Everything you need to know about Iowa's 2nd Congressional District Race
Iowa's 2nd Congressional District is one of 30 districts won by President Donald Trump in 2016 but is represented by a Democrat.
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- Iowa's 2nd Congressional District includes much of the state's southeastern counties as well as Iowa City.
- The district is one of 30 districts won by President Donald Trump in 2016 but is represented by a Democrat.
- Rita Hart has raised over two times as much as her opponent, Marianette Miller-Meeks.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
Democrat Rita Hart and Republican Dr. Marianette Miller-Meeks are fighting to represent Iowa's 2nd congressional district, a historically conservative-leaning area.
In April 2019, Democratic incumbent Rep. Dave Loebsack announced he would not be running for re-election.
The candidates
Miller-Meeks is a physician, Army veteran, and currently represents Iowa's 41st district in the Iowa Senate. She previously ran to represent Iowa's 2nd congressional district against Loebsack in 2008, 2010 and 2014, losing each time. Miller-Meeks also served as the Director of the Iowa Department of Public Health for three years, stepping down to pursue political ambitions.
Miller-Meeks' Democratic challenger, Hart, is an Iowa native and former school teacher. She is a member of the Iowa Senate where she represents Iowa's 49th district. Hart is running on a platform focusing on growing Iowa's agricultural sector, making healthcare more accessible, and growing the economy.
The district
Iowa's 2nd congressional district consists of much of the southeastern region of the Midwestern state including Iowa City, the state's second-largest city. The district is composed of Wayne, Washington, Wapello, Scott, Van Buren, Muscatine, Marion, Monroe, Lucas, Louisa, Lee, Keokuk, Jefferson, Johnson, Jasper, Henry, Des Moines, Decatur, Davis, Clarke, Clinton, Cedar, and Appanoose counties as well.
The district is one of 30 congressional districts which was won by President Donald Trump in 2016 but is currently represented by a Democrat. The district flipped from voting for President Barack Obama by over 13 points in 2012 to vote for Trump by four points in 2016, according to the Daily Kos.
The money race
According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Hart has raised $1.9 million, about twice of that of her opponent, Miller-Meeks. While Miller-Meeks had her strongest fundraising period in the second quarter of 2020 where she brought in approximately $352,000, her Democratic opponent, Hart, received $646,000 in the same time period.
What experts say
The race between Hart and Miller-Meeks is rated as toss-up the Cook Political Report, tilting Democratic by Inside Elections, and leaning Democratic by Sabato's Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics.