Here’s how much Iowa’s congressional candidates have raised

Iowa's 1st Congressional District is the most competitive in terms of fundraising so far this election cycle. (Photo illustration by Getty Images)

Iowa’s four incumbent Republicans in the U.S. House have fundraising advantages over their  Democratic challengers, but Iowa’s 1st District race is more competitive than the others in terms of fundraising.

The three rating services, The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter, Inside Elections and Sabato’s Crystal Ball, rate the 1st District race as “likely or lean Republican.” It pits the incumbent Republican, Mariannette Miller-Meeks, against Christina Bohannan, the Democrat candidate, in a rematch from the 2022 election. David Pautsch, a Republican from Davenport, is challenging Miller-Meeks for the nomination.

Miller-Meeks won the 2022 race with 53.4% of the votes to Bohannan’s 46.6%. A rematch could prove to be more competitive, as Bohannan has outraised Miller-Meeks during the third and fourth quarters of 2023 (totals of $1,315,000 vs. $802,000, respectively), and the first quarter of 2024.

Miller-Meeks added $319,724 in contributions during the first quarter of 2024, while Bohannan raised $820,187.

Miller-Meeks still has an overall advantage. Bohannan launched her campaign during mid-August of 2023 and the GOP incumbent has been raising funds throughout 2023. For the election cycle to date, Miller-Meeks has raised over $2.6 million and has spent about $1.2 million. She ended the period with $1.77 million cash on hand and no debts.  Bohannan has raised nearly $2.14 million and has spent about $531,000, leaving her with nearly $1.64 million cash on hand and no debts.

Pautsch has raised just over $28,000 during the campaign period to date. He’s spent just over $21,000 and has about $7,865 on hand.

Here’s a closer look at Miller-Meeks and Bohannan’s contributions.

OpenSecrets’ “Industries” category of campaign contributions includes “Retired.” Miller-Meeks and Bohannan both received most of their campaign contribution from this source — $379,819 for Miller-Meeks and $319,444 for Bohannan as of March 31. Bohannan’s second-largest industry source, however, is Education ($149,652). Democrat/Liberal group contributions ($128,446) are third, following by Lawyers/Law Firms with $85,813.

That support matches Bohannan’s current position as a teacher and author at the University of Iowa College of Law. The most recent FEC data shows “The University of Iowa” is Bohannan’s largest contributor ($90,014). These are contributions from individuals at the university, affiliated with it and their immediate families, not the university itself.

When it comes to geographic sources for contributions, Bohannan has outraised Miller-Meeks both within Iowa and the district.

(No geographical data for Pautsch is available)

Another geographic comparison of the campaigns is contributors by metro areas. West Palm Beach-Boca Raton, Florida, is first for Miller-Meeks ($86,876), and Iowa City, Iowa is first for Bohannan ($247,954).

Hinson raises $3.3 million in District 2

The 2^nd District is rated “solid Republican,” “likely Republican” and “safe Republican,” respectively, by the three rating outlets cited above. Incumbent Republican Ashley Hinson was elected to the U.S. House for the first time in the 2020 election cycle and reelected in 2022. She and Miller-Meeks are the first Republican women to represent Iowa in the House. Sarah Corkery, a resident of Cedar Falls, is the only Democrat on the primary ballot.

Hinson has a massive fundraising lead, with over $3.3 million raised so far this cycle compared to $156,464 for Corkery.  Hinson has spent $1.76 million and has nearly $1.67 million on hand as of March 31.  Corkery has spent $76,706 and has just under $80,000 on hand.

Third District race seen as competitive

The 2022 election for Iowa’s 3^rd District was extremely close. Republican Zach Nunn beat incumbent Democrat Cindy Axne by just 2,145 votes of 310,913 votes cast. The 2024 election could also be competitive. Of the three rating services, The Cook Report and Larry J. Sabato’s Crystal Ball each rated the race as “lean Republican,” while Inside Elections rated it “tilt Republican.”

Lanon Baccam, a former U.S. Department of Agriculture official and combat veteran, and Melissa Vine, a businesswoman, are competing for the Democrat nomination. Baccam has the backing of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and has raised over $1.4 million for his campaign — more than 10 times what Vine has raised as of March 31.

Nunn has raised more than double Baccam’s total with $2.9 million. He has spent nearly $1.2 million and has about $1.8 million on hand.  Baccam has spent less than $250,000 and has about $1.15 million on hand.

Feenstra raises $3 million in 4th District

In the 4^th District, The Cook Political Report rates the race as “solid Republican” and Inside Elections and Sabato’s Crystal Ball rate it as “safe Republican,” indicating incumbent Republican Randy Feenstra has the advantage as he seeks reelection. Kevin Virgil, a veteran and entrepreneur, has also qualified for the Republican primary in June.

Ryan Melton is the sole Democratic candidate who will appear on the ballot. Open Secrets has no information on the sources of his campaign funds. The FEC reports he has raised $42,560 as of March 31, compared to just over $3 million by Feenstra.

The primary election for all four U.S. House races is June 4, 2024, and the general election is November 5, 2024.

Kathie Obradovich contributed to this report.

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