DES MOINES, Iowa — Republican Zach Nunn has won election to the U.S. House of Representatives in Iowa's 3rd Congressional District, beating incumbent Rep. Cindy Axne, the Associated Press reports.
The 3rd District concludes a four-race sweep for Iowa Republicans running for a seat in the U.S. House.
Other congressional winners include:
- 1st District: Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R) over Christina Bohannan (D)
- 2nd District: Ashley Hinson (R) over Liz Mathis (D)
- 4th District: Randy Feenstra (R) over Ryan Melton (D)
AP data shows Nunn won with 155,972 votes compared to Axne's 153,905.
“We didn’t get into this race to win, we got into this race to serve – and after hearing directly from Iowans the last few months it’s clear we need to hit the ground running," Nunn said in a press release. "Next year in Congress, top priorities will be to fix our economy, end the record high inflation and massive government spending, and get our country back on track."
The 2022 midterms followed the recently redrawn district, shifting more southern Iowa counties into the 3rd District's voter base.
Axne, the incumbent, was seeking her third term, having held the position since 2018.
In a statement, Axne conceded the race and expressed gratitude for her supporters over the years.
“I am honored and humbled by the support I received over the last five years from the people in Iowa’s Third Congressional District. Even though the numbers weren’t in our favor this year, I encourage you all to continue to have the hard conversations with your friends and your neighbors about the issues that matter the most to you," she said.
The latest Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll showed Nunn leading slightly: 47% of voters preferred a Republican, while 44% indicated support for a Democrat.
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An earlier Iowa Poll also showed the race to be close, with 49% of likely voters favoring a Democrat, and 48% favoring a Republican.
Axne ran uncontested in June 2022 primary, campaigning on women's access to reproductive care, improving the economy, and combatting inflation.
Republican state senator Zach Nunn stands on the other side of the aisle. His platform consists of restricting access to abortion, further supporting the police and immigration officers and building national defense.
Nunn has criticized Axne for largely supporting the policies of President Biden, who is deeply unpopular in the state. He has also tried to capitalize on questions about Axne’s stock purchases involving companies overseen by the financial services committee she sits on and her vote for the Inflation Reduction Act by proxy while she was on a family vacation in France.
Axne had attacked Nunn as an anti-abortion extremist, following June's U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down a federal right to abortion. She has pointed to his support in a televised debate before the GOP primary in June to ban abortion without exceptions, even in cases of rape, incest and the life of the mother. Nunn has since softened his tone.
Axne’s two previous victories were decided by razor-thin margins, unseating David Young in 2018 by 7,709 votes and defeating him by 6,208 votes in a 2020 rematch. Unlike those years, Tuesday’s ballot does not feature a Libertarian Party candidate, Bryan Holder, whose presence may have helped Axne prevail without winning 50% of the vote.
When Axne beat Young in 2018, Democrats won three out of Iowa’s four congressional races. But the state has continued its decade-long shift from the center to the right, as rural voters without college degrees abandon the Democratic Party.