Iowa's 3rd Congressional District election, 2024

	2026 → ← 2022
Iowa's 3rd Congressional District
	Democratic primary; Republican primary; General election
Election details
	Filing deadline: March 15, 2024
	Primary: June 4, 2024; General: November 5, 2024
How to vote
	Poll times: 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Voting in Iowa
Race ratings
	Cook Political Report: Toss-up; DDHQ and The Hill: Toss-up; Inside Elections: Tilt Republican; Sabato's Crystal Ball: Lean Republican
Ballotpedia analysis
	U.S. Senate battlegrounds; U.S. House battlegrounds; Federal and state primary competitiveness; Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2024
See also
	Iowa's 3rd Congressional District; 1st • 2nd • 3rd • 4th; Iowa elections, 2024; U.S. Congress elections, 2024; U.S. Senate elections, 2024; U.S. House elections, 2024; Alabama U.S. House racesAlaska U.S. House racesArizona U.S. House racesArkansas U.S. House racesCalifornia U.S. House racesColorado U.S. House racesConnecticut U.S. House racesDelaware U.S. House racesFlorida U.S. House racesGeorgia U.S. House racesHawaii U.S. House racesIdaho U.S. House racesIllinois U.S. House racesIndiana U.S. House racesIowa U.S. House racesKansas U.S. House racesKentucky U.S. House racesLouisiana U.S. House racesMaine U.S. House racesMaryland U.S. House racesMassachusetts U.S. House racesMichigan U.S. House racesMinnesota U.S. House racesMississippi U.S. House racesMissouri U.S. House racesMontana U.S. House racesNebraska U.S. House racesNevada U.S. House racesNew Hampshire U.S. House racesNew Jersey U.S. House racesNew Mexico U.S. House racesNew York U.S. House racesNorth Carolina U.S. House racesNorth Dakota U.S. House racesOhio U.S. House racesOklahoma U.S. House racesOregon U.S. House racesPennsylvania U.S. House racesRhode Island U.S. House racesSouth Carolina U.S. House racesSouth Dakota U.S. House racesTennessee U.S. House racesTexas U.S. House racesUtah U.S. House racesVermont U.S. House racesVirginia U.S. House racesWashington U.S. House racesWest Virginia U.S. House racesWisconsin U.S. House racesWyoming U.S. House racesSubmit

Iowa 2024 elections

U.S. House • State Senate • State House • Supreme court • Appellate courts • State ballot measures • Municipal • All other local • How to run for office

Incumbent Zach Nunn (R) defeated Lanon Baccam (D) in the general election in Iowa's 3rd Congressional District on November 5, 2024. Click here for detailed results.

Nunn was first elected in 2022 when he defeated then-incumbent Cindy Axne (D) 50.3% to 48.9%.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee targeted the district. Before the election, four major election forecasters differed in their ratings for the general election, with one rating it Lean Republican and three rating it a toss-up.

Nunn was a former state legislator and U.S. Air Force veteran. Nunn said he would "never stop fighting for Iowans’ individual liberties, fiscal discipline, and limited government." Nunn said he had "passed legislation to rein in skyrocketing inflation, restore American energy independence, and strengthen national security."^[1]

Baccam was an Iowa National Guard veteran and former staff member at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Baccam said he was running "because he believes all Iowans should have the opportunities afforded to him and his family: access to good-paying jobs, affordable health care, the ability to retire with dignity and protection of women’s reproductive freedoms."^[2]

Based on post-general election reports filed with the Federal Election Commission, Nunn raised $5.77 million and spent $5.75 million and Baccam raised $5.61 million and spent $5.51 million. To review all the campaign finance figures in full detail, click here.

The outcome of this race affected the partisan balance of the U.S. House of Representatives in the 119th Congress. All 435 House districts were up for election.

At the time of the election, Republicans held a 220-212 majority with three vacancies.^[3] As a result of the election, Republicans retained control of the U.S. House, winning 220 seats to Democrats' 215.^[4] To read more about the 2024 U.S. House elections, click here.

In the 2022 election in this district, the Republican candidate won 50.3%-49.6%. Daily Kos calculated what the results of the 2020 presidential election in this district would have been following redistricting. Donald Trump (R) would have defeated Joe Biden (D) 49.3%-48.9%.^[5]

For more information about the primaries in this election, click on the links below:

Candidates and election results

General election

General election for U.S. House Iowa District 3

Incumbent Zach Nunn defeated Lanon Baccam and Marco Battaglia in the general election for U.S. House Iowa District 3 on November 5, 2024.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Zach Nunn (R)	51.8	213,746
	Lanon Baccam (D)	47.9	197,962
	Marco Battaglia (L) (Write-in)	0.0	0
	Other/Write-in votes	0.3	1,197

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 412,905
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Iowa District 3

Lanon Baccam defeated Melissa Vine in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Iowa District 3 on June 4, 2024.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Lanon Baccam	84.1	19,357
	Melissa Vine	15.8	3,642
	Other/Write-in votes	0.1	29

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 23,028
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Iowa District 3

Incumbent Zach Nunn advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Iowa District 3 on June 4, 2024.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Zach Nunn	98.3	21,103
	Other/Write-in votes	1.7	365

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 21,468
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Voting information

See also: Voting in Iowa

Election information in Iowa: Nov. 5, 2024, election.

What was the voter registration deadline?

In-person: Nov. 5, 2024
By mail: Postmarked by Oct. 21, 2024
Online: Oct. 21, 2024

Was absentee/mail-in voting available to all voters?

Yes

What was the absentee/mail-in ballot request deadline?

In-person: Oct. 21, 2024
By mail: Received by Oct. 21, 2024
Online: N/A

What was the absentee/mail-in ballot return deadline?

In-person: Nov. 5, 2024
By mail: Received by Nov. 5, 2024

Was early voting available to all voters?

Yes

What were the early voting start and end dates?

Oct. 16, 2024 to Nov. 4, 2024

Were all voters required to present ID at the polls? If so, was a photo or non-photo ID required?

N/A

When were polls open on Election Day?

7:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. (CST)

Candidate comparison

Candidate profiles

This section includes candidate profiles that may be created in one of two ways: either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, or Ballotpedia staff may compile a profile based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements after identifying the candidate as noteworthy. For more on how we select candidates to include, click here.

Zach Nunn

Party: Republican Party

Incumbent: Yes

Political Office:

U.S. House Iowa District 3 (Assumed office: 2023)
Iowa State Senate District 15 (2019–2023)
Iowa House of Representatives District 30 (2015–2019)

Biography: Nunn obtained a bachelor's degree from Drake University and master's degrees from Air Command and Staff College and Cambridge University. Nunn completed a degree program in strategy and technology innovation at Air War College. Nunn served in the U.S. Air Force and Iowa Air National Guard, worked as a staffer with the National Security Council and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and as a cybersecurity consultant.

Key Messages

The following key messages were curated by Ballotpedia staff. For more on how we identify key messages, click here.

Nunn said he was "a trusted conservative leader helping pioneer Iowa as a model for national success." Nunn said he had lived "a life based on faith, working hard for what you earn, and helping others."

Nunn said he had a record of combat service that include serving more than 700 combat hours as an aviator in the U.S. Air Force, serving on COVID relief efforts with the Air National Guard, and working on the National Security Council at the White House.

Nunn said his record in office included having "passed legislation to rein in skyrocketing inflation, restore American energy independence, and strengthen national security." Nunn said he had held the Joe Biden (D) administration "accountable for years of high gas prices and fighting for renewable fuels that save Iowans money while supporting farmers that feed and fuel the world."

Show sources

Sources: Zach Nunn 2024 campaign website, "About," accessed July 22, 2024; Zach Nunn 2024 campaign website, "About," accessed July 22, 2024; Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, "NUNN, Zach," accessed July 22, 2024

This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House Iowa District 3 in 2024.

Lanon Baccam

Party: Democratic Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Biography: Baccam served in the Iowa National Guard, where he deployed to Afghanistan as a combat engineer. After leaving the Guard, Baccam obtained a bachelor's degree from Drake University. Before running for Congress, Baccam served in the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Key Messages

The following key messages were curated by Ballotpedia staff. For more on how we identify key messages, click here.

Baccam said he was running "because he believes all Iowans should have the opportunities afforded to him and his family: access to good-paying jobs, affordable health care, the ability to retire with dignity and protection of women’s reproductive freedoms."

Baccam said he had a record of service both as a veteran and as a staff member at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and that he would continue to put Iowa first if elected.

