Iowa's 1st Congressional District election, 2016

2018 → ← 2014

Iowa's 1st Congressional District

General Election Date November 8, 2016

Primary Date June 7, 2016

November 8 Election Winner: Rod Blum

Incumbent prior to election: Rod Blum

Race Ratings Cook Political Report: Toss-up Sabato's Crystal Ball: Lean D Rothenberg & Gonzales: Pure Toss-up

Iowa U.S. House Elections District 1 • District 2 • District 3 • District 4

2016 U.S. Senate Elections

The 1st Congressional District of Iowa held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 8, 2016.

Iowa's 1st Congressional District was a battleground district in 2016. Incumbent Rod Blum (R) won re-election to his second term, defeating Monica Vernon (D) in the general election on November 8, 2016. Vernon defeated Patrick Murphy in the Democratic primary, while Blum faced no primary challenger. The primary elections took place on June 7, 2016.

HIGHLIGHTS

Iowa's 1st Congressional District seat featured a Republican incumbent in a Democratic leaning district.

The district heavily supported Barack Obama in both 2008 and 2012 and was expected to favor Hillary Clinton in 2016.

Heading into the election, incumbent Rod Blum (R) led challenger Monica Vernon (D) in polling, but fundraising totals were extremely close.

Candidate Filing Deadline	Primary Election	General Election
March 18, 2016	June 7, 2016	November 8, 2016

Primary: A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. In Iowa, a voter must be affiliated with a party in order to participate in its primary. However, a voter can change his or her political party affiliation on Election Day, creating what is effectively an open primary.

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.

Incumbent: Heading into the election the incumbent was Rod Blum (R), who was first elected in 2014.

Iowa's 1st Congressional District covers the northeastern part of the state. The district includes Worth, Mitchell, Howard, Winneshiek, Allamakee, Clayton, Fayette, Bremer, Black Hawk, Buchanan, Delaware, Dubuque, Jackson, Jones, Linn, Benton, Iowa, Poweshiek, Marshall and Tama counties.

Election results

General election

U.S. House, Iowa District 1 General Election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Rod Blum Incumbent	53.7%	206,903
	Democratic	Monica Vernon	46.1%	177,403
	N/A	Write-in	0.2%	671
Total Votes				384,977
Source: Iowa Secretary of State

Primary election

U.S. House, Iowa District 1 Democratic Primary, 2016

Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Monica Vernon	67.6%	21,032
Patrick Murphy	32.4%	10,090
Total Votes		31,122
Source: Iowa Secretary of State

Candidates

General election candidates:

Rod Blum a
Monica Vernon

Primary candidates:

Democratic

Monica Vernon - Cedar Rapids City Councilwomana
Patrick Murphy

Republican

Rod Blum - Incumbent a

Withdrew:
Ravi Patel (D)
Gary Kroeger (D) - Ad executive

Race background

Monica Vernon was one of the initial members of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's Red to Blue Program. The program "highlights top Democratic campaigns across the country, and offers them financial, communications, grassroots, and strategic support."

Presidential preference

Rod Blum

See also: Republicans and their declared positions on Donald Trump

On May 6, 2016, Blum expressed his support for Donald Trump, saying, “It’s binary now. There’s two people now, so everything’s changed. When they start thinking about four years or eight years of Hillary Clinton, I think they’re starting to warm up to Trump, but it does concern me, this ‘Never Trump’ or whatever it’s called. … So, we need all Republicans on board, for sure.”

Endorsements

Rod Blum

• The Club for Growth

Monica Vernon

The following individuals and organizations have endorsed Vernon. For a full listing of Vernon's endorsements, click here.

• Congressman Dave Loebsack

• EMILY's List - "Monica Vernon is a dedicated public servant, small businesswoman, and mother of three who has what it takes to fight for Iowa women and families in Washington. She is committed to helping create jobs and championing commonsense policies like equal pay for women that give working families a fair shot. The EMILY’s List community – now more than three million members strong – is thrilled to endorse Monica’s strong campaign to represent Iowa’s First District in Congress."

• The International Association of Fire Fighters

Polls

Iowa’s 1st District - Rod Blum vs. Monica Vernon
Poll	Rod Blum	Monica Vernon	Margin of Error	Sample Size
GBA Strategies/DCCC October 16-17, 2016	47%	48%	+/-4.9	400
Normington Petts October 10-11, 2016	45%	44%	+/-4.9	400
The polling company, inc./WomanTrend September 29-October 1, 2016	52%	36%	+/-4.9	400
Loras College September 20-22, 2016	45%	38%	+/-5.1	368
Polling Company August 14-16, 2016	50%	43%	+/-4.9	400
Note: A "0%" finding means the candidate was not a part of the poll. The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to [email protected]

