Democratic candidate Christina Bohannan, running in Iowa’s 1st Congressional District, attacks her Republican opponent’s history of fighting against abortion in a speech on Aug. 10, 2024, at the Iowa State Fair. (Photo by Jack O’Connor/Iowa Capital Dispatch)
Democrat Christina Bohannan announced Thursday she plans to request a recount in all 20 counties of Iowa’s 1st Congressional District in her race against U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks.
Jindalae Suh, Bohannan’s campaign manager, released a statement Thursday on the planned recount request.
“Over the past week, Iowa election officials have worked tirelessly to count and record hundreds of thousands of ballots in Iowa’s 1st congressional district race, resulting in a razor-thin margin,” Suh said in the statement. “As Rep. Miller-Meeks has acknowledged, a recount is to be expected in this very close race. To be absolutely certain that every voter is heard, the Bohannan campaign will request a recount in all 20 counties across the district, as permitted by Iowa law. We have full trust in this process and will accept the results regardless of the outcome.”
As of Wednesday, Miller-Meeks led with 206,940 votes to Bohannan’s 206,138 — a margin on 802 votes. The Associated Press has still not called the race, and results are still unofficial as the finalization process remains ongoing.
The 1st District race is one of the few remaining uncalled U.S. House races throughout the country. While control of the House was unclear long after Republicans had secured the White House with President-elect Donald Trump’s victory, the GOP House majority was confirmed by unofficial results Wednesday when the AP declared that Rep. Juan Ciscomani, an Arizona Republican, had won reelection.
In Iowa, the three other Republican congressional incumbents were declared victors on Election Night. With Miller-Meeks still in the lead, it’s likely that Iowa’s federal delegation will remain all-Republican in the upcoming year.
Miller-Meeks’ campaign released a statement Wednesday on the certification of election results, stating the process “further confirms what we already knew: Mariannette Miller-Meeks was re-elected to Congress for a third term.” Miller-Meeks declared victory at her election night watch party, though the race had not been called.
“The congresswoman’s lead and win are a mathematical certainty,” the campaign said in the statement. “She will continue her work for all of Iowa and immediately get back to work to lower prices and inflation, secure the border, and fight to protect our farmers.”
Though the recount process could change outcome in the tight race, Miller-Meeks has moved forward this week under the assumption she was successful in her bid for reelection. On Tuesday, she announced her candidacy to replace U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik as the House GOP conference chair due to the New York Republican’s expected departure to become ambassador to the United Nations. As of Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Lisa McClain of Michigan was expected to fill the leadership position.
Bohannan’s campaign said Iowans should feel confident in the accuracy of election results during the recount process. “All Iowans should feel confident that at the conclusion of this transparent, precinct-level recount process, every lawful vote will be counted and reported accurately,” Suh said.