Baccam said his policy priorities included lowering the cost of living, opposing cuts to Social Security and Medicare, and guaranteeing the right to an abortion.

Show sources

Sources: Lanon Baccam 2024 campaign website, "Home page," accessed July 22, 2024; Lanon Baccam 2024 campaign website, "Priorities," accessed July 22, 2024; Lanon Baccam 2024 campaign website, "Home page," accessed July 22, 2024; Southeast Iowa Union, "Mt. Pleasant native announces run for Congress," November 16, 2023

This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House Iowa District 3 in 2024.

Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses

Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

No candidate in this race completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey.

Campaign advertisements

This section includes a selection of up to three campaign advertisements per candidate released in this race, as well as links to candidates' YouTube, Vimeo, and/or Facebook video pages. If you are aware of other links that should be included, please email us.

Zach Nunn

July 10, 2024

June 5, 2024

View more ads here:

Lanon Baccam

May 10, 2024

May 7, 2024

View more ads here:

Election competitiveness

Polls

See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls

Polls are conducted with a variety of methodologies and have margins of error or credibility intervals.^[6] The Pew Research Center wrote, "A margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points at the 95% confidence level means that if we fielded the same survey 100 times, we would expect the result to be within 3 percentage points of the true population value 95 of those times."^[7] For tips on reading polls from FiveThirtyEight, click here. For tips from Pew, click here.

Below we provide results for polls that are included in polling aggregation from FiveThirtyEight and RealClearPolitics, when available. Click here to read about FiveThirtyEight's criteria for including polls in its aggregation. We only report polls for which we can find a margin of error or credibility interval.

Iowa's 3rd Congressional District: 2024 general election polls
Poll	Date	Nunn	Baccam	Undecided/Other	Margin of error	Sample size^[8]	Sponsor^[9]
GQR	Jun. 24–27, 2024^[10]	43%	43%	13%	±4.4%	550 LV	Lanon Baccam campaign

Race ratings

See also: Race rating definitions and methods

Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:

Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.^[11]
Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.

Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.^[12]^[13]^[14]

Race ratings: Iowa's 3rd Congressional District election, 2024
Race tracker	Race ratings
	November 5, 2024	October 29, 2024	October 22, 2024	October 15, 2024
The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter	Toss-up	Toss-up	Toss-up	Toss-up
Decision Desk HQ and The Hill	Toss-up	Toss-up	Toss-up	Toss-up
Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales	Tilt Republican	Toss-up	Toss-up	Toss-up
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball	Lean Republican	Lean Republican	Lean Republican	Lean Republican
Note: Ballotpedia reviews external race ratings every week throughout the election season and posts weekly updates even if the media outlets have not revised their ratings during that week.

Endorsements

See also: Ballotpedia: Our approach to covering endorsements

Click the links below to see official endorsement lists published on candidate campaign websites for any candidates that make that information available. If you are aware of a website that should be included, please email us.

Lanon Baccam

Election spending

Campaign finance

Name	Party	Receipts*	Disbursements**	Cash on hand	Date
Zach Nunn	Republican Party	$5,809,116	$5,857,350	$52,833	As of December 31, 2024
Lanon Baccam	Democratic Party	$5,610,180	$5,585,059	$25,121	As of December 31, 2024
Melissa Vine	Democratic Party	$165,417	$165,417	$0	As of June 20, 2024
Marco Battaglia	Libertarian Party	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2024. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC). * According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee." According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election. * Candidate either did not report any receipts or disbursements to the FEC, or Ballotpedia did not find an FEC candidate ID.

Satellite spending

See also: Satellite spending

Satellite spending describes political spending not controlled by candidates or their campaigns; that is, any political expenditures made by groups or individuals that are not directly affiliated with a candidate. This includes spending by political party committees, super PACs, trade associations, and 501(c)(4) nonprofit groups.^[15]^[16]^[17]

If available, this section includes links to online resources tracking satellite spending in this election. To notify us of a resource to add, email us.

By candidate	By election
Zach Nunn Lanon Baccam	OpenSecrets Federal Election Commission

District analysis

Click the tabs below to view information about voter composition, past elections, and demographics in both the district and the state.

