2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Iowa
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The 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Iowa were held on Tuesday, November 6, to elect the four U.S. representatives from the State of Iowa, one from each of the state's four congressional districts. The elections coincided with the gubernatorial election, as well as other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate, and various state and local elections. The state congressional delegation flipped from a 3–1 Republican majority to a 3–1 Democratic majority.
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November 6, 2018
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All 4 Iowa seats to the United States House of Representatives | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Democratic hold Democratic gain Republican hold | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
This was the first time the Democrats won the majority of Iowa's seats since 2010, and the first time they won the popular vote in the state since 2012. As of 2026, these results are also the most recent election in which the Democrats achieved either due to Iowa's significant shift towards the GOP.
Overview
Statewide
| Party | Candidates | Votes | Seats | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | +/– | % | |||
| Democratic | 4 | 664,676 | 50.48% | 3 |  2 | 75.00% | |
| Republican | 4 | 612,338 | 46.51% | 1 |  2 | 25.00% | |
| Libertarian | 4 | 29,894 | 2.27% | 0 |  | 0.00% | |
| Independent | 3 | 5,100 | 0.39% | 0 | | 0.00% | |
| Legal Marijuana Now | 1 | 2,015 | 0.15% | 0 | | 0.00% | |
| Green | 1 | 1,888 | 0.14% | 0 | | 0.00% | |
| Write-in | 732 | 0.06% | 0 | | 0.00% | ||
| Total | 17 | 1,316,643 | 100.00% | 4 | | 100.00% | |
By district
Results of the 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Iowa by district:[1]
| District | Democratic | Republican | Others | Total | Result | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | ||
| District 1 | 170,342 | 50.96% | 153,442 | 45.91% | 10,459 | 3.13% | 334,243 | 100.0% | Democratic gain |
| District 2 | 171,446 | 54.79% | 133,287 | 42.60% | 8,180 | 2.61% | 312,913 | 100% | Democratic hold |
| District 3 | 175,642 | 49.30% | 167,933 | 47.14% | 12,666 | 3.56% | 356,241 | 100.0% | Democratic gain |
| District 4 | 147,246 | 47.04% | 157,676 | 50.37% | 8,123 | 2.59% | 313,045 | 100.0% | Republican hold |
| Total | 664,676 | 50.49% | 612,338 | 46.51% | 39,428 | 3.00% | 1,316,442 | 100.0% | |
District 1
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 County results Finkenauer: 50–60% Blum: 40–50% 50–60% | |||||||||||||||||
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Incumbent Republican Rod Blum, who had represented the district since 2015, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 54% of the vote in 2016. The district had a PVI of D+1.
The 1st district went for Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election with a 49% to 45% margin, after voting for Barack Obama with a 56% to 43% margin in 2012.[2]
Republican primary
Candidates
Nominee
- Rod Blum, incumbent U.S. Representative
Results
Map legend
- Blum—100%
- Blum—≥90%
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Rod Blum (incumbent) | 14,737 | 98.9 | |
| Republican | Write-ins | 167 | 1.1 | |
| Total votes | 14,904 | 100.0 | ||
Democratic primary
Candidates
Nominee
- Abby Finkenauer, state representative[3]
Eliminated in primary
- Thomas Heckroth, former staffer for United States Senator Tom Harkin[4][5]
- George Ramsey III, former military recruiter[5]
- Courtney Rowe, engineer and Bernie Sanders delegate at the 2016 state convention[6]
Declined
