Iowa's 3rd Congressional District election, 2026
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← 2024
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| Iowa's 3rd Congressional District |
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| Democratic primary Republican primary General election |
| Election details |
| Filing deadline: March 13, 2026 |
| Primary: June 2, 2026 General: November 3, 2026 |
| How to vote |
| Poll times:
7 a.m. to 8 p.m. |
| Race ratings |
DDHQ and The Hill: Pending Inside Elections: Lean Republican Sabato's Crystal Ball: Toss-up |
| Ballotpedia analysis |
| U.S. Senate battlegrounds U.S. House battlegrounds Federal and state primary competitiveness Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2026 |
| See also |
U.S. Senate • 1st • 2nd • 3rd • 4th Iowa elections, 2026 U.S. Congress elections, 2026 U.S. Senate elections, 2026 U.S. House elections, 2026 |
All U.S. House districts, including the 3rd Congressional District of Iowa, are holding elections in 2026. The general election is November 3, 2026. The primary is June 2, 2026. The filing deadline was March 13, 2026. The outcome of this race will affect the partisan balance of the U.S. House of Representatives in the 120th Congress. All 435 U.S. House districts are up for election.
Currently, Republicans have a 217-212 majority with five vacancies in the chamber.[1][2] To read more about the U.S. House elections taking place this year, click here. For more information about the primaries in this election, click on the links below:
- Iowa's 3rd Congressional District election, 2026 (June 2 Democratic primary)
- Iowa's 3rd Congressional District election, 2026 (June 2 Republican primary)
Candidates and election results
General election
The primary will occur on June 2, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. House Iowa District 3
Sarah Trone Garriott and Xavier Carrigan are running in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Iowa District 3 on June 2, 2026.
Candidate | ||
| Sarah Trone Garriott | ||
Xavier Carrigan (Write-in) ![]() | ||
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Easton Wolfe (D)
- Jennifer Konfrst (D)
- Tracy Limon (D)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House Iowa District 3
Incumbent Zach Nunn is running in the Republican primary for U.S. House Iowa District 3 on June 2, 2026.
Candidate | ||
| Zach Nunn | ||
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Candidate profiles
There are currently no candidate profiles created for this race. Candidate profiles will appear here as they are created. Encourage the candidates in this race to complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey so that their profile will appear here.
Voting information
- See also: Voting in Iowa
Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses
Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
No candidate in this race has completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Ballotpedia is seeking 100 percent participation so voters can learn more about all the candidates on their ballots.
Campaign finance
| Name | Party | Receipts* | Disbursements** | Cash on hand | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zach Nunn | Republican Party | $3,882,730 | $895,430 | $3,040,134 | As of March 31, 2026 |
| Xavier Carrigan | Democratic Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
| Sarah Trone Garriott | Democratic Party | $3,080,897 | $892,577 | $2,188,320 | As of March 31, 2026 |
|
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2026. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee." |
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General election race ratings
- See also: Race rating definitions and methods
Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:
- Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
- Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
- Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.[3]
- Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.
Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.[4][5][6]
| Race ratings: Iowa's 3rd Congressional District election, 2026 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Race tracker | Race ratings | ||||||||
| 5/12/2026 | 5/5/2026 | 4/28/2026 | 4/21/2026 | ||||||
| The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter | Toss-up | Toss-up | Toss-up | Toss-up | |||||
| Decision Desk HQ and The Hill | Pending | Pending | Pending | Pending | |||||
| Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales | Lean Republican | Lean Republican | Lean Republican | Lean Republican | |||||
| Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball | Toss-up | Toss-up | Toss-up | Toss-up | |||||
| Note: Ballotpedia reviews external race ratings every week throughout the election season and posts weekly updates even if the media outlets have not revised their ratings during that week. | |||||||||
Ballot access
The table below details filing requirements for U.S. House candidates in Iowa in the 2026 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Iowa, click here.
| Filing requirements for U.S. House candidates, 2026 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Office | Party | Signatures required | Filing fee | Filing deadline | Source |
| Iowa | U.S. House | Ballot-qualified party | 1,726, including at least 47 signatures from ½ of the counties in the district | N/A | 3/13/2026 | Source |
| Iowa | U.S. House | Unaffiliated | 1,726, including at least 47 signatures from ½ of the counties in the district | N/A | 6/2/2026 | Source |
District history
The section below details election results for this office in elections dating back to 2020.
