Democratic U.S. Rep. Cindy Axne has won reelection in Iowa’s 3rd District by 1.4 percentage points over her Republican challenger, former Rep. David Young.
The outcome of the race was even closer than when the candidates first ran against each other in 2018. According to preliminary results, Axne earned only 6,200 more votes than Young. Mail-in ballots post-marked before Election Day will continue to be counted until Nov. 9.
Young won 15 out of the 16 counties in the district which covers in southwestern quadrant of the state, even adding to his margin compared to 2018 in key areas including Warren and Pottawattamie counties. However, as happened two years ago, Cindy Axne built a lead in Polk County that Young could not overcome.
Axne thanked supporters, staff and volunteers for getting out the vote in a victory speech delivered remotely. With the campaign now over, she said members of Congress should immediately turn their attention back to the coronavirus.
“This election doesn’t mark the end of the hard times we’ve faced in Iowa. It can, however, mark the new beginning of a new direction in the fight to get us back on track,” Axne said. “We as a nation must come together and continue to make sacrifices to save those still at risk.”
Axne focused her reelection message on lowering the cost of health care, improving access and upholding the Affordable Care Act.
She said prescription drug costs, infrastructure, rural broadband and climate change are also issues she plans to work on in her second term.
