Christina Bohannan flips Iowa 1st District seat

Democrat Christina Bohannan has won the seat for Iowa’s 1st Congressional District after Iowans cast their election ballots Tuesday, the Associated Press has projected, unseating incumbent Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks on her third run for the office.

Bohannan received 54% of their district constituents’ votes, with Miller-Meeks garnering 43% of the vote in unofficial results with 97% of votes counted. Independent candidate Michael Bridgford received 4% of the vote.

“This has been a long journey for me,” Bohannan told about 300 people gathered at Big Grove Brewery in Iowa City Tuesday night. “I think you know that.”

Bohannan thanked the young people who helped in her campaign, saying they “made all the difference” by not being disheartened by U.S. politics and instead engaging in it.

Miller-Meeks and Bohannan faced off against each other in 2022 and 2024 for the 1st District seat, which covers southeastern Iowa. Miller-Meeks won by more than 20,000 votes in 2022 and just 798 votes in 2024, confirmed through a recount that narrowed the gap even more than the 802 difference first counted.

But this year, Bohannan was part of the blue wave that resulted in Democrats gaining control of the U.S. House and Senate.

“People know that I’ve lived through a lot of the struggles that they’ve been through,” Bohannan said. “But it also means listening and showing up. I’m going to get out there and talk with as many Iowans as I can to see what they need from me so I am ready.”

Both candidates focused on lowering costs for Iowans in their campaigns, Miller-Meeks through Trump administration-backed policies like the “One, Big Beautiful Bill,” and Bohannan through reversing policies put in place by the current administration.

Just like Bohannan, it took Miller-Meeks three times to win in the U.S. House district representing Southeast Iowa. In 2020, Miller-Meeks defeated incumbent Democrat Dave Loebsack by just six votes. Loebsack was at Bohannan’s watch party Tuesday night.

“Serving this district has been the honor of my life. The results tonight are disappointing, but I am grateful to every Iowan who put their trust in me, to our volunteers, to my staff, and to my family,” Miller-Meeks said in a statement. “Our country is at a crossroads, and our fight isn’t over.”

Iowa’s 1st Congressional District stretches across southeast Iowa from Indianola to Davenport and includes Iowa City, Ottumwa, Muscatine and Burlington.

The 1st District – specifically Lee County – was in the spotlight in late September, when President Donald Trump announced Mesabi Metallics would build a $15 billion steel mill near Wever that would create 1,750 new jobs. The Iowa Legislature later approved $1.4 billion in state tax incentives to the company.

Bohannan and Miller-Meeks both have said they support this project, although Bohannan told Iowa News Now she felt the decision on tax breaks was rushed.

Erin Jordan contributed to this report.