One in seven U.S. House elections in Iowa history have had a previously defeated major party nominee on the general election ballot

Photograph of Christina BohannanThe Democrat who lost the most competitive U.S. House race in the nation last year has decided to once again run for an Iowa seat for a third consecutive cycle.

Former Iowa Representative Christina Bohannan was defeated by 1st CD Republican U.S. Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks by 0.2 points (799 votes) last November, two years after falling 6.8 points short of unseating the then freshman incumbent in 2022.

Should Bohannan win the Democratic nomination once again to one of the state’s two highly watched congressional districts, she would become the 11th Iowan in state history to achieve that distinction following two losses as a major party nominee.

Miller-Meeks, of course, is on that very same list and in fact won her first term in 2020 after three previous losses as the GOP nominee (in 2008, 2010, and 2014).

The 2026 cycle could have seen a pair of two-time losing Democratic U.S. House nominees receive a third nomination to the office in Iowa. Ryan Melton, Iowa’s 4th CD Democratic nominee in 2022 and 2024, launched another campaign for the nation’s lower legislative chamber in May, but withdrew earlier this week due to personal financial and health issues.

As a rule, retread candidates have not had much success at the ballot box in Iowa over the decades with the last failed nominee to win a U.S. House seat prior to Miller-Meeks doing so in the mid-1970s. Republican Jim Leach followed up his 8.7-point loss to Democratic Congressman Edward Mezvinsky in 1974 with a 4.1-point rematch victory that knocked his opponent out of office two years later.

Since then, nearly 20 major party nominees have been defeated in second and third attempts on the general election ballot including a dozen since 2000:

  • Democrat Donna Smith (2nd CD): losing in 1996 and 2000
  • Republican Stan Thompson (3rd CD): 2002 and 2004
  • Democrat Bill Gluba (1st CD): 1982, 1988, and 2004
  • Democrat Joyce Schulte (5th CD): 2004 and 2006
  • Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks (2nd CD): 2008, 2010, 2014
  • Republican Ben Lange (1st CD): 2010 and 2012
  • Democrat Jim Mowrer (4th and 3rd CDs): 2014 and 2016
  • Republican Christopher Peters (2nd CD): 2016 and 2018
  • Democrat J.D. Scholten (4th CD): 2018 and 2020
  • Democrat Christina Bohannan (1st CD): 2022 and 2024
  • Democrat Ryan Melton (4th CD): 2022 and 2024

Overall, of the nearly 700 U.S. House elections in Iowa history, 99 have featured a major party nominee making his or her second, third, or even fourth attempt to win their first ever congressional seat, or approximately one out of every seven contests.

Of these 99 bids, however, just 18 were successful, or 18.2 percent. Sixteen of 86 second chance nominees were successful, with none of the 10 who got a third chance, and two out of three in their fourth try.

In addition to Miller-Meeks and the aforementioned Gluba, the other eight Iowa U.S. House major party nominees who struck out during each of their first three times on the general election ballot are:

  • Democrat William Leffingwell (2nd CD): 1858, 1868, and 1870
  • Democrat Anthony Van Wagenen (11th CD): 1894, 1912 (special), and 1912 (general)
  • Democrat James Murtagh (3rd CD): 1906, 1914, and 1916
  • Democrat Clair Williams (1st CD): 1944, 1946, and 1952
  • Democrat Steven Carter (4th CD): 1948, 1950, and 1956
  • Republican Don Mahon (5th CD): 1966, 1968, and 1970
  • Republican Tom Riley (2nd CD): 1968, 1974, and 1976
  • Democrat Eric Tabor (2nd CD): 1986, 1988, and 1990

Leffingwell also lost on his fourth attempt running under the Democratic banner in the 2nd CD in 1872.

Carter unsuccessfully contested his 1.4-point loss to Karl Le Compte in 1956 but would then receive his fourth nomination by the Democrats in 1958. Carter won that 4th CD race against John Kyl by 4.0 points. However, the freshman’s tenure at the Capitol was short-lived as he would die after just 10 months in office in November 1959.

Miller-Meeks also has the distinction of being one of six Iowans to win election to the U.S. House with only plurality support of voters two or more times – doing so in both 2020 (49.91 percent) and 2024 (49.98 percent).

The remaining five are:

  • Republican Moses McCoid in 1878 (48.6 percent) and 1882 (48.2 percent)
  • Republican Charles Kennedy in 1906 (49.1 percent), 1912 (42.1 percent), and 1914 (49.2 percent)
  • Republican Nathan Kendall in 1908 (48.3 percent) and 1910 (48.2 percent)
  • Republican George Scott in 1912 (special, 41.1 percent), 1912 (general, 40.1 percent), and 1916 (49.6 percent)
  • Democrat Cindy Axne in 2018 (49.0 percent) and 2020 (48.9 percent)

Both Miller-Meeks and Bohannan are currently running against other declared candidates in their respective 1st CD nomination campaigns with the congresswoman poised to face 2024 GOP opponent David Pautsch in the primary. Pautsch, a minister, ran to Miller-Meeks’ right last year and came just 12.0 points shy of winning the June Republican primary.

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