- Jeff Danielson, state senator[7][8]
- Liz Mathis, state senator[9]
- Brent Oleson, Linn County Supervisor[7][10]
- Steve Sodders, former state senator[11]
- Stacey Walker, Linn County Supervisor[4][10]
Endorsements
Abby Finkenauer
- State legislators
- Ako Abdul-Samad, state representative[12]
- Liz Bennett, state representative[12]
- Timi Brown-Powers, state representative[12]
- Pam Jochum, State Senator and former President of the Iowa Senate[12]
- Tyler Olson, former state representative[12]
- Janet Petersen, state senator[12]
- Kirsten Running-Marquardt, state representative[12]
- Ras Smith, state representative[12]
- Todd Taylor, state representative[12]
- Individuals
- Sue Dvorsky, former Iowa Democratic Party chair[12]
Thomas Heckroth
- State legislators
- Ro Foege, former state representative[13]
- Brian Schoenjahn, former state senator[13]
- Steve Sodders, former state senator[13]
- Individuals
- Brent Oleson, Linn County Supervisor[13][10]
- Peggy Sherets, Oelwein mayor[13]
Courtney Rowe
- Organizations
Results
Map legend
- Finkenauer—80–90%
- Finkenauer—70–80%
- Finkenauer—60–70%
- Finkenauer—50–60%
- Heckroth—50–60%
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Abby Finkenauer | 29,745 | 66.8 | |
| Democratic | Thomas Heckroth | 8,516 | 19.1 | |
| Democratic | Courtney Rowe | 3,381 | 7.6 | |
| Democratic | George Ramsey | 2,837 | 6.4 | |
| Democratic | Write-ins | 50 | 0.1 | |
| Total votes | 44,529 | 100 | ||
Libertarian primary
Candidates
Nominee
- Troy Hageman, activist
Green primary
Candidates
Nominee
- Henry Gaff, co-chair of the Iowa Green Party[15]
Gaff was only 18, meaning he would not have met the U.S. Constitution's required minimum age of 25 to be elected to the House of Representatives.[15]
General election
Debates
| No. | Date | Host | Moderator | Link | Republican | Democratic |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Key: P Participant A Absent N Not invited I Invited W Withdrawn |
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| Rod Blum | Abby Finkenauer | |||||
| 1 | October 5, 2018 | KWWL-TV | Ron Steele Abby Turpin |
[16] | P | P |
| 2 | October 16, 2018 | KGAN KXEL |
Jeff Stein Nick Weig |
[17] | P | P |
Polling
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
Rod Blum (R) |
Abby Finkenauer (D) |
Troy Hageman (L) |
Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emerson College[18] | October 29 – November 1, 2018 | 353 | ± 5.5% | 41% | 53% | 4% | 2% |
| NYT Upshot/Siena College[19] | October 28–31, 2018 | 452 | ± 4.9% | 39% | 46% | 4% | 11% |
| The Polling Company (R-Blum)[20] | October 12–13, 2018 | 400 | ± 4.9% | 43% | 45% | 4% | 6% |
| The Polling Company (R-Blum)[21] | October 3–4, 2018 | 400 | ± 4.9% | 43% | 44% | 3% | 8% |
| NYT Upshot/Siena College[22] | September 18–20, 2018 | 502 | ± 4.6% | 37% | 52% | – | 11% |
| Emerson College[23] | September 6–8, 2018 | 250 | ± 6.4% | 38% | 43% | – | 12% |
| DCCC (D)[24] | February 13–14, 2018 | — | — | 41% | 47% | – | — |
| Public Policy Polling (D)[25] | February 12–13, 2018 | 742 | ± 3.6% | 42% | 43% | – | 15% |
| Public Policy Polling (D-Heckroth)[26] | November 2–3, 2017 | 737 | – | 42% | 43% | – | 16% |
| Public Policy Polling (D)[27] | October 6–8, 2017 | 1,093 | ± 3.0% | 40% | 42% | – | 18% |
Predictions
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Cook Political Report[28] | Lean D (flip) | November 5, 2018 |
| Inside Elections[29] | Lean D (flip) | November 5, 2018 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[30] | Lean D (flip) | November 5, 2018 |
| RCP[31] | Lean D (flip) | November 5, 2018 |
| Daily Kos[32] | Lean D (flip) | November 5, 2018 |
| 538[33] | Safe D (flip) | November 7, 2018 |
| CNN[34] | Lean D (flip) | October 31, 2018 |
