DES MOINES, Iowa (KXEL) — It was nearly a clean sweep for Republicans in statewide races, holding on to three (governor, ag secretary, secretary of state) and flipping two of the other three (attorney general, treasurer). Longtime incumbents Tom Miller (attorney general) and Michael Fitzgerald (treasurer) lost re-election bids. State Auditor Rob Sand holds a narrow lead to become the only Democrat in statewide elected office.
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Republicans are trying to sweep Iowa’s four seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, pushing to unseat a vulnerable Democratic incumbent while reelecting two first-term congresswomen. If they win all four seats, it would be the first time since 1994 that the party would win every seat in Iowa’s House delegation. GOP Reps. Randy Feenstra, Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Ashley Hinson won reelection Tuesday while votes were still being counted in a tight race between Democrat Cindy Axne and Republican Zach Nunn, with Nunn holding a slight lead.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowans have voted to add a right to keep and bear arms into the state constitution, a move that will make it more difficult to pass gun restrictions and easier to strike down existing gun laws. By approving the constitutional amendment Tuesday, Iowa joins Alabama, Louisiana and Missouri with constitutional language that requires courts to use what’s called strict scrutiny when considering gun restrictions. That standard will make it very difficult for courts to uphold limits on gun possession, ownership or use, such as future efforts to require more extensive background checks or outlaw some kinds of firearms.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Republican Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds won a second full term after campaigning on a record of tax cuts and conservative handling of the state’s economy. Reynolds defeated Democrat Deidre DeJear after a campaign in which the incumbent campaigned on her success in building a $2 billion surplus even as she pushed through tax cuts. Reynolds became governor in 2017 and narrowly won her first full term a year later, but her run for reelection never seemed in doubt. Polling for months had shown that Reynolds was strongly favored over DeJear, a Des Moines small business owner who lost her second attempt at statewide office.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Sen. Charles Grassley was elected to an eighth term, defeating Democrat Michael Franken and putting himself in position to be the Senate’s most senior member. Grassley beat the retired Navy admiral Tuesday after a race that was more competitive than the typically easy victories the veteran Republican has achieved since first being elected to the Senate in 1980. Franken has campaigned aggressively for months in each of Iowa’s 99 counties and portrayed Grassley as served too long. Grassley has promoted his seniority and cast Franken as too liberal.
