- IA-01 covers the state’s southeastern part, and borders Illinois, Missouri, and the Mississippi River. The district includes the cities of Davenport, Iowa City, Burlington, and Indianola.
- IA-01 population is mostly white and urban (66.35% urban, 33.65% rural)
- In the 2024 election, incumbent Republican Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks (IA-01) eked out a win by only 0.2 points.
- IA-03 U.S. Rep. U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn has been criticized for failing to hold town halls in the district, which is the least Republican leaning district in the state.
- The district of IA-03 consists of an area stretching from Des Moines to the border of Missouri and is the wealthiest congressional district in the state of Iowa.
- Most political rating systems are rating IA-03 as Lean R, but Sabato is labelling the race as Tossup.
Take Action Iowa
Senate (Open) IA-01 (Flip Miller-Meeks), IA-03 (Flip Nunn)
Who could have predicted Iowa would contain not just one, but two, possible flips? The special election of Democrat Catelin Drey (she won by 11 points) to the state Senate is an indication that Iowa voters may have had enough of Republican rule.
This is good news for Democrats in IA-01 and IA03, which have become competitive races. In IA-01, former state legislator Christina Bohannan who was about 800 votes short of unseating Miller-Meeks in 2024 is running again. In IA-03, polls are showing the Democratic former speaker of the Iowa House is gaining on the Republican opponent.
And it also has helped in the U.S. Senate race now that Republican Sen. Joni Ernst is retiring. Ernst is the congresswoman who said if Medicaid cuts mean people will die, “We’re all going to die.” The effects of US-China tariffs (304% increase) in Iowa are expected to cause more dissatisfaction with Republicans since the state is a major exporter of agricultural products like soybeans, corn, and pork.
