The 2014 United States House of Representatives elections in Iowa were held on Tuesday, November 4, 2014, 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 elections of other federal and state offices, including governor of Iowa and United States Senate. Primary elections were held on June 4, 2014. As no candidate won more than 35% of the vote in the 3rd district Republican primary, that nomination was decided at a party convention on June 21.
Overview 2014 United States House of Representatives elections in IowaPartyVotesPercentageSeats beforeSeats after+/– Republican 595,865 53.19% 2 3 +1 Democratic 509,189 45.45% 2 1 -1 Libertarian 9,054 0.81% 0 0 - Independents 4,360 0.39% 0 0 — Write-ins 1,866 0.17% 0 0 — Totals 1,120,334 100.00% 4 4 -
By district Results of the 2014 United States House of Representatives elections in Iowa by district:
DistrictRepublicanDemocraticOthersTotalResult Votes % Votes % Votes % Votes %District 1 147,762 51.07% 141,145 48.79% 399 0.14% 289,306 100% Republican gainDistrict 2 129,455 47.36% 143,431 52.48% 443 0.16% 273,329 100% Democratic holdDistrict 3 148,814 52.76% 119,109 42.23% 14,143 5.01% 282,066 100% Republican holdDistrict 4 169,834 61.62% 105,504 38.28% 295 0.11% 275,633 100% Republican holdTotal 595,865 53.19% 509,189 45.45% 15,280 1.36% 1,120,334 100%
District 1
Democratic Representative Bruce Braley won re-election in 2012. He did not run for re-election in 2014, as he instead ran for the United States Senate seat being vacated by fellow Democrat Tom Harkin, who was retiring.
Democratic primary Candidates Nominee Pat Murphy, state representative and former Speaker of the Iowa House of Representatives
Eliminated in primary Swati Dandekar, member of the Iowa Utilities Board and former state senator Anesa Kajtazovic, state representative Dave O'Brien, attorney and candidate for Iowa's 6th congressional district in 1988 Monica Vernon, Cedar Rapids city councilwoman
Declined Bruce Braley, incumbent U.S. representative (running for U.S. Senate) Jeff Danielson, state senator Pam Jochum, state senator Liz Mathis, state senator Tyler Olson, state representative and former chairman of the Iowa Democratic Party Steve Sodders, state senator
Endorsements
Polling Poll source Date(s)administered Samplesize Margin oferror SwatiDandekar AnesaKajtazovic PatMurphy DaveO'Brien MonicaVernon UndecidedLoras CollegeLoras College May 14–15, 2014 300 ± 5.7% 11% 9% 35% 3% 11% 30%Loras CollegeLoras College April 10–11, 2014 300 ± 5.7% 9% 11% 30% 6% 9% 35%Myers Research (D-Murphy)Myers Research (D-Murphy) February 11–13, 2014 400 ± 4.9% 13% 11% 36% 8% 17% 15%
Results
Republican primary Candidates Nominee Rod Blum, businessman and candidate for this seat in 2012
Eliminated in primary Gail Boliver, attorney Steve Rathje, businessman
Withdrawn Walt Rogers, state representative
Declined Ben Lange, attorney and nominee for this seat in 2010 & 2012 Paul Pate, former mayor of Cedar Rapids, former Iowa Secretary of State and former state senator (running for secretary of state) Kraig Paulsen, Speaker of the Iowa House of Representatives Renee Schulte, former state representative
Endorsements
Polling Poll source Date(s)administered Samplesize Margin oferror RodBlum GailBoliver SteveRathje UndecidedLoras CollegeLoras College May 15, 2014 300 ± 5.65% 31% 2% 16% 51%Loras College April 8–9, 2014 300 ± 5.65% 17% 2% 12% 69%
Results
General election Endorsements
Polling Poll source Date(s)administered Samplesize Margin oferror PatMurphy (D) RodBlum (R) UndecidedLoras CollegeLoras College October 21–24, 2014 282 ± 5.9% 42% 44% 14%New York Times/CBS News Battleground TrackerNew York Times/CBS News Battleground Tracker October 16–23, 2014 633 ± 7.0% 47% 39% 14%The Polling Company (R-Blum)The Polling Company (R-Blum) October 1–2, 2014 300 – 39% 40% 21%Loras CollegeLoras College September 2–5, 2014 300 ± 5.6% 35% 33% 32%The Polling Company (R-Blum) August 11–12, 2014 401 ± 4.9% 40% 35% 24%Myers Research (D-Murphy)Myers Research (D-Murphy) July 31–August 4, 2014 400 ± 4.9% 51% 40% 8%
Predictions SourceRankingAs of The Cook Political ReportNovember 3, 2014 Rothenberg October 24, 2014 Sabato's Crystal Ball October 30, 2014RCP November 2, 2014Daily Kos Elections November 4, 2014
Results
District 2
Democratic representative Dave Loebsack had represented Iowa's 2nd district since 2007. He was elected to a fourth term in 2012 against Republican John Archer with 56% of the vote.