Media

Rod Blum

Opposition

"Explainer" - House Majority PAC ad opposing Blum, released September 2016

Monica Vernon

Support

"Kids" - Vernon's first general election ad, released August 2016

"Within Reach" - Vernon ad opposing Blum, released September 2016

"Fact Check" - Vernon ad opposing Blum, released October 2016

Opposition

"Must Be Nice" - NRCC ad opposing Vernon, released September 2016

"Favor" - NRCC ad opposing Vernon, released October 2016

Primary

Vernon's first ad, released April 2016

Vernon's second ad, released April 2016

Vernon's third ad, released May 2016

"Promise" - EMILY's List ad supporting Vernon, released May 2016

"People" - Vernon ad, released May 2016

Campaign themes

Rod Blum

“	Social Security: My 84-year-old mother passed away earlier this year. But before leaving us, she was independent for years thanks to her earned Social Security benefits. Our family saw — like thousands of other Eastern Iowa families — the good the program does for our elderly by empowering them to remain self-sufficient and independent long past their working days. Civil Liberties: We must always remember that most liberties are taken away from us in the name of “safety”. As our founding father Ben Franklin said, “Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety”. Agriculture: Agencies like the EPA and FDA consistently overstep the boundaries of common sense with regulations like the “Waters of the US” (WOTUS) act and restrictions on farm dust. These agencies are making it increasingly difficult for family farms to effectively operate their small businesses. Economy: According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 12 million Americans are unemployed and another 8 million are working part-time but desire full-time employment. All told almost 23 million of our fellow Americans are unemployed or underemployed. The “official” unemployment rate is around 8%. Add in those Americans who are underemployed and those that have given up and the “real” unemployment rate is almost 15%. Average family income has decreased by 8% over the last five years and median family net worth has decreased 25% over the last decade. Debt: The federal government’s deficit in 2011 was $1.3 trillion. In 2012 it was $1.1 trillion. And our deficit this year is projected to be around $1.0 trillion. Over the last five years, Washington DC has spent $6 trillion it didn’t have. $6 trillion that it had to borrow. $6 trillion it had to print. If government spending was the answer, Greece and Italy would be economic powerhouses.	”
—Rod Blum's campaign website, http://www.rodblum.com/#

Monica Vernon

“	Protect and Strengthen Social Security and Medicare: Seniors have paid into Social Security and Medicare every paycheck. They’ve earned it, deserve it, and must be able to count on it. My mom and dad raised five kids on a single income paycheck. They worked hard to create a good life for our family and paid into a system, as we all do, that promised to be there for them when they needed it. We’ve got to balance the budget but we’ve got to do it the right way – not on the backs of seniors who’ve earned Social Security and Medicare after a lifetime of hard work. Invest in Infrastructure: A strong country must have a great transportation system to move people, products, and our economy forward. We need to repair and replace crumbling roads, bridges, dams and other infrastructure throughout northeast Iowa. Not only is this a safety concern, but investment in infrastructure will put more people back to work and help us continue to rebound from the recession. Create Manufacturing Jobs and Grow Small Business: Our country was built on the backs of middle class Americans. We must focus on bringing back the strength of our middle class which has been steadily eroding for the past 30 years. Stop Unfair Trade: Transparency in trade agreements is a key way to avoid the unintended consequences of unfair labor and environmental standards. In order for trade to work, it’s got to be fair. Tackle Climate Change with a Common Sense Approach: Climate change is real. NASA and Scientists agree – climate change worsens extreme weather. Left unaddressed, floods, droughts, super storms, and other natural disasters will continue to worsen – to the extreme — causing devastating economic and environmental consequences for our community.	”
—Monica Vernon's campaign website, http://monicavernonforcongress.com/issues/

Campaign contributions

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Source: This graphic was generated using data from the FEC.

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Source: This graphic was generated using data from the FEC.

Rod Blum

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Source: This graphic was generated using data from the FEC.

Monica Vernon

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Source: This graphic was generated using data from the FEC.

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The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may not represent all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer, and campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

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District history

2014

See also: Iowa's 1st Congressional District elections, 2014

The 1st Congressional District of Iowa held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014. Rod Blum (R) defeated Pat Murphy (D) in the general election.

U.S. House, Iowa District 1 General Election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Pat Murphy	48.8%	141,145
	Republican	Rod Blum	51.1%	147,762
	Write-in	Other	0.1%	399
Total Votes				289,306
Source: Iowa Secretary of State Official Results

2012

See also: Iowa's 1st Congressional District elections, 2012

The 1st Congressional District of Iowa held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 6, 2012. Bruce Braley (D) won the election in the district.

U.S. House, Iowa District 1 General Election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Bruce Braley Incumbent	56.9%	222,422
	Republican	Ben Lange	41.6%	162,465
	Independent	Gregory Hughes	1.2%	4,772
	Independent	George Todd Krail II	0.2%	931
Total Votes				390,590
Source: Iowa Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election"

Important dates and deadlines

See also: Iowa elections, 2016

The calendar below lists important dates for political candidates in Iowa in 2016.

Dates and requirements for candidates in 2016
Deadline	Event type	Event description
February 29, 2016	Ballot access	Primary candidate filing period opens
March 18, 2016	Ballot access	Primary candidate filing period ends
May 19, 2016	Campaign finance	Report due covering January 1 through May 14
June 3, 2016	Campaign finance	Special supplementary report due for certain contributions
June 7, 2016	Election date	Primary election
July 19, 2016	Campaign finance	Report due covering May 15 through July 14
August 1, 2016	Ballot access	General election candidate filing period opens
August 19, 2016	Ballot access	General election candidate filing period ends
October 19, 2016	Campaign finance	Report due covering July 15 through October 14
November 4, 2016	Campaign finance	Special supplementary report due for certain contributions
November 8, 2016	Election date	General election
January 19, 2017	Campaign finance	Report due covering October 15 through December 31
Sources: Iowa Secretary of State, "Three Year Election Calendar," accessed June 5, 2015 Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board, "Reporting Dates," accessed June 5, 2015

See also

• United States House of Representatives elections in Iowa, 2016
• United States House of Representatives elections, 2016

Footnotes

For information about public policy issues in the 2016 elections, see: Public policy in the 2016 elections!

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Iowa's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Joni Ernst (R)

Chuck Grassley (R)

Representatives

District 1

Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R)

District 2

Ashley Hinson (R)

District 3

Zach Nunn (R)

District 4

Randy Feenstra (R)

Republican Party (6)