Iowa’s 1st congressional district is the most competitive in terms of fundraising so far this election cycle. (Photo illustration by Getty Images)
Iowa’s four incumbent Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives have fundraising advantages over their Democratic challengers, but the race in Iowa’s 1st District is more competitive than the others in fundraising.
The three ratings services, The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter, Inside Elections and Sabato’s Crystal Ball, rate the race in the 1st District as “likely or lean Republican.” It pits Republican incumbent Mariannette Miller-Meeks against her Christina Bohannanthe Democratic nominee, in a rematch of the 2022 election. David Pautsch, a Republican from Davenport, is challenging Miller-Meeks for the nomination.
Miller-Meeks won the 2022 race with 53.4% of the vote, to Bohannan’s 46.6%. A rematch could prove more competitive, as Bohannan has outraised Miller-Meeks during the third and fourth quarters of 2023 (totals of $1,315,000 vs. $802,000, respectively) and the first quarter of 2024.
Miller-Meeks added $319,724 in contributions in the first quarter of 2024, while Bohannan raised $820,187.
Miller-Meeks still has an overall advantage. Bohannan launched her campaign in mid-August 2023 and the Republican incumbent has been raising money throughout 2023. For the election cycle so far, Miller-Meeks has raised more than $2.6 million and spent about $1.2 million. She ended the period with $1.77 million cash and no debt. Bohannan has raised nearly $2.14 million and spent about $531,000, leaving her with nearly $1.64 million cash on hand and no debt.
Pautsch has raised just over $28,000 during the campaign period so far. He has spent just over $21,000 and has about $7,865 on hand.
Here’s a closer look at Miller-Meeks and Bohannan’s contributions.
OpenSecrets’ ‘Industries’ category of campaign contributions includes ‘Retirees’. Miller-Meeks and Bohannan both received the majority of their campaign contributions from this source: $379,819 for Miller-Meeks and $319,444 for Bohannan as of March 31. However, Bohannan’s second largest source in the sector is education ($149,652). The Democrats/Liberal group’s contributions ($128,446) rank third, followed by Lawyers/Law Firms with $85,813.
That support aligns with Bohannan’s current position as a lecturer and author at the University of Iowa College of Law. The most recent FEC data shows that “The University of Iowa” is the largest contributor to Bohannan ($90,014). This concerns contributions from people associated with the university and their immediate families, not from the university itself.
When it comes to geographic sources of contributions, Bohannan has surpassed Miller-Meeks both within Iowa and within the district.
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(No geographic data available for Pautsch)
Another geographic comparison of the campaigns involves contributors by metropolitan region. West Palm Beach-Boca Raton, Florida, takes first for Miller-Meeks ($86,876), and Iowa City, Iowa takes first for Bohannan ($247,954).
Hinson is raising $3.3 million in District 2
The 2NL District is rated “solid Republican,” “likely Republican” and “safe Republican,” respectively, by the three ratings agencies mentioned above. Incumbent Republican Ashley Hinson was elected to the U.S. House for the first time in the 2020 election cycle and re-elected in 2022. She and Miller-Meeks are the first Republican women to represent Iowa in the House. Sarah Corkery, a Cedar Falls resident, is the only Democrat on the primary ballot.
Hinson has a huge fundraising lead, having raised over $3.3 million so far this cycle, compared to $156,464 for Corkery. Hinson has spent $1.76 million and has nearly $1.67 million on hand as of March 31. Corkery has spent $76,706 and has just under $80,000 on hand.
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Third District race is considered competitive
The 2022 elections for Iowa’s 3rd District was very close. Republican Zach Nunn defeated incumbent Democrat Cindy Axne by just 2,145 votes out of 310,913 cast. The 2024 elections could also be competitive. Of the three rating services, The Cook Report and Larry J. Sabato’s Crystal Ball each rated the race as “lean Republican,” while Inside Elections rated it “tilt Republican.”
Lanon Baccam, a former U.S. Department of Agriculture official and combat veteran, and Melissa Vine, a businesswoman, are vying for the Democratic nomination. Baccam has the backing of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and has raised more than $1.4 million for his campaign – more than ten times what Vine raised as of March 31.
Nunn has raised more than double Baccam’s total with $2.9 million. He has spent almost $1.2 million and has about $1.8 million on hand. Baccam has spent less than $250,000 and has about $1.15 million on hand.
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Feenstra is raising $3 million in the 4th District
In the 4e District, The Cook Political Report rates the race as “solid Republican” and Inside Elections and Sabato’s Crystal Ball rates it “safe Republican,” indicating incumbent Republican Randy Feenstra has the advantage as he seeks re-election. Kevin Virgil, a veteran and entrepreneur, has also qualified for the Republican primary in June.
Ryan Melton is the only Democratic candidate who will appear on the ballot. Open Secrets has no information about the sources of its campaign funds. The FEC reports that he has raised $42,560 as of March 31, compared to just over $3 million by Feenstra.
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The primaries for all four U.S. House races are on June 4, 2024, and the general election is on November 5, 2024.
Kathie Obradovich contributed to this report.
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