business community.”
Feenstra told Radio Iowa the election results send a message. “It’s clear that we’ve got to build the wall. We’ve got to secure our border,” he said. “We also have to get inflation under control. We’ve got to stop this reckless spending and pass a balanced budget. We also have to be energy independent…We’ve got to use ethanol and biodiesel right here in Iowa.”
Feenstra is on the U.S. House committee that drafts tax policy and he said the priority is reauthorizing the Trump-era tax cuts that are set to expire at the end of 2025. “This has got to be on the front burner. I mean, when people start thinking about taxes and how they’re going to plan, especially farmers and small business, they need to know. They need certainty,” Feenstra said. “…In the first 100 days, we want to try to get a tax bill out there and get it passed.”
In 2020, Feenstra defeated long-time Republican Congressman Steve King in a GOP Primary and has easily won his three General Election races. Republicans have a significant voter registration advantage over Democrats in the fourth district.