2016 United States House of Representatives elections in Iowa

The 2016 United States House of Representatives elections in Iowa were held on November 8, 2016, 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 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate and various state and local elections. The primaries were held on June 7.

2016 United States House of Representatives elections in Iowa

November 8, 2016
All 4 Iowa seats to the United States House of Representatives
Party Republican Democratic Last election 3 1 Seats won 3 1 Seat change Popular vote 813,153 673,969 Percentage 53.65% 44.47% Swing 0.46% 0.98%
Results:       Democratic hold       Republican hold

District 1

Republican Rod Blum won this seat in 2014, following Democrat Bruce Braley's decision to run for Senate.

Candidates

Declared

• Pat Murphy, former Speaker of the Iowa House of Representatives and nominee for this seat in 2014[1][2]
• Monica Vernon, Cedar Rapids City Councilwoman, candidate for the seat in 2014 and nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Iowa in 2014[3]

Withdrew

• Ravi Patel, president of Hawkeye Hotels[4][5]
• Gary Kroeger, advertising executive and former actor[6][7][8][9][10]

Declined

• Chet Culver, former governor of Iowa[11]
• Swati Dandekar, former member of the Iowa Utilities Board, former state senator and candidate for the seat in 2014[12][13][1][14]
• Anesa Kajtazovic, former state representative and candidate for the seat in 2014[12][15]
• Dave O'Brien, attorney, nominee for IA-06 in 1988 and candidate for this seat in 2014[16]

Endorsements

Gary Kroeger

• Timi Brown-Powers, state representative[17]

Monica Vernon

Individuals

• Liz Bennett, state representative[18]
• Joe Bolkcom, state senator[18]
• Cheri Bustos, U.S. Representative[19]
• Bill Dotzler, state senator[18]
• Bob Dvorsky, state senator[18]
• Jack Hatch, former state senator and nominee for governor in 2014[18]
• Rob Hogg, state senator[18]
• Pam Jochum, President of the Iowa Senate[18]
• Vicki Lensing, state representative[18]
• Dave Loebsack, U.S. Representative[20]
• Mary Mascher, state representative[18]
• Liz Mathis, state senator[18]
• Kirsten Running-Marquardt, state representative[18]
• Art Staed, state representative[18]
• Sally Stutsman, state representative[18]
• Rich Taylor, state senator[18]

Organizations

• EMILY's List[21]

Results

Democratic primary results[22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Monica Vernon	21,032	67.5
	Democratic	Pat Murphy	10,090	32.4
	Democratic	Write-ins	38	0.1
Total votes			31,160	100.0

Republican primary

Incumbent Rod Blum ran for re-election to a second term and was unopposed in the primary.

Results

Republican primary results[22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Rod Blum (incumbent)	13,411	99.4
	Republican	Write-ins	88	0.6
Total votes			13,499	100.0

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Rod Blum (R)	Monica Vernon (D)	Other	Undecided
The Polling Company Inc./WomanTrend (R-Blum)	October 29–31, 2016	400	± 4.9%	52%	41%	—	6%
Normington, Petts and Associates (D-HMP)	October 10–11, 2016	400	± 4.9%	45%	44%	—	11%
Lake Research Partners (D)	September 30 – October 3, 2016	439	± 4.7%	48%	46%	—	—
The Polling Company Inc./WomanTrend (R-Blum)	September 29 – October 1, 2016	400	± 4.9%	52%	36%	—	—
Loras College	September 20–22, 2016	368	± 5.1%	45%	38%	1%	16%
The Polling Company Inc./WomanTrend (R-Blum)	August 14–16, 2016	400	± 4.9%	50%	43%	—	8%
DFM Research	November 4–11, 2015	328	± 5.4%	46%	38%	2%	13%

Results

Map showing the results of the 2016 election in Iowa's First congressional district by County

Iowa's 1st congressional district, 2016[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Rod Blum (incumbent)	206,903	53.7
	Democratic	Monica Vernon	177,403	46.1
	n/a	Write-ins	671	0.2
Total votes			384,977	100.0
	Republican hold

District 2

Democratic Representative Dave Loebsack had represented Iowa's 2nd district since 2007. He was elected to a fifth term in 2014 against Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks with 53% of the vote.

Democratic primary

Incumbent Dave Loebsack ran for re-election to a sixth term in office and was unopposed in the primary.

Results

Democratic primary results[22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Dave Loebsack (incumbent)	23,738	99.0
	Democratic	Write-ins	238	1.0
Total votes			23,976	100.0

Republican primary

Coralville thoracic surgeon Christopher Peters ran as a Republican and was unopposed in the primary.[24]

Republican state senator Mark Chelgren considered running, but ultimately declined.[25][26]

Results

Republican primary results[22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Christopher Peters	14,987	99.3
	Republican	Write-ins	107	0.7
Total votes			15,094	100.0

Results

Map showing the results of the 2016 election in Iowa's Second congressional district by County

Iowa's 2nd congressional district, 2016[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	David Loebsack (incumbent)	198,571	53.7
	Republican	Christopher Peters	170,933	46.2
	n/a	Write-ins	528	0.1
Total votes			370,032	100.0
	Democratic hold

District 3

Republican David Young was elected to a first term in 2014 against Democrat Staci Appel with 53% of the vote.

