The 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Iowa were held on November 6, 2018, to elect the four U.S. representatives from the State of Iowa, one from each of the state's four congressional districts. The elections coincided with the gubernatorial election, as well as other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate, and various state and local elections. The state congressional delegation flipped from a 3–1 Republican majority to a 3–1 Democratic majority.
This was the first time the Democrats won the majority of Iowa's seats since 2010, and the first time they won the popular vote in the state since 2012. As of 2025, these results were also the last time the Democrats would achieve either due to Iowa's transition into a safe red state.
Overview
Statewide
By district
Results of the 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Iowa by district:
District 1
Incumbent Republican Rod Blum, who had represented the district since 2015, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 54% of the vote in 2016. The district had a PVI of D 1.
The 1st district went for Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election with a 49% to 45% margin, after voting for Barack Obama with a 56% to 43% margin in 2012.
Republican primary
Candidates
Nominee
- Rod Blum, incumbent U.S. Representative
Results
Democratic primary
Candidates
Nominee
- Abby Finkenauer, state representative
Eliminated in primary
- Thomas Heckroth, former staffer for United States Senator Tom Harkin
- George Ramsey III, former military recruiter
- Courtney Rowe, engineer and Bernie Sanders delegate at the 2016 state convention
Declined
- Jeff Danielson, state senator
- Liz Mathis, state senator
- Brent Oleson, Linn County Supervisor
- Steve Sodders, former state senator
- Stacey Walker, Linn County Supervisor
Endorsements
Results
Libertarian primary
Candidates
Nominee
- Troy Hageman, activist
Green primary
Candidates
Nominee
- Henry Gaff, co-chair of the Iowa Green Party
Gaff was only 18, meaning he would not have met the U.S. Constitution's required minimum age of 25 to be elected to the House of Representatives.
General election
Debates
Polling
Predictions
Results
Finkenauer went on to flip the district; this was one of many victories in swing districts for Democrats in a blue wave election.
District 2
Democratic representative Dave Loebsack, who had represented the district since 2007, was reelected to a sixth term with 54% of the vote in 2016. Loebsack ran for reelection.
The 2nd district went for Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election with a 49% to 45% margin, after voting for Barack Obama with a 56% to 43% margin in 2012.
Democratic primary
Candidates
Nominee
- Dave Loebsack, incumbent U.S. Representative
Results
Republican primary
Candidates
Nominee
- Christopher Peters, thoracic surgeon and nominee for this seat in 2016
Eliminated in primary
- Ginny Caligiuri, businesswoman (write-in)
Declined
- Bobby Kaufmann, state representative
Results
Independents
- Daniel Clark
General election
Polling
Predictions
Results
District 3
Incumbent Republican David Young, who had represented the district since 2015, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 53% of the vote in 2016. The district had a PVI of D 1.
The 3rd district went for Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election with a 49% to 45% margin, after voting for Barack Obama with a 51% to 47% margin in 2012.
Republican primary
Candidates
Nominee
- David Young, incumbent U.S. Representative
Results
Democratic primary
After Greenfield's campaign manager was fired for forging signatures on nominating papers, she attempted to re-collect the 1,790 signatures necessary to make the ballot, but did not get enough signatures.
Candidates
Nominee
- Cindy Axne, businesswoman
Eliminated in primary
- Pete D'Alessandro, political consultant
- Eddie Mauro, activist
Did not make ballot
- Theresa Greenfield, real estate executive
Withdrew
- Austin Frerick, former Treasury Department economist
- Paul Knupp, psychiatric rehabilitation practitioner and minister, withdrew from the Democratic primary to join the Green party
- Heather Ryan, nominee for KY-01 in 2008
- Anna Ryon, attorney with the Office of Consumer Advocate
- Mike Sherzan, businessman and candidate in 2016
Declined
- John Norris, former chief of staff to Governor Tom Vilsack, former Federal Energy Regulatory Commission member and nominee for IA-04 in 2002 (running for governor)
Endorsements
Polling
Results
General election
Debate
Polling
Predictions
Results
District 4
Incumbent Republican Steve King, who had represented the district since 2013, and previously represented the 5th district from 2003 to 2013, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 61% of the vote in 2016. The district had a PVI of R 11.
The 4th district went for Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election with a 61% to 34% margin, after voting for Mitt Romney with a 53% to 45% margin in 2012.
Republican primary
Candidates
Nominee
- Steve King, incumbent U.S. Representative
Eliminated in primary
- Cyndi Hanson, educational administrator
Declined
- Rick Bertrand, state senator and candidate for this seat in 2016
Results
Democratic primary
Candidates
Nominee
- J. D. Scholten, paralegal and former professional baseball player
Eliminated in primary
- Leann Jacobsen, Spencer City Councilwoman
- John Paschen, physician
Withdrawn
- Paul Dahl, candidate for Governor in 2014
- Kim Weaver, nominee in 2016
Declined
- Dirk Deam, Iowa State University political science professor
- Chris Hall, state representative
Results
General election
King declined to debate Scholten during the general election campaign.
Endorsements
Polling
Predictions
Results
King won by the slimmest margin of victory in his congressional electoral career.
References
External links
- Candidates at Vote Smart
- Candidates at Ballotpedia
- Campaign finance at FEC
- Campaign finance at OpenSecrets
Official campaign websites for first district candidates
- Rod Blum (R) for Congress Archived February 27, 2018, at the Wayback Machine
- Abby Finkenauer (D) for Congress
Official campaign websites for second district candidates
- Daniel Clark (G) for Congress Archived October 5, 2017, at the Wayback Machine
- Dave Loebsack (D) for Congress Archived October 5, 2017, at the Wayback Machine
- Dr. Christopher Peters (R) for Congress
Official campaign websites for third district candidates
- David Young (R) for Congress Archived March 23, 2018, at the Wayback Machine
- Cindy Axne (D) for Congress
Official campaign websites for fourth district candidates
- Steve King (R) for Congress
- JD Scholten (D) for Congress
