Iowa officials certify Republican Miller-Meeks’s 6-vote victory

Iowa officials on Monday certified the results showing state Sen. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R) defeating former state Sen. Rita Hart (D) by just six votes in the race for Iowa’s open 2nd Congressional District.

Miller-Meeks will succeed seven-term Rep. David Loebsack (D-Iowa), who announced his retirement last year. She previously lost to him in the 2008, 2010 and 2014 general elections, but with Loebsack’s retirement, the district was considered a swing district.

Miller-Meeks was elected to the state Senate in 2018. Her term was set to end in 2023.

Polling showed the 2nd District as one of the most competitive races in the state, with Hart leading 49 percent to 43 percent in an October poll but Miller-Meeks leading 48 percent to 44 percent in an August survey.

The race featured some of the highest spending by both the National Republican Congressional Committee, which spent $3 million, and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which spent $2.8 million.