Candidates

Declared

• Desmund Adams, executive recruiting firm owner and 2012 State Senate candidate[27][28][29][30]
• Jim Mowrer, vice chair of the Iowa Democratic Party, former special assistant to the United States Under Secretary of the Army, and nominee for IA-04 in 2014[31]
• Mike Sherzan, businessman from West Des Moines[32]

Declined

• Staci Appel, former state senator and nominee in 2014[33][28][34]
• Nathan Blake, Des Moines School Board member, Assistant Iowa Attorney General and 2014 State Senate candidate[28]
• Chet Culver, former governor[11][28][29]
• Mike Sherzan, businessman and candidate in 2014[35]
• Nick Klinefeldt, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa[36][37][38]
• Matt McCoy, state senator[39]

Results

Democratic primary results[22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jim Mowrer	13,024	49.6
	Democratic	Mike Sherzan	9,573	36.4
	Democratic	Desmund Adams	3,650	13.9
	Democratic	Write-ins	38	0.1
Total votes			26,285	100.0

Republican primary

David Young ran for re-election to a second term in office.

Candidates

Declared

• Joe Grandanette, retired teacher and candidate for the seat in 2014[40][41]
• David Young, incumbent U.S. Representative[42]

Declined

• Brad Zaun, state senator and candidate for the seat in 2010 and 2014[43][41]

Results

Republican primary results[22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	David Young (incumbent)	17,977	84.8
	Republican	Joe Grandanette	3,143	14.8
	Republican	Write-ins	85	0.4
Total votes			21,205	100.0

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	David Young (R)	Jim Mowrer (D)	Undecided
GQR Research (D-DCCC)	October 2016	400	± 4.9%	49%	46%	3%
Loras College	September 20–22, 2016	327	± 5.4%	46%	36%	15%
The Tarrance Group (R-Young)	September 20–22, 2016	400	± 4.9%	52%	37%	11%
RABA Research	September 6–8, 2016	303	± 5.6%	50%	35%	16%

Results

Map showing the results of the 2016 election in Iowa's Third congressional district by County

Iowa's 3rd congressional district, 2016[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	David Young (incumbent)	208,598	53.4
	Democratic	Jim Mowrer	155,002	39.7
	Libertarian	Bryan Jack Holder	15,372	3.9
	Independent	Claudia Addy	6,348	1.6
	Independent	Joe Grandanette	4,518	1.2
	n/a	Write-ins	449	0.1
Total votes			390,287	100.0
	Republican hold

District 4

Republican Representative Steve King won re-election in the 4th district in 2014, winning with 62% over Democrat Kim Weaver.

Democratic primary

Kim Weaver, chair of the O'Brien County Democrats and a local AFSCME official, challenged King in the general election and was unopposed in the primary.[44]

Results

Democratic primary results[22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kim Weaver	12,738	99.5
	Democratic	Write-ins	62	0.5
Total votes			12,800	100.0

Republican primary

Incumbent Steve King ran for re-election.

Republican state senator Rick Bertrand challenged King in the primary for the Republican nomination.[45]

Results

Republican primary results[22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Steve King (incumbent)	29,098	64.6
	Republican	Rick Bertrand	15,872	35.3
	Republican	Write-ins	49	0.1
Total votes			45,019	100.0

Results

Iowa's 4th congressional district, 2016[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Steve King (incumbent)	226,719	61.2
	Democratic	Kim Weaver	142,993	38.6
	n/a	Write-ins	547	0.2
Total votes			370,259	100.0
	Republican hold

