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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.
Iowa's 1st Congressional District, 2018
| Poll | Poll sponsor | Abby Finkenauer (D) | Rod Blum (R) | Undecided/Other | Margin of Error | Sample Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The New York Times Upshot/Siena College (October 28-31, 2018) | N/A | 46% | 39% | 11% | +/-4.9 | 452 |
| The Polling Company (October 3-4, 2018) | The Blum campaign | 44% | 43% | 11% | +/-4.9 | 400 |
| The New York Times/Siena College (September 18-20, 2018) | N/A | 52% | 37% | 11% | +/-4.6 | 502 |
| Emerson College (September 6-8, 2018) | N/A | 43% | 38% | 19% | +/-3.2 | 1,000 |
U.S. House election in Iowa's 1st Congressional District, Ramsey vs. Blum
| Poll | George Ramsey (D) | Rod Blum (R) | Undecided/Other | Margin of Error | Sample 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/Other | Margin of Error | Sample Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Public Policy Polling February 12-13, 2018 | 43% | 42% | 15% | +/-3.6 | 742 |
| Public Policy Polling November 2-3, 2017 | 43% | 42% | 16% | +/-N/A | 737 |
U.S. House election in Iowa's 1st Congressional District, Heckroth vs. Blum
| Poll | Thomas Heckroth (D) | Rod Blum (R) | Undecided/Other | Margin of Error | Sample Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Public Policy Polling November 2-3, 2017 | 42% | 41% | 18% | +/-N/A | 737 |
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." |
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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).