General election
General election for U.S. House Iowa District 3
Incumbent Zach Nunn (R) defeated Lanon Baccam (D) and Marco Battaglia (L) in the general election for U.S. House Iowa District 3 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Zach Nunn (R) | 51.8 | 213,746 |
| | Lanon Baccam (D) | 47.9 | 197,962 | |
| | Marco Battaglia (L) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 0 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.3% | 1,197 | ||
| Total votes: 412,905 | ||||
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary
Democratic primary for U.S. House Iowa District 3
Lanon Baccam (D) defeated Melissa Vine (D) in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Iowa District 3 on June 4, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Lanon Baccam | 84.1 | 19,357 |
| | Melissa Vine ![]() | 15.8 | 3,642 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1% | 29 | ||
| Total votes: 23,028 | ||||
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary
Republican primary for U.S. House Iowa District 3
Incumbent Zach Nunn (R) advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Iowa District 3 on June 4, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Zach Nunn | 98.3 | 21,103 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 1.7% | 365 | ||
| Total votes: 21,468 | ||||
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
General election
General election for U.S. House Iowa District 3
Zach Nunn (R) defeated incumbent Cindy Axne (D) in the general election for U.S. House Iowa District 3 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Zach Nunn (R) | 50.3 | 156,262 |
| | Cindy Axne (D) | 49.6 | 154,117 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.2% | 534 | ||
| Total votes: 310,913 | ||||
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary
Democratic primary for U.S. House Iowa District 3
Incumbent Cindy Axne (D) advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Iowa District 3 on June 7, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Cindy Axne | 99.5 | 47,710 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.5% | 252 | ||
| Total votes: 47,962 | ||||
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary
Republican primary for U.S. House Iowa District 3
Zach Nunn (R) defeated Nicole Hasso (R) and Gary Leffler (R) in the Republican primary for U.S. House Iowa District 3 on June 7, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Zach Nunn | 65.8 | 30,502 |
| | Nicole Hasso | 19.4 | 8,991 | |
| | Gary Leffler ![]() | 14.7 | 6,800 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.2% | 89 | ||
| Total votes: 46,382 | ||||
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Mary Ann Hanusa (R)
General election
General election for U.S. House Iowa District 3
Incumbent Cindy Axne (D) defeated David Young (R) and Bryan Holder (L) in the general election for U.S. House Iowa District 3 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Cindy Axne (D) | 48.9 | 219,205 |
| | David Young (R) | 47.5 | 212,997 | |
| | Bryan Holder (L) | 3.4 | 15,361 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1% | 384 | ||
| Total votes: 447,947 | ||||
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary
Democratic primary for U.S. House Iowa District 3
Incumbent Cindy Axne (D) advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Iowa District 3 on June 2, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Cindy Axne | 99.2 | 76,681 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.8% | 623 | ||
| Total votes: 77,304 | ||||
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary
Republican primary for U.S. House Iowa District 3
David Young (R) defeated Bill Schafer (R) in the Republican primary for U.S. House Iowa District 3 on June 2, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | David Young | 69.5 | 39,103 |
| | Bill Schafer ![]() | 30.1 | 16,904 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.4% | 227 | ||
| Total votes: 56,234 | ||||
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
District analysis
Click the tabs below to view information about voter composition, past elections, and demographics in both the district and the state.
- District map - A map of the district in place for the election.
- Competitiveness - Information about the competitiveness of 2026 U.S. House elections in the state.
- Presidential elections - Information about presidential elections in the district and the state.
- State party control - The partisan makeup of the state's congressional delegation and state government.
Below is the district map in place for this election. Click the map below to enlarge it.

This section contains data on U.S. House primary election competitiveness in Iowa.
Post-filing deadline analysis
The following analysis covers all U.S. House districts up for election in Iowa in 2026. Information below was calculated on March 13, 2026, and may differ from information shown in the table above due to candidate replacements and withdrawals after that time.
