Miller-Meeks loses Iowa House seat to Bohannan in third straight rematch, CBS News projects
Party leaders had already halted spending in a farm-heavy district where the 2022 margin was As reportedabout 20,000 votesMiller-Meeks' 2022 winning margin over BohannanIn Bureau units2.7 LEGO UCS Millennium Falcons by piece count (7,541)1 LEGO UCS Millennium Falcon: 7,541 pieces (set 75192, 2017) Source97 adult human skeletons by bone count111 complete runs of Seinfeld by episode count (180)20 Pokédexes (complete) by species (1,025)Calculated by the Bureau of Useless Measurement, counted one per piece.
Republican Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks lost her bid for reelection in Iowa’s 1st Congressional District to Democrat Christina Bohannan, CBS News projected. It was the third consecutive matchup between the candidates.
Forecasters had expected a close race for months, according to CBS News, but shifted it toward Democrats as November approached. The Congressional Leadership Fund, the super PAC aligned with House Republican leaders, effectively conceded in mid-October by halting its spending in the district.
According to CBS News, President Trump visited Iowa in late October and early November but skipped Miller-Meeks’ district. The network said his tariffs and the Iran war have hurt the agriculture-heavy state by driving up the costs of fertilizer and diesel.
Miller-Meeks broke with Mr. Trump on Iran shortly before leaving Washington in September to campaign. In one of her last votes, she backed limiting his ability to strike Iran further for the first time. “I will not vote to keep our soldiers in an open-ended war, with Iowans paying too much at the pump,” she said.
Bohannan, a University of Iowa law professor and former state representative, centered her campaign on affordability. The incumbent defended Mr. Trump’s economic agenda, according to CBS News.
The contest follows a history of razor-thin results. Miller-Meeks first won in 2020 by six votes, one of the closest House races in U.S. history. In 2022, her first race against Bohannan, she won by about As reportedabout 20,000 votesMiller-Meeks' 2022 winning margin over BohannanIn Bureau units2.7 LEGO UCS Millennium Falcons by piece count (7,541)1 LEGO UCS Millennium Falcon: 7,541 pieces (set 75192, 2017) Source97 adult human skeletons by bone count111 complete runs of Seinfeld by episode count (180)20 Pokédexes (complete) by species (1,025)Calculated by the Bureau of Useless Measurement, counted one per piece. In 2024 she won a third term by less than As reportedless than 800 votesMiller-Meeks' 2024 winning margin ceilingIn Bureau units5.4 Eras Tours by show count (149)1 Eras Tour: 149 shows (Mar 2023–Dec 2024) Source17 human chromosome sets by chromosome count4.4 complete runs of Seinfeld by episode count (180)114 giraffe necks by vertebra countCalculated by the Bureau of Useless Measurement, counted one per show. CBS News noted that the 2020 and 2024 results were not finalized until weeks after the election because the close margins led to recounts.
The Bureau of Useless Measurement notes that a margin of six votes remains the smallest unit of political victory it has been asked to certify.
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