Republicans were trying Tuesday to sweep Iowa’s four seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, pushing to oust a Democratic incumbent while a first-term GOP congresswoman won reelection in a key race.
If they win all four races, it would be the first time since 1994 that a Republican would win every seat in Iowa’s House delegation. They were hoping to capitalize on a conservative electorate unhappy with Democrat Joe Biden’s performance as president, the direction of the economy and rising costs tied to inflation.
In one closely watched race nationally, GOP state Sen. Zach Nunn was trying to unseat Democratic U.S. Rep. Cindy Axne in a district that includes Des Moines and its suburbs. Nunn had a narrow lead late Tuesday.
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Nunn, 43 and of Bondurant, has lifelong ties to the district, having grown up in Altoona and represented parts of it in the Iowa House and Senate. He campaigned as a conservative with military combat experience, having deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, flying missions in the U.S. Air Force.
In southeastern Iowa, GOP U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks won a second term in the House after winning by just six votes in 2020, in the closest congressional race in decades. She defeated Democratic state Rep. Christina Bohannan, a University of Iowa law professor, who told supporters that she knew from the beginning of the race that it would be a difficult political environment this year.
Republican U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, left, greets supporters at her re-election watch party on Nov. 8, 2022, in Davenport, Iowa. (Nikos Frazier/Quad City Times via AP)
Miller-Meeks had a substantial lead in the race, a far cry from her tiny vote margin when she won in 2020. That win followed a lengthy recount and after Democrat Rita Hart abandoned a House challenge to the state-certified results.
In northeastern Iowa, Republican U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson was trying to fend off a challenge from Democratic state Sen. Liz Mathis after a hard-fought race between two former television news anchors.
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In the final district in a heavily Republican area of rural western Iowa, GOP Rep. Randy Feenstra cruised to reelection over Democrat Ryan Melton on Tuesday.
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