The 2010 House elections in

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

occurred on November 2, 2010 and elected the members of the

State State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

of Iowa's delegation to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

. Representatives are elected for two-year terms; those elected served in the

112th Congress The 112th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, from January 3, 2011, until January 3, 2013. It convened in Washington, D.C. on January 3, 2011, and ended on January 3, 2013, 17 ...

from January 3, 2011 until January 3, 2013. Iowa has five seats in the House, apportioned according to the

2000 United States Census The United States census of 2000, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2 percent over the 248,709,873 people enumerated during the 1990 ce ...

. These elections were held concurrently with the United States Senate elections of 2010 ( including one in Iowa), the United States House elections in other states, and various state and local elections. All five of Iowa's incumbent representatives were re-elected. Until 2018, this was the last time in which Democrats won a majority of congressional districts in Iowa.

Overview

By district

Results of the 2010 United States House of Representatives elections in Iowa by district:

District 1

Campaign

In this liberal-leaning district based in northeastern Iowa, incumbent Democratic Congressman

Bruce Braley Bruce Lowell Braley (born October 30, 1957) is an American politician and attorney who served as the U.S. representative for from 2007 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he was defeated in his attempt to win an open seat in the 2014 Uni ...

ran for a third term against Republican attorney Ben Lange, Libertarian Rob Petsche, and independent candidate Jason Faulkner. Though Braley was overwhelmingly re-elected to his second term two years prior, the anti-Democratic mood in the country contributed to the Congressman experiencing a tough fight for re-election. The race attracted the attention of both national party organizations, and thousands of dollars were reserved for airtime by the DCCC and the NRCC. Though Braley emerged victorious on election day, it was by a slim 4,000 vote and two percent margin, which was the thinnest margin of victory out of the entire Iowa congressional delegation.

Polling

Results

District 2

Campaign

In a rematch from 2008, incumbent Democratic Congressman

Dave Loebsack David Wayne Loebsack (; born December 23, 1952) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2007 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he also is an ''emeritus'' professor of political science at Cornell College, ...

faced Republican challenger

Mariannette Miller-Meeks Mariannette Jane Miller-Meeks (born September 6, 1955) is an American physician and politician serving as the U.S. representative from Iowa's 2nd congressional district since 2021. A member of the Republican Party, Miller-Meeks served as Iowa sta ...

when he ran for a third term in this southeastern Iowa-based district, the most liberal of the congressional districts in the state. Polling indicated that the race would be close, and both parties’ congressional campaign committees spent on television advertisements, but ultimately, Congressman Loebsack defeated Miller-Meeks by a 10,000 vote, five percent margin.

Polling

Results

District 3

Campaign

Incumbent Democratic Congressman

Leonard Boswell Leonard Leroy Boswell (January 10, 1934 – August 17, 2018) was an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 1997 to 2013, a district based in Des Moines. A member of the Democratic Party, he was defeated for reelectio ...

ran for an eighth term in this marginally liberal district that includes parts of the

Waterloo – Cedar Falls metropolitan area The Waterloo–Cedar Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of three counties in Iowa, anchored by the cities of Waterloo and Cedar Falls. As of the 2000 census, the MSA had ...

, metro Des Moines, and

Cedar Rapids Cedar Rapids () is the second-largest city in Iowa, United States and is the county seat of Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River, north of Iowa City and northeast of Des Moines, the state's capital and largest city. ...

. Congressman Boswell, who has faced difficult elections every year, faced Republican

State Senator A state senator is a member of a state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. Description A state senator is a member of an upper house in the bicameral legislatures of 49 U ...

Brad Zaun Bradley Zaun ( R- Urbandale) is an Iowa State Senator formerly from the 32nd District and currently the 20th District. He was the Republican nominee for Iowa's 3rd congressional district in the 2010 general election. Iowa Senate Zaun has ser ...

in the general election. Though early polling indicated that Boswell was in trouble, he managed to turn the tide and edged out Zaun by a four percent margin.

Polling

Results

District 4

Campaign

Though Republican Congressman Tom Latham represents a centrist district, he has never had much trouble winning re-election since he was first elected in

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. This year, Congressman Latham faced the Democratic nominee, Bill Maske, a school superintendent, and independent candidate Dan Lensing. Latham was never in peril of losing his seat and managed to crush Maske and Lensing to win a ninth term in Congress.

Results

District 5

Campaign

Congressman

Steve King Steven Arnold King (born May 28, 1949) is an American far-right politician and businessman who served as a U.S. representative from Iowa from 2003 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he represented Iowa's 5th congressional district u ...

, a Republican, represents the most conservative district in Iowa, which is rooted in the staunchly conservative areas of western Iowa. King is an outspoken conservative seeking his fifth term in Congress, and he faced Democrat Matthew Campbell in the general election. Though Democrats had high hopes for Campbell’s campaign, he was ultimately not able to beat back the conservative tendencies of the district and lost to King in a landslide.

Results

References

External links

Elections
from the Iowa Secretary of State
U.S. Congress Candidates for Iowa
at

Project Vote Smart Vote Smart, formerly called Project Vote Smart, is a non-profit, non-partisan research organization that collects and distributes information on candidates for public office in the United States. It covers candidates and elected officials in si ...

Iowa U.S. House
from OurCampaigns.com
Campaign contributions for U.S. Congressional races in Iowa
from

OpenSecrets OpenSecrets is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that tracks data on campaign finance and lobbying. It was created from a merger of the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) and the National Institute on Money in Politics (NIMP). ...

{{United States general elections, 2010

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

2010 Iowa elections