IOWA, USA — Iowa's 1st Congressional District race could go either way as incumbent U.S. Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks is seeking her third term, while Democratic challenger Christina Bohannan looks to unseat her in a rematch of the 2022 race.
Bohannan comes into this race once again, with experience unseating a 20-year incumbent in Iowa House of Representatives District 85 back in 2020, while Miller-Meeks has another term of U.S. congressional experience under her belt.
Both parties are looking to use successes to their advantage.
Miller-Meeks: "I've been accessible, available. We have excellent constituent services throughout the district. I'm available for people, whether I am in Iowa or whether I'm in D.C."
Bohannan: "I'm really proud of the fact that this has been a grassroots campaign where we have been out talking to everybody. It doesn't matter what political party they're from."
Abortion and reproductive rights have been central to many campaigns in Iowa. Both candidates weighed in on why that is and shared their stances.
Bohannan: "Women have to have some control over their bodies and their lives and their privacy, and so, you know, I think that that's going to be a very important issue here. What I would do is put Roe v. Wade back into federal law and restore the rights, and including the law that was here in Iowa before all of this happened."
Miller-Meeks: "They've elevated an issue that has been turned back over to the states where people's representatives are closer to them. They vote. So, I'm pro-life, with exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother, but I think the best way to prevent abortion is to prevent pregnancy to begin with."
Despite the race being neck-in-neck, both candidates say the message in the final days stays the same.
Miller-Meeks: "The message remains the same. This is the swing district. It has been a swing district. Its makeup has not changed. The greatest proportion of our voters are independent voters. And I've represented the district in a way, in a bipartisan fashion."
Bohannan: "I know what families go through when they have to make these really hard choices about, you know, whether to put food on the table or whether to fill their prescriptions. And so I am fighting for everyday Iowans, for working families."
At the end of the interviews, both candidates stressed the importance of making one's voice heard and getting out to vote, adding that every vote counts in this election.