Democratic primary Candidates Nominee Dave Loebsack, incumbent U.S. representative
Results
Republican primary Candidates Nominee Mariannette Miller-Meeks, ophthalmologist, former director of the Iowa Department of Public Health and nominee for the seat in 2008 and 2010
Eliminated in primary Mark Lofgren, state representative Matthew C. Waldren
Polling Poll source Date(s)administered Samplesize Margin oferror MarkLofgren MariannetteMiller-Meeks Matthew C.Waldren UndecidedLoras CollegeLoras College May 13–14, 2014 300 ± 5.65% 12% 36% — 52%Loras College April 9–10, 2014 300 ± 5.65% 11% 18% 1% 70%
Results
General election Endorsements
Polling Poll source Date(s)administered Samplesize Margin oferror DaveLoebsack (D) MariannetteMiller-Meeks (R) UndecidedLoras College October 21–24, 2014 279 ± 5.85% 51% 38% 11%New York Times/CBS News Battleground Tracker October 16–23, 2014 552 ± 7.0% 49% 35% 16%Loras College September 2–5, 2014 300 ± 5.6% 49% 32% 19%The Tarrance Group (R-Miller-Meeks)The Tarrance Group (R-Miller-Meeks) August 3–5, 2014 400 ± 4.9% 45% 42% 13%
Predictions SourceRankingAs of The Cook Political ReportNovember 3, 2014 Rothenberg October 24, 2014 Sabato's Crystal Ball October 30, 2014RCP November 2, 2014Daily Kos Elections November 4, 2014
Results
District 3
Prior to the 2012 elections, Republican Representative Tom Latham and Democratic Representative Leonard Boswell were redistricted into the same district. Though Barack Obama carried the district in the 2012 presidential election, Latham defeated Boswell. Latham planned to retire in 2014.
Republican primary Candidates Nominee David Young, former chief of staff to Senator Chuck Grassley and former candidate for the U.S. Senate
Eliminated in primary Robert Cramer, bridge construction contractor and chairman of the board of The Family Leader Joe Grandanette, teacher and business owner Matt Schultz, Iowa Secretary of State Monte Shaw, executive director of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association Brad Zaun, state senator and nominee in 2010
Declined
Jeff Ballenger, businessman and candidate for IA-05 in 2002 Jake Chapman, state senator Peter Cownie, state representative Joni Ernst, state senator (running for the U.S. Senate) Brenna Findley, legal counsel for Governor Branstad and nominee for attorney general in 2010 David Fischer, vice-chair of the Republican Party of Iowa Steve Gaer, mayor of West Des Moines Chris Hagenow, state representative Mary Ann Hanusa, state representative Mark Jacobs, former CEO of Reliant Energy (running for the U.S. Senate) Jeff Lamberti, former president of the Iowa Senate and nominee in 2006 Tom Latham, incumbent U.S. representative Isaiah McGee, Waukee city councilman David Oman, businessman and candidate for governor in 1998 Kim Reynolds, lieutenant governor of Iowa Charles Schneider, state senator Brent Siegrist, former Speaker of the Iowa House of Representatives Matt Strawn, former chairman of the Republican Party of Iowa Rob Taylor, state representative Bob Vander Plaats, social conservative activist, candidate for governor in 2002, 2006 and 2010 and nominee for lieutenant governor in 2006 Matthew Whitaker, former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa and nominee for Treasurer of Iowa in 2002 (running for the U.S. Senate) Jack Whitver, state senator
Endorsements
Polling Poll source Date(s)administered SamplesizeMargin oferror RobertCramer JoeGrandanette MattSchultz MonteShaw DavidYoung BradZaun UndecidedLoras CollegeLoras College May 14, 2014 300 ± 5.65% 8% 2% 8% 5% 8% 17% 51%Loras College April 8–10, 2014 300 ± 5.65% 7% 2% 8% 5% 3% 17% 59%
Results
Convention The Republican nomination was decided by a convention after none of the six candidates reached the 35 percent threshold required to make the general election ballot. This was the second time in 50 years that a convention picked a nominee and the first time since 2002, when then-State Senator Steve King won a convention held in Iowa's 5th congressional district to decide the Republican nominee for Congress. A poll conducted by the conservative website Caffeinated Thoughts of 118 of the 513 delegates was held on June 9–10. David Young and Brad Zaun took 27% each, with Robert Cramer on 19%, Monte Shaw on 14%, Matt Schultz on 8% and Joe Grandanette on 3% with another 3% undecided. 34% chose Young as their second choice, with 17% choosing Cramer, Schultz or Zaun, 10% picking Shaw and 3% picking Grandanette with 8% undecided.
On June 21, in what was described as a "stunning upset", David Young won the nomination on the fifth ballot of the convention.
On July 4, Zaun voiced his disappointment and suggested he would leave the Republican Party, leading some to encourage him to run for the seat as an independent. He had previously announced that he would introduce legislation to hold primary runoff elections instead of conventions. On July 10, Zaun announced that despite his frustrations, he would not leave the Republican Party or run as an independent.
Iowa Republican Convention, 2014CandidateRound 1Round 2Round 3Round 4Round 5David Young86 (16.8%)81 (15.8%)102 (19.9%)171 (33.3%)276 (53.8%)Brad Zaun130 (25.3%)157 (30.6%)188 (36.6%)206 (40.2%)221 (43.1%)Monte Shaw118 (23%)122 (23.8%)126 (24.6%)120 (23.4%) —Matt Schultz95 (18.5%)88 (17.2%)85 (16.6%) —Robert Cramer75 (14.6%)60 (11.7%) —Joe Grandanette7 (1.4%)2 (0.4%) —Abstentions2 (0.4%)3 (0.6%)12 (2.3%)16 (3.1%)16 (3.1%)Total513(100%)513(100%)513(100%)513(100%)513(100%)
Democratic primary Candidates Nominee Staci Appel, former state senator
Withdrawn Gabriel De La Cerda, former tire factory worker Michael Sherzan, businessman
Declined Leonard Boswell, former U.S. representative Scott Brennan, chairman of the Iowa Democratic Party Frank Cownie, mayor of Des Moines Chet Culver, former governor Ed Fallon, former state representative, candidate for governor in 2006 and candidate for the seat in 2008 Michael Gronstal, Majority Leader of the Iowa Senate Jack Hatch, state senator (running for Governor) Tom Henderson, attorney and chairman of the Polk County Democratic Party Tom Hockensmith, Polk County supervisor Michael Kiernan, former Des Moines city councilman and former chairman of the Iowa Democratic Party Bob Krause, former state representative, nominee for state treasurer in 1978, candidate for mayor of Waterloo in 1982 and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2010 Matt McCoy, state senator Andy McGuire, health insurance executive and candidate for Lieutenant Governor of Iowa in 2006 Janet Petersen, state representative Dusky Terry, mayor of Earlham and candidate for Iowa Attorney General in 2006 Christie Vilsack, former First Lady of Iowa and nominee for Iowa's 4th congressional district in 2012 Tom Vilsack, United States Secretary of Agriculture and former governor of Iowa
Results
General election Debate + 2014 Iowa's 3rd congressional district debate Date Host Moderator Link Republican DemocraticKey: Participant Absent Not invited Invited Withdrawn David Young Staci Appel1 Sep. 11, 2014 Iowa Public Television Dean Borg C-SPAN
Endorsements
Polling