The Final Half-Dozen
There are a lot of things that come in “sixes”…a touchdown in football is worth six points…various beverages come in a six-pack…and now, add to that list of things associated with “six”–congressional elections.
Six votes…that’s the margin of victory in the race for Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District. It’s now official, as certified by the Secretary of State yesterday. And barring a court challenge, it will stand, meaning that Iowa’s delegation went from one Republican and three Democrats…to three Republicans and one Democrat as a result of the 2020 election. And the veteran of the delegation was just elected to her second term, with all the rest being rookies. Guess we’ve taken care of the “we need new blood in Congress” argument.
I’ve not heard anyone claim fraud is at work…although during the recount last week, some were wondering why the counties that voted heaviest for the Democrat were the last to report. But this isn’t Pennsylvania, or Georgia, or those other places were seemingly some areas waited to see how many votes were needed for a candidate to win before reporting their numbers. This is Iowa, and when you have more than 393,922 votes cast and the margin is six, after having been counted and recounted…well, folks tend to believe it.
I’m sure Rita Hart supporters think “what if”…what if we had made sure the Jones family had sent in absentee ballots before the family left on vacation…what if we had knocked on three or four more doors. But the Marianette Miller-Meeks side could probably say the same thing, in terms of things they could have done to extend the lead and not make it the closest race in the country.
What an excruciating loss, though. Sometimes it’s easier to take a huge loss, in sports or politics…but to lose by such a small amount, that’s tough. Both candidates have excellent records of dedicated public service in a variety of ways. And it’s a lesson in perseverance, because while it was Hart’s first congressional run, it was the fourth try for Miller-Meeks. And now, thanks to six votes, you can call her Congresswoman-elect Miller-Meeks.