Five primaries — three Democratic and two Republican — were contested in 2026. That’s the highest total number of contested primaries since 2014. There were three contested primaries in 2024, one in 2022, four in 2020, four in 2018, four in 2016, and four in 2014.
Fifteen candidates — nine Democrats and six Republicans — ran for Iowa’s four U.S. House districts. Eleven candidates ran in 2024, 10 ran in 2022, 18 ran in 2020, 16 ran in 2018, 13 ran in 2016, and 21 ran in 2014.
In 2026 there were 3.8 candidates per district. There were 2.8 candidates in 2024, 2.5 in 2022, 4.5 in 2020, four in 2018, 3.3 in 2016, and 3.5 in 2014.
Iowa's 2nd Congressional District and Iowa's 4th Congressional District were open in 2026. The incumbent in Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District, Rep. Ashley Hinson (R), ran for the U.S. Senate. The incumbent in Iowa’s 4th Congressional District, Rep. Randy Feenstra (R), is running for governor of Iowa. One district was open in 2020, and two were in 2014 — those were the only other election cycles since 2014 in which districts were open.
Five candidates — three Democrats and two Republicans — ran for Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District. That’s the most candidates who ran for a district in 2026.
Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R) in Iowa's 1st Congressional District was the only incumbent who faced a primary challenge in 2026. Two incumbents faced primary challengers in 2024, none in 2022, one in 2020, one in 2018, two in 2016, and none in 2014.
Candidates filed to run in the Republican and Democratic primaries in all four districts, meaning no districts were guaranteed to either party.Partisan Voter Index
Heading into the 2026 elections, based on results from the 2024 and 2020 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district is R+2. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 2 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Iowa's 3rd the 211th most Republican district nationally.[7]
2024 presidential election results
The table below shows what the vote in the 2024 presidential election was in this district. The presidential election data was compiled by The Downballot.
| Kamala Harris | Donald Trump |
|---|---|
| 47.0% | 52.0% |
Presidential voting history
- See also: Presidential election in Iowa, 2024
Iowa presidential election results (1900-2024)
- 11 Democratic wins
- 21 Republican wins
| Year | 1900 | 1904 | 1908 | 1912 | 1916 | 1920 | 1924 | 1928 | 1932 | 1936 | 1940 | 1944 | 1948 | 1952 | 1956 | 1960 | 1964 | 1968 | 1972 | 1976 | 1980 | 1984 | 1988 | 1992 | 1996 | 2000 | 2004 | 2008 | 2012 | 2016 | 2020 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winning Party | R | R | R | D | R | R | R | R | D | D | R | R | D | R | R | R | D | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | R | D | D | R | R | R |
- See also: Party control of Iowa state government
Congressional delegation
The table below displays the partisan composition of Iowa's congressional delegation as of October 2025.
| Congressional Partisan Breakdown from Iowa | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | U.S. Senate | U.S. House | Total |
| Democratic | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Republican | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| Independent | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Vacancies | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 2 | 4 | 6 |
State executive
The table below displays the officeholders in Iowa's top four state executive offices as of October 2025.
| Office | Officeholder |
|---|---|
| Governor | |
| Lieutenant Governor | |
| Secretary of State | |
| Attorney General |
State legislature
Iowa State Senate
| Party | As of January 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 17 | |
| Republican Party | 33 | |
| Other | 0 | |
| Vacancies | 0 | |
| Total | 50 | |
Iowa House of Representatives
| Party | As of January 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 33 | |
| Republican Party | 67 | |
| Other | 0 | |
| Vacancies | 0 | |
| Total | 100 | |
Trifecta control
Iowa Party Control: 1992-2025
Four years of Democratic trifectas • Eleven years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.
| 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 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | 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 | R | R | R | 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 | R | R | R | R | R | R |
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Rep. Kevin Kiley (I-Calif.) caucuses with the Republicans.
- ↑ A majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, when there are no vacancies, is 218 seats.
- ↑ Inside Elections also uses Tilt ratings to indicate an even smaller advantage and greater competitiveness.
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Nathan Gonzalez," April 19, 2018
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Kyle Kondik," April 19, 2018
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Charlie Cook," April 22, 2018
- ↑ Cook Political Report, "2025 Cook PVI℠: District Map and List (119th Congress)," accessed July 1, 2025
