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Iowa, U.S. House, District 1


State Rep. Abby Finkenauer (D) defeated incumbent Rod Blum (R) and Troy Hageman (L) in the general election on November 6, 2018, to represent Iowa's 1st Congressional District.

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.

Blum was re-elected in 2016 by a 54-46 margin. Barack Obama (D) carried the district in 2008 and 2012, both times by double-digit margins. However, Donald Trump (R) won the district by a 49-45 margin. Roll Call identified Blum as the most vulnerable U.S. House incumbent seeking re-election in 2018 in an October 4 article.

Polls

Iowa's 1st Congressional District, 2018

Poll Poll sponsor Abby Finkenauer (D) Rod Blum (R)Undecided/OtherMargin of ErrorSample Size
The New York Times Upshot/Siena College
(October 28-31, 2018)
N/A 46%39%11%+/-4.9452
The Polling Company
(October 3-4, 2018)
The Blum campaign 44%43%11%+/-4.9400
The New York Times/Siena College
(September 18-20, 2018)
N/A 52%37%11%+/-4.6502
Emerson College
(September 6-8, 2018)
N/A 43%38%19%+/-3.21,000


U.S. House election in Iowa's 1st Congressional District, Ramsey vs. Blum

Poll George Ramsey (D) Rod Blum (R)Undecided/OtherMargin of ErrorSample Size
Thirty-Ninth Street Strategies
January 19-22
48%42%10%+/-4.9%400

U.S. House election in Iowa's 1st Congressional District, Finkenauer vs. Blum

Poll Abby Finkenauer (D) Rod Blum (R)Undecided/OtherMargin of ErrorSample Size
Public Policy Polling
February 12-13, 2018
43%42%15%+/-3.6742
Public Policy Polling
November 2-3, 2017
43%42%16%+/-N/A737

U.S. House election in Iowa's 1st Congressional District, Heckroth vs. Blum

Poll Thomas Heckroth (D) Rod Blum (R)Undecided/OtherMargin of ErrorSample Size
Public Policy Polling
November 2-3, 2017
42%41%18%+/-N/A737



Campaign finance

The chart below contains data from financial reports submitted to the Federal Election Commission.

Name Party Receipts* Disbursements** Cash on hand Date
Abby Finkenauer Democratic Party $4,601,775 $4,572,792 $28,983 As of December 31, 2018
Rod Blum Republican Party $2,814,962 $2,774,878 $87,651 As of December 31, 2018
Troy Hageman Libertarian Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available

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."
** According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election.


State election history

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.

Historical elections

Presidential elections, 2000-2016

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 Republican Party Donald Trump 50.7% Democratic Party Hillary Clinton 41.3% 9.4%
2012 Democratic Party Barack Obama 51.7% Republican Party Mitt Romney 46.0% 5.7%
2008 Democratic Party Barack Obama 53.7% Republican Party John McCain 44.2% 9.5%
2004 Republican Party George W. Bush 49.9% Democratic Party John Kerry 49.2% 0.7%
2000 Democratic Party Al Gore 48.5% Republican Party George W. Bush 48.2% 0.3%

U.S. Senate elections, 2000-2016

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 Republican Party Chuck Grassley 60.1% Democratic Party Patty Judge 35.7% 24.4%
2014 Republican Party Joni Ernst 51.5% Democratic Party Bruce Braley 43.3% 8.2%
2010 Republican Party Chuck Grassley 63.4% Democratic Party Roxanne Conlin 32.8% 30.6%
2008 Democratic Party Tom Harkin 61.4% Republican Party Christopher Reed 36.5% 24.9%
2004 Republican Party Chuck Grassley 70.2% Democratic Party Arthur Small 27.9% 42.3%
2002 Democratic Party Tom Harkin 54.2% Republican Party Greg Ganske 43.8% 10.4%

Gubernatorial elections, 2000-2016

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 Republican Party Terry Branstad 58.4% Democratic Party Jack Hatch 36.9% 21.5%
2010 Republican Party Terry Branstad 52.3% Democratic Party Chet Culver 42.8% 9.5%
2006 Democratic Party Chet Culver 53.7% Republican Party Jim Nussle 44.1% 9.6%
2002 Democratic Party Tom Vilsack 52.7% Republican Party Doug Gross 44.5% 8.2%

Congressional delegation, 2000-2016

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 Republican Party 3 75.0% Democratic Party 1 25.0% R+2
2014 Republican Party 3 75.0% Democratic Party 1 25.0% R+2
2012 Republican Party 2 50.0% Democratic Party 2 50.0% Split
2010 Republican Party 2 40.0% Democratic Party 3 60.0% D+1
2008 Republican Party 2 40.0% Democratic Party 3 60.0% D+1
2006 Republican Party 2 40.0% Democratic Party 3 60.0% D+1
2004 Republican Party 4 80.0% Democratic Party 1 20.0% R+3
2002 Republican Party 4 80.0% Democratic Party 1 20.0% R+3
2000 Republican Party 4 80.0% Democratic Party 1 20.0% R+3

Trifectas, 1992-2017

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 trifectasFive 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


Demographics

Demographic data for Iowa

IowaU.S.
Total population:3,121,997316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):55,8573,531,905
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).