References

1. Rynard, Pat (May 24, 2015). "Monday Power Ranking: 1st District – Democrats". Iowa Starting Line. Retrieved June 10, 2015.
2. Cahn, Emily (June 30, 2015). "Murphy to Announce He'll Seek Rematch With Blum". Roll Call. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
3. Noble, Jason (January 15, 2015). "Monica Vernon announces run for Congress". The Des Moines Register. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
4. Noble, Jason (February 16, 2015). "Hotel executive Ravi Patel to run for Congress in Iowa's 1st district". The Des Moines Register. Retrieved February 16, 2015.
5. Petroski, William (June 23, 2015). "Patel withdraws in 1st District congressional race". The Des Moines Register. Retrieved June 24, 2015.
6. Pat Kinney (January 20, 2015). "Gary Kroeger mulling run for Congress". WCF Courier. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
7. Rynard, Pat (January 19, 2015). "Vernon's In. Former SNL Actor and More May Join Race for Congress in IA-01". Iowa Starting Line. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
8. Morain, Michael (February 13, 2015). "'SNL' alum from Cedar Falls may run for Congress". The Des Moines Register. Retrieved February 16, 2015.
9. "Former SNL cast member running for Congress in Iowa". The Des Moines Register. April 7, 2015. Retrieved April 7, 2015.
10. Crippes, Christinia; Lynch, James (March 2, 2016). "Kroeger shifts sights from U.S. House to Statehouse". The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier. Retrieved March 2, 2016.
11. Obradovich, Kathie (January 22, 2015). "Culver making a run for Congress?". The Des Moines Register. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
12. Emily Cahn (January 15, 2015). "First Democrat Jumps Into Targeted Iowa Race". Roll Call. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
13. Springer, Richard (March 9, 2015). "Swati Dandekar May Run for Congress in Iowa's 1st District". India-West. Retrieved March 19, 2015.
14. "Where are they now? Swati Dandekar edition". Bleeding Heartland. November 20, 2015. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
15. "Where are they now? Anesa Kajtazovic edition". Bleeding Heartland. September 3, 2015. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
16. Barton, Thomas J. (January 16, 2015). "2 weeks into Blum's term, Monica Vernon offers 2016 challenge". Telegraph Herald. Retrieved June 10, 2015.
17. Rynard, Pat (June 23, 2015). "Gary Kroeger Nabs State Legislator Endorsement in 1st District Race". Iowa Starting Line. Retrieved June 26, 2015.
18. "IA-01: More than a dozen Democratic legislators endorse Monica Vernon". Bleeding Heartland. January 16, 2015. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
19. Crippes, Christinia (June 24, 2015). "Bustos endorses Vernon for Iowa's 1st District". Quad-City Times. Retrieved June 26, 2015.
20. Lynch, James Q. (June 24, 2015). "Loebsack endorses Vernon for 1st District nomination". Muscatine Journal. Retrieved June 26, 2015.
21. Lynch, James (March 27, 2015). "Vernon gets Emily's List backing in Iowa 1st District race". The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier. Retrieved June 26, 2015.
22. "Official Results" (PDF). Iowa Secretary of State. Retrieved July 21, 2016.
23. "Official Results General Election". Iowa Secretary of State. Archived from the original on December 24, 2016. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
24. "2016 Candidate list" (PDF).
25. Rynard, Pat (July 2, 2015). "Sources Report Mark Chelgren Planning Run Against Loebsack in 2nd". Iowa Starting Line. Retrieved August 17, 2015.
26. "State Senator Mark Chelgren "seriously" considering IA-02 campaign". Bleeding Heartland. July 31, 2015. Retrieved August 17, 2015.
27. Rynard, Pat (February 27, 2015). "Rumor Roundup: Statehouse Retirements and 2016 Runs". Iowa Starting Line. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
28. Rynard, Pat (March 30, 2015). "Sizing Up the 3rd District Race: Which Democrats Will Run?". Iowa Starting Line. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
29. Rynard, Pat (June 8, 2015). "Monday Power Ranking: 3rd District – Democrats". Iowa Starting Line. Retrieved June 10, 2015.
30. Noble, Jason (July 21, 2015). "Desmund Adams announces bid for Congress". The Des Moines Register. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
31. Jacobs, Jennifer (August 16, 2015). "Iraq vet Jim Mowrer running for Congress again". The Des Moines Register. Retrieved August 17, 2015.
32. "2016 Candidate list" (PDF).
33. Noble, Jason (February 27, 2015). "Staci Appel 'considering' 2016 bid for Congress". The Des Moines Register. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
34. Jacobs, Jennifer (June 9, 2015). "Staci Appel opts against another bid for Congress". The Des Moines Register. Retrieved June 10, 2015.
35. "IA-03: Mike Sherzan sounds ready to seek Democratic nomination". Bleeding Heartland. November 10, 2015. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
36. Cahn, Emily (April 8, 2015). "Democrats Down on Potential Iowa Candidate". Roll Call. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
37. Pathé, Simone (August 14, 2015). "Democrats Courting 'Gold Standard' to Unseat Young in Iowa (Updated)". Roll Call. Retrieved August 17, 2015.
38. Rodgers, Grant (October 21, 2015). "Klinefeldt resigning U.S. Attorney post". The Des Moines Register. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
39. Noble, Jason (August 12, 2015). "Iowa state Sen. Matt McCoy declines congressional bid". The Des Moines Register. Retrieved August 17, 2015.
40. "Republican lines up to primary Young in Third District". The Iowa Statesman. July 28, 2015. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
41. Petroski, William (October 1, 2015). "Zaun won't challenge Young for Congress". The Des Moines Register. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
42. Riley, Roger (October 15, 2015). "Congressman David Young Plans To Run For Re-election". WHO-DT. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
43. Petroski, William (March 15, 2015). "Zaun not ruling out primary challenge to Young". The Des Moines Register. Retrieved March 19, 2015.
44. Hayworth, Bret (August 14, 2015). "Weaver announces bid to defeat King in Iowa 4th District". Sioux City Journal. Retrieved August 17, 2015.
45. "US Republican Congress Candidate Says It's Time for a Change in Washington DC". Raccoon Valley Radio. May 5, 2016. Retrieved May 5, 2016.

External links

• U.S. House elections in Iowa, 2016 at Ballotpedia
• Campaign contributions at OpenSecrets.org