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Small business owner Cindy Axne (D) defeated incumbent Rep. David Young (R) and four other candidates in the race for Iowa's 3rd District on November 6, 2018.
All 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives were up for election in 2018. The Democratic Party gained a net total of 40 seats, winning control of the chamber. This race was identified as a 2018 battleground that might have affected partisan control of the U.S. House in the 116th Congress. Heading into the election, the Republican Party was in the majority holding 235 seats to Democrats' 193 seats, with seven vacant seats. Democrats needed to win 23 GOP-held seats in 2018 to win control of the House. From 1918 to 2016, the president’s party lost an average of 29 seats in midterm elections.
Young was first elected in 2014 and won re-election by 13 points in 2016. Although President Trump (R) won this district by three points in 2016, Obama won it by four points in 2012. Political forecasters considered this election to be competitive.
Third-party and independent candidates included Paul Knupp (G), Mark G. Elworth Jr. (Legal Medical Now Party), Bryan Holder (L), and Joe Grandanette (Independent).
Iowa's 3rd Congressional District election, 2018
| Poll | Poll sponsor | Cindy Axne | David Young | Undecided | Margin of Error | Sample Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NYT Upshot/Siena College October 25-27, 2018 | The New York Times | 43% | 41% | 11% | +/-4.6 | 504 |
| NYT Upshot/Siena College September 26–30, 2018 | The New York Times | 44% | 43% | 13% | +/-4.6 | 502 |
| DCCC Analytics September 4–5, 2018 | None | 46% | 43% | 11% | +/-4.1 | 575 |
Iowa's 3rd Congressional District election, Democratic primary
| Poll | Eddie Mauro | Cindy Axne | Pete D'Alessandro | Margin of Error | Sample Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Selzer & Co. May 13-16 | 27% | 26% | 11% | +/-4.9 | 400 |
The chart below contains data from financial reports submitted to the Federal Election Commission.
| Name | Party | Receipts* | Disbursements** | Cash on hand | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cindy Axne | Democratic Party | $5,243,330 | $5,222,953 | $20,378 | As of December 31, 2018 |
|
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2018.
* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee." |
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This section provides an overview of federal and state elections in Iowa from 2000 to 2016. All data comes from the Iowa Secretary of State website.
This chart shows the results of the presidential election in Iowa every year from 2000 to 2016.
Election results (President of the United States), Iowa 2000-2016
| Year | First-place candidate | First-place candidate votes (%) | Second-place candidate | Second-place candidate votes (%) | Margin of victory (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 |  Donald Trump |
50.7% |  Hillary Clinton |
41.3% | 9.4% |
| 2012 | Barack Obama |
51.7% | Mitt Romney |
46.0% | 5.7% |
| 2008 | Barack Obama |
53.7% | John McCain |
44.2% | 9.5% |
| 2004 | George W. Bush |
49.9% | John Kerry |
49.2% | 0.7% |
| 2000 | Al Gore |
48.5% | George W. Bush |
48.2% | 0.3% |
This chart shows the results of U.S. Senate races in Iowa from 2000 to 2016. Every state has two Senate seats, and each seat goes up for election every six years. The terms of the seats are staggered so that roughly one-third of the seats are up every two years.
Election results (U.S. Senator), Iowa 2000-2016
| Year | First-place candidate | First-place candidate votes (%) | Second-place candidate | Second-place candidate votes (%) | Margin of victory (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Chuck Grassley |
60.1% | Patty Judge |
35.7% | 24.4% |
| 2014 | Joni Ernst |
51.5% | Bruce Braley |
43.3% | 8.2% |
| 2010 | Chuck Grassley |
63.4% | Roxanne Conlin |
32.8% | 30.6% |
| 2008 | Tom Harkin |
61.4% | Christopher Reed |
36.5% | 24.9% |
| 2004 | Chuck Grassley |
70.2% | Arthur Small |
27.9% | 42.3% |
| 2002 | Tom Harkin |
54.2% | Greg Ganske |
43.8% | 10.4% |
This chart shows the results of the four gubernatorial elections held between 2000 and 2016. Gubernatorial elections are held every four years in Iowa.
Election results (Governor), Iowa 2000-2016
| Year | First-place candidate | First-place candidate votes (%) | Second-place candidate | Second-place candidate votes (%) | Margin of victory (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Terry Branstad |
58.4% | Jack Hatch |
36.9% | 21.5% |
| 2010 | Terry Branstad |
52.3% | Chet Culver |
42.8% | 9.5% |
| 2006 | Chet Culver |
53.7% | Jim Nussle |
44.1% | 9.6% |
| 2002 | Tom Vilsack |
52.7% | Doug Gross |
44.5% | 8.2% |
This chart shows the number of Democrats and Republicans who were elected to represent Iowa in the U.S. House from 2000 to 2016. Elections for U.S. House seats are held every two years.
Congressional delegation, Iowa 2000-2016
| Year | Republicans | Republicans (%) | Democrats | Democrats (%) | Balance of power |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 3 |
75.0% | 1 |
25.0% | R+2 |
| 2014 | 3 |
75.0% | 1 |
25.0% | R+2 |
| 2012 | 2 |
50.0% | 2 |
50.0% | Split |
| 2010 | 2 |
40.0% | 3 |
60.0% | D+1 |
| 2008 | 2 |
40.0% | 3 |
60.0% | D+1 |
| 2006 | 2 |
40.0% | 3 |
60.0% | D+1 |
| 2004 | 4 |
80.0% | 1 |
20.0% | R+3 |
| 2002 | 4 |
80.0% | 1 |
20.0% | R+3 |
| 2000 | 4 |
80.0% | 1 |
20.0% | R+3 |
A state government trifecta occurs when one party controls both chambers of the state legislature and the governor's office.
Iowa Party Control: 1992-2019
Four years of Democratic trifectas • Five years of Republican trifectas
| Year | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governor | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R |
| Senate | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | S | S | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R |
| House | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R |
Demographic data for Iowa
| Iowa | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|
| Total population: | 3,121,997 | 316,515,021 |
| Land area (sq mi): | 55,857 | 3,531,905 |
| Gender | ||
| Female: | 50.4% | 50.8% |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White: | 91.2% | 73.6% |
| Black/African American: | 3.2% | 12.6% |
| Asian: | 2% | 5.1% |
| Native American: | 0.3% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander: | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| Two or more: | 2% | 3% |
| Hispanic/Latino: | 5.4% | 17.1% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate: | 91.5% | 86.7% |
| College graduation rate: | 26.7% | 29.8% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income: | $53,183 | $53,889 |
| Persons below poverty level: | 13.8% | 11.3% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Iowa. | ||
As of July 2016, Iowa's three largest cities were Des Moines (pop. est. 220,000), Cedar Rapids (pop. est. 130,000), and Davenport (pop. est. 100,000).
