IOWA, USA — Zach Nunn, the Republican incumbent in Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District, has held onto the seat over Democrat Lanon Baccam.
Nunn defeated his opponent with 51.9% of the vote and 99% precincts reporting, the Associated Press projects.
It’s a seat Nunn, a former member of the Iowa Legislature, won from Democratic incumbent Cindy Axne in 2022. That race was separated by just a couple thousand votes.
"We are going to continue to work for Iowans as we always have," Nunn told Local 5 as results came in Tuesday night. "Regardless of party, we have a responsbiility to deliver common sense solutions for Iowans."
A Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll from September showed GOP candidates ahead in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th Districts.
In the 3rd District, 52% of those polled supported a Republican candidate, with Democrats at 44% and 4% not sure.
"I think his campaign reflected that earnestness and that concern for giving back," Tom Vilsack, the former Governor of Iowa, said about Baccam.
Baccam issued the following statement on Wednesday:
“It’s been the honor of a lifetime to be the Democratic nominee for Iowa’s Third Congressional District. I can’t thank our tireless team enough, including our staff and incredible volunteers, and my family for being with me every step of the way. While this is not the outcome we wanted, the fight for a better Iowa must continue. We still know it’s not okay for politicians to tell women what to do with their bodies, we know there’s still work to do to lower costs, and we have to make sure Iowans can retire with dignity by protecting Social Security and Medicare. Thank you to everyone who stood with me in this race.”
Nunn is a sixth-generation Iowan who was raised on the east side of Des Moines. As an airborne intelligence officer, he served in the U.S. Air Force for around two decades.
After serving overseas, he served as Director of Cybersecurity on the White House’s National Security Council. He currently serves as a Colonel in the U.S. Air Force Reserve.
An integral part of Nunn’s campaign has been border security.
"We have a humanitarian crisis at our Southern Border with apprehensions and crime happening at levels we’ve never seen before," Nunn said on his website. "The border needs to be secured, and we need to prioritize this now before crime gets worse. We can secure our border while also prioritizing legal immigration reform."
During his current term, Nunn has served on the following Congressional committees:
- House Financial Services Committee
- Subcommittee on Capital Markets
- Subcommittee on National Security, Illicit Finance, and International Financial Institutions
- House Agriculture Committee
- Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities, Risk Management, and Credit
- Subcommittee on Commodity Markets, Digital Assets, and Rural Development
- Congressional-Executive Commission on China
Watch: Zach Nunn's election night speech
The winner will be sworn in with the rest of the 119th Congress on Jan. 3, 2025, and the Speaker of the House be elected the same day.
The two-year term ends in early 2027.
Counties included in Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District are Greene, Guthrie, Dallas, Polk, Cass, Adair, Madison, Montgomery, Adams, Union, Clarke, Lucas, Monroe, Wapello, Page, Taylor, Ringgold, Decatur, Wayne, Appanoose and Davis.