| Fox News[35] | Lean D (flip) | September 21, 2018 |
| Politico[36] | Lean D (flip) | November 2, 2018 |
Results
Finkenauer went on to flip the district; this was one of many victories in swing districts for Democrats in a blue wave election.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Abby Finkenauer | 170,342 | 51.0 | |||
| Republican | Rod Blum (incumbent) | 153,442 | 45.9 | |||
| Libertarian | Troy Hageman | 10,285 | 3.1 | |||
| Write-in | 174 | 0.0 | ||||
| Total votes | 334,243 | 100.0 | ||||
| Democratic gain from Republican | ||||||
District 2
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 County results Loebsack: 50–60% 70–80% Peters: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
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Democratic representative Dave Loebsack, who had represented the district since 2007, was reelected to a sixth term with 54% of the vote in 2016. Loebsack ran for reelection.[37]
The 2nd district went for Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election with a 49% to 45% margin, after voting for Barack Obama with a 56% to 43% margin in 2012.[2]
Democratic primary
Candidates
Nominee
- Dave Loebsack, incumbent U.S. Representative
Results
Map legend
- Loebsack—100%
- Loebsack—≥90%
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Dave Loebsack (incumbent) | 42,378 | 99.3 | |
| Democratic | Write-ins | 314 | 0.7 | |
| Total votes | 42,692 | 100.0 | ||
Republican primary
Candidates
Nominee
Eliminated in primary
Declined
- Bobby Kaufmann, state representative[7]
Results
Map legend
- Peters—≥90%
- Peters—80–90%
- Peters—70–80%
- Peters—50–60%
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Christopher Peters | 18,056 | 85.7 | |
| Republican | Ginny Caligiuri (write-in) | 2,839 | 13.5 | |
| Republican | Other write-ins | 181 | 0.9 | |
| Total votes | 21,076 | 100.0 | ||
Independents
- Daniel Clark[41]
General election
Polling
| Poll source | Dates administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
Dave Loebsack (D) |
Christopher Peters (R) |
Other | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emerson College[18] | October 29 – November 1, 2018 | 373 | ± 5.3% | 53% | 40% | 2% | 5% |
| Gravis Marketing (R-Peters)[42] | September 8–11, 2018 | 425 | ± 4.8% | 46% | 38% | – | 16% |
| 43% | 37% | 3%[43] | 17% | ||||
| Emerson College[23] | September 6–8, 2018 | 250 | ± 6.4% | 45% | 21% | – | 28% |
Predictions
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Cook Political Report[28] | Safe D | November 5, 2018 |
| Inside Elections[29] | Safe D | November 5, 2018 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[30] | Safe D | November 5, 2018 |
| RCP[31] | Likely D | November 5, 2018 |
| Daily Kos[32] | Safe D | November 5, 2018 |
| 538[33] | Safe D | November 7, 2018 |
| Fox News[35] | Likely D | September 28, 2018 |
| CNN[34] | Safe D | October 31, 2018 |
| Politico[36] | Likely D | November 2, 2018 |
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Dave Loebsack (incumbent) | 171,446 | 54.8 | |
| Republican | Christopher Peters | 133,287 | 42.6 | |
| Libertarian | Mark Strauss | 6,181 | 2.0 | |
| Independent | Daniel Clark | 1,837 | 0.6 | |
| Write-in | 162 | 0.0 | ||
| Total votes | 312,913 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||
District 3
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 County results Axne: 50–60% Young: 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
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Incumbent Republican David Young, who had represented the district since 2015, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 53% of the vote in 2016. The district had a PVI of D+1.
