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Iowa Republican incumbents outraised their Democratic challengers, according to new
congressional campaign finance reports
filed this week.
Republican U.S. Rep.
Mariannette Miller-Meeks
led the pack, raising more than $1.3 million during the second quarter of the year, and has more than $2 million in her campaign coffers as she prepares for what’s expected to be one of the most tightly contested races in the country.
“I am proud that so many Iowans are stepping up to support our America First fight,” Miller-Meeks said in a statement. “From securing the border and passing the largest tax cuts in American history to standing up to the Chinese Communist Party’s farmland grab and defending women’s sports, our common sense, America First agenda is generating real momentum, and we’re not backing down.”
Fellow Iowa GOP incumbents Ashley Hinson and Zach Nunn also posted strong fundraising numbers. Republican U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra, who represents western Iowa, is gearing up to run for Iowa’s open-seat race for governor.
The reports cover fundraising and spending from April 1 through June 30.
It comes as congressional Republicans gear up for competitive races and push to protect their narrow U.S. House majority against a full-court press from Democrats attacking their support of reductions to safety net programs like Medicaid and food assistance to offset the cost of tax cuts contained in President Donald Trump’s sweeping tax and spending bill.
Various national polls show muted supported for the megabill. A recent
CNN poll conducted by SSRS
found roughly six in 10 Americans say they oppose the massive tax and spending overhaul recently signed into law.
Typically, the party in the White House loses seats during midterm elections, and Democrats have been doing well in special elections — including in Iowa — which they hope is a sign of success.
The Cook Political Report
lists a number of toss-up races, indicating tight battles in certain districts, including for Southeast Iowa’s 1st Congressional District.
1st District
Miller-Meeks has survived two close elections and national Democrats have once again targeted Iowa’s 1st Congressional District as a potential pickup in the 2026 midterm elections.
The 20-county district includes the cities of Davenport, Iowa City, Burlington and Indianola.
The Cook Political Report, Sabato’s Crystal Ball, and Inside Elections all categorize the 1st District race as a “toss-up.”
While Miller-Meeks leads fundraising among Iowa’s House incumbents, Democrats believe her slim victory margins in past elections make her vulnerable.
She earned a first term in Congress when she defeated Democrat Rita Hart by just six votes in 2020. Last year, she defeated Democrat
Christina Bohannan
by fewer than 800 votes of about 427,000 cast — less than a quarter of a percentage point.
Bohannan, a University of Iowa law professor and former state representative, is seeking to challenge Miller-Meeks for a third time.
Bohannan raised $812,000 in the second quarter and has more than $819,000 in cash on hand, giving her the edge in a Democratic field that’s recently taken shape.
“I am so grateful for the outpouring of support that we’ve received since launching our campaign,” Bohannan said in a statement. “Our grassroots campaign is of, by, and for the people of Iowa. … Our support comes from hardworking Iowans because they know I’ll fight for them and always put Iowa first.”
Muscatine attorney
Taylor Wettach
, University of Iowa Health Care employee
Travis Terrell
, and former state lawmaker and veterans advocate
Bob Krause
of Burlington also are running for the seat as Democrats. None had filed fundraising and spending reports for the quarter at the time of publication.
Miller-Meeks also once again faces a challenge from her right from David Pautsch, a Davenport Republican and founder of the Annual Quad Cities Prayer Breakfast. Pautsch took 44 percent of the vote in the 2024 Iowa GOP primary.
He reported $12,946 in cash on hand after raising $9,250 in the second quarter.
2nd District
Hinson, a former TV news anchor and state lawmaker, raised more than $850,000 in the second quarter of 2025 and has more than $2.8 million cash on hand.
Former U.S. attorney and Democrat Kevin Techau, raised $142,340 before
suspending his campaign June 30
, two months after launching his bid to try to unseat Hinson, due to low fundraising.
No other candidates filed reports for this period.
Kathy Dolter
, a U.S. Army veteran and former dean of nursing at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, has filed paperwork to run as a Democrat to challenge Hinson for the northeast Iowa’s U.S. House seat in 2026, and intends to officially announce her campaign later this week.
And State Rep. Lindsay James, a Democrat from Dubuque, said she is
“seriously considering” launching a campaign
to seek her party’s nomination to challenge Hinson for the congressional seat.
Iowa’s 22-county 2nd Congressional District includes Cedar Rapids, Waterloo, Dubuque and Mason City.
“We don’t fault the only Democrat in this race for throwing in the towel last week,” Hinson Campaign Manager Addie Lavis said of Techau in a statement. “Working alongside President Trump, Ashley Hinson has delivered for working families, and Iowans are responding to this America First agenda and rejecting the out-of-touch liberals. Ashley will continue to raise the resources and build the infrastructure to produce big wins for Republicans up and down the ballot in Northeast Iowa again in 2026.”
3rd District
Nunn’s campaign reported raising more than $803,000 this quarter, and had about $1.3 million in cash on hand as he faces a tough re-election.
Political forecasters have highlighted the 3rd District as one of the country’s most competitive congressional races of 2026. In May, Democratic state lawmakers Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott of West Des Moines and former House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst of Windsor Heights jumped into the race.
Trone Garriott’s campaign reported raising $520,800 this quarter and had $376,708 in cash on hand, giving her an early fundraising advantage ahead of a competitive primary.
Konfrst’s campaign reported raising about $250,000 and had $170,000 in cash on hand.
Nunn had reportedly considered running for governor this month, but was quickly halted when President Donald Trump endorsed Nunn in a social media post.
4th District
Feenstra, who represents Iowa’s 4th Congressional District, launched an exploratory campaign for governor in May after Gov. Kim Reynolds announced she will not seek re-election next year. Feenstra has since aired statewide ads and received endorsements from multiple Iowa Republicans, including U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks and a slate of Iowa state legislators.
Since then, a flood of Republican candidates has entered the election for the seat in a predominantly Republican district, including Siouxland Chamber of Commerce President Chris McGowan of Sioux City, Iowa House Majority Leader Matt Windschitl of Missouri Valley and Kyle Larsen, a farmer and land appraiser from Humboldt.
Democrat Ashley WolfTornabane of Storm Lake announced her candidacy on July Fourth after former Democratic candidate Ryan Melton dropped out of the race in June.
Aside from Melton, who raised a total of $13,525, no other 4th District candidates filed reports for this period.
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