The 3rd district went for Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election with a 49% to 45% margin, after voting for Barack Obama with a 51% to 47% margin in 2012.[2]
Republican primary
Candidates
Nominee
- David Young, incumbent U.S. Representative
Results
Map legend
- Young—100%
- Young—≥90%
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | David Young (incumbent) | 21,712 | 98.9 | |
| Republican | Write-ins | 234 | 1.1 | |
| Total votes | 21,946 | 100 | ||
Democratic primary
After Greenfield's campaign manager was fired for forging signatures on nominating papers, she attempted to re-collect the 1,790 signatures necessary to make the ballot, but did not get enough signatures.[44]
Candidates
Nominee
- Cindy Axne, businesswoman[45][46]
Eliminated in primary
Did not make ballot
- Theresa Greenfield, real estate executive[50]
Withdrew
- Austin Frerick, former Treasury Department economist[51][52]
- Paul Knupp, psychiatric rehabilitation practitioner and minister,[53] withdrew from the Democratic primary to join the Green party[citation needed]
- Heather Ryan, nominee for KY-01 in 2008[54][55]
- Anna Ryon, attorney with the Office of Consumer Advocate[56]
- Mike Sherzan, businessman and candidate in 2016[57][58]
Declined
- John Norris, former chief of staff to Governor Tom Vilsack, former Federal Energy Regulatory Commission member and nominee for IA-04 in 2002 (running for governor)[58]
Endorsements
Pete D'Alessandro
- U.S. Senators
- Bernie Sanders, U.S. Senator from Vermont[59][60]
- State legislators
- Marti Anderson, state representative[61]
- Brian Meyer, state representative[61]
- Labor unions
- Organizations
- Individuals
Polling
| Poll source | Dates administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
Cindy Axne |
Pete D'Alessandro |
Eddie Mauro |
Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Selzer & Co.[66] | May 13–16, 2018 | 400 | ± 4.9% | 26% | 11% | 27% | 36% |
Results
Map legend
- Axne—70–80%
- Axne—60–70%
- Axne—50–60%
- Mauro—40–50%
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Cindy Axne | 32,910 | 57.8 | |
| Democratic | Eddie J. Mauro | 15,006 | 26.4 | |
| Democratic | Pete D'Alessandro | 8,874 | 15.6 | |
| Democratic | Write-ins | 150 | 0.3 | |
| Total votes | 56,940 | 100 | ||
General election
Debate
| No. | Date | Host | Moderator | Link | Republican | Democratic |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Key: P Participant A Absent N Not invited I Invited W Withdrawn |
||||||
| David Young | Cindy Axne | |||||
| 1 | October 11, 2018 | Iowa Public Television | David Yepsen | [67] | P | P |
Polling
| Poll source | Dates administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
David Young (R) |
Cindy Axne (D) |
Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emerson College[18] | October 29 – November 1, 2018 | 380 | ± 5.3% | 45% | 46% | 3% |
| NYT Upshot/Siena College[68] | October 25–27, 2018 | 504 | ± 4.6% | 41% | 43% | 11% |
| NYT Upshot/Siena College[69] | September 27–30, 2018 | 502 | ± 4.6% | 43% | 44% | 13% |
| Emerson College[23] | September 6–8, 2018 | 260 | ± 6.4% | 47% | 31% | 15% |
| DCCC (D)[70] | September 4–5, 2018 | 575 | ± 4.1% | 43% | 46% | 11% |
| ALG Research (D-Axne)[71] | July 8–12, 2018 | 500 | ± 4.4% | 41% | 45% | 14% |
Predictions
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Cook Political Report[28] | Tossup | November 5, 2018 |
| Inside Elections[29] | Tossup | November 5, 2018 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[30] | Lean D (flip) | November 5, 2018 |
| RCP[31] | Tossup | November 5, 2018 |
| Daily Kos[32] | Tossup | November 5, 2018 |
| 538[33] | Lean D (flip) | November 7, 2018 |
| CNN[34] | Tossup | October 31, 2018 |
| Fox News[35] | Tossup | September 21, 2018 |
| Politico[36] | Tossup | November 2, 2018 |
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Cindy Axne | 175,642 | 49.3 | |||
| Republican | David Young (incumbent) | 167,933 | 47.1 | |||
| Libertarian | Bryan Holder | 7,267 | 2.0 | |||
| Legal Marijuana Now | Mark Elworth Jr. | 2,015 | 0.6 | |||
| Green | Paul Knupp | 1,888 | 0.5 | |||
| Independent | Joe Grandanette | 1,301 | 0.4 | |||
| Write-in | 195 | 0.1 | ||||
| Total votes | 356,241 | 100.0 | ||||
| Democratic gain from Republican | ||||||
District 4
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 County results King: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Scholten: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
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Incumbent Republican Steve King, who had represented the district since 2013, and previously represented the 5th district from 2003 to 2013, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 61% of the vote in 2016. The district had a PVI of R+11.
The 4th district went for Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election with a 61% to 34% margin, after voting for Mitt Romney with a 53% to 45% margin in 2012.[2]
Republican primary
Candidates
Nominee
- Steve King, incumbent U.S. Representative[73]
Eliminated in primary
- Cyndi Hanson, educational administrator[74]
Declined
- Rick Bertrand, state senator and candidate for this seat in 2016[75]
Results
Map legend
- King—80–90%
- King—70–80%
- King—60–70%
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Steve King (incumbent) | 28,053 | 74.7 | |
| Republican | Cyndi Hanson | 9,437 | 25.1 | |
| Republican | Write-ins | 44 | 0.1 | |
| Total votes | 37,534 | 100 | ||
Democratic primary
Candidates
Nominee
- J. D. Scholten, paralegal and former professional baseball player[76]
Eliminated in primary
Withdrawn
Declined
- Dirk Deam, Iowa State University political science professor[81]
- Chris Hall, state representative[82]
Results
Map legend
- Scholten—70–80%
- Scholten—60–70%
- Scholten—50–60%
- Scholten—40–50%
- Scholten—30–40%
- Jacobsen—40–50%
- Jacobsen—50–60%
- Jacobsen—60–70%
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | J. D. Scholten | 14,733 | 51.3 | |
| Democratic | Leann Jacobsen | 9,176 | 31.9 | |
| Democratic | John Paschen | 4,806 | 16.7 | |
| Democratic | Write-ins | 29 | 0.1 | |
| Total votes | 28,744 | 100.0 | ||
General election
King declined to debate Scholten during the general election campaign.[83][84]
Endorsements
J. D. Scholten (D)
- U.S. senators
- Jeff Flake, Arizona (2013–2019) (Republican)[85]
Polling
| Poll source | Dates administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
Steve King (R) |
J.D. Scholten (D) |
Other | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NYT Upshot/Siena College[86] | October 31 – November 4, 2018 | 423 | ± 5.0% | 47% | 42% | 1% | 9% |
| Emerson College[18] | October 29 – November 1, 2018 | 356 | ± 5.5% | 51% | 42% | – | 4% |
| Change Research (D)[87] | October 27–29, 2018 | 631 | – | 45% | 44% | – | – |
| WPA Intelligence (R-King)[88] | October 22–24, 2018 | 401 | ± 4.9% | 52% | 34% | 3% | 11% |
| Expedition Strategies (D-Scholten)[89] | September 5–9, 2018 | 380 | ± 5.0% | 43% | 37% | – | – |
| Emerson College[23] | September 6–8, 2018 | 240 | ± 6.5% | 41% | 31% | – | 16% |
Predictions
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Cook Political Report[28] | Lean R | November 5, 2018 |
| Inside Elections[29] | Likely R | November 5, 2018 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[30] | Lean R | November 5, 2018 |
| RCP[31] | Lean R | November 5, 2018 |
| Daily Kos[32] | Likely R | November 5, 2018 |
| 538[33] | Likely R | November 7, 2018 |
| Fox News[35] | Lean R | September 21, 2018 |
| CNN[34] | Likely R | October 31, 2018 |
| Politico[36] | Likely R | November 2, 2018 |
Results
King won by the slimmest margin of victory in his congressional electoral career.[90]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Steve King (incumbent) | 157,676 | 50.3 | |
| Democratic | J. D. Scholten | 147,246 | 47.0 | |
| Libertarian | Charles Aldrich | 6,161 | 2.0 | |
| Independent | Edward Peterson | 1,962 | 0.6 | |
| Write-in | 206 | 0.0 | ||
| Total votes | 313,256 | 100.0 | ||
| Republican hold | ||||