District map - A map of the district in place for the election.
Competitiveness - Information about the competitiveness of 2024 U.S. House elections in the state.
Presidential elections - Information about presidential elections in the district and the state.
State party control - The partisan makeup of the state's congressional delegation and state government.

District map

Competitiveness
Presidential elections

State party control

Below was the map in use at the time of the election. Click the map below to enlarge it.

See also: Primary election competitiveness in state and federal government, 2024

This section contains data on U.S. House primary election competitiveness in Iowa.

Iowa U.S. House competitiveness, 2014-2024
Office	Districts/ offices	Seats	Open seats	Candidates	Possible primaries	Contested Democratic primaries	Contested Republican primaries	% of contested primaries	Incumbents in contested primaries	% of incumbents in contested primaries
2024	4	4	0	11	8	1	2	37.5%	2	50.0%
2022	4	4	0	10	8	0	1	12.5%	0	0.0%
2020	4	4	1	18	8	0	4	50.0%	1	33.3%
2018	4	4	0	16	8	3	1	50.0%	1	25.0%
2016	4	4	0	13	8	2	2	50.0%	2	50.0%
2014	4	4	2	21	8	1	3	50.0%	0	0.0%

Post-filing deadline analysis

The following analysis covers all U.S. House districts up for election in Iowa in 2024. Information below was calculated on April 19, 2024, and may differ from information shown in the table above due to candidate replacements and withdrawals after that time.

Eleven candidates ran for Iowa’s four U.S. House districts, including five Democrats and six Republicans. That’s 2.75 candidates per district, higher than the 2.5 candidates per district in 2022 but lower than the 4.5 candidates per district in 2020.

No seats were open in 2024, meaning all incumbents ran for re-election. One House seat was open in 2020, and two were open in 2014, the only two years this decade in which House seats were open.

Three congressional districts—the 1st, the 3rd, and the 4th—were tied for the most candidates running for a seat in Iowa in 2024. Three candidates ran in each district.

Three primaries—one Democratic and two Republican—were contested in 2024. That’s more than the one primary that was contested in 2022 but less than the four primaries that were contested in 2020.

Two incumbents—Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-1) and Randy Feenstra (R-4)—were in contested primaries, tying with 2016 for the most this decade.

Candidates filed to run in the Republican and Democratic primaries in all districts, meaning no seats were guaranteed to either party.

Partisan Voter Index

See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index

Heading into the 2024 elections, based on results from the 2020 and 2016 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was R+3. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 3 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Iowa's 3rd the 209th most Republican district nationally.^[18]

2020 presidential election results

The table below shows what the vote in the 2020 presidential election would have been in this district. The presidential election data was compiled by Daily Kos.

2020 presidential results in Iowa's 3rd based on 2024 district lines
Joe Biden	Donald Trump
48.9%	49.3%

Inside Elections Baselines

See also: Inside Elections

Inside Elections' Baseline is a figure that analyzes all federal and statewide election results from the district over the past four election cycles. The results are combined in an index estimating the strength of a typical Democratic or Republican candidate in the congressional district.^[19] The table below displays the Baseline data for this district.

Inside Elections Baseline for 2024
Democratic Baseline	Republican Baseline	Difference
49.0	48.7	R+0.3

Presidential voting history

See also: Presidential election in Iowa, 2020

Iowa presidential election results (1900-2020)

11 Democratic wins
20 Republican wins

Year	1900	1904	1908	1912	1916	1920	1924	1928	1932	1936	1940	1944	1948	1952	1956	1960	1964	1968	1972	1976	1980	1984	1988	1992	1996	2000	2004	2008	2012	2016	2020
Winning Party	R	R	R	D	R	R	R	R	D	D	R	R	D	R	R	R	D	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	R	D	D	R	R

See also: Party control of Iowa state government

Congressional delegation

The table below displays the partisan composition of Iowa's congressional delegation as of May 2024.

Congressional Partisan Breakdown from Iowa
Party	U.S. Senate	U.S. House	Total
Democratic	0	0	0
Republican	2	4	6
Independent	0	0	0
Vacancies	0	0	0
Total	2	4	6

State executive

The table below displays the officeholders in Iowa's top four state executive offices as of May 2024.

State executive officials in Iowa, May 2024
Office	Officeholder
Governor	Kim Reynolds
Lieutenant Governor	Adam Gregg
Secretary of State	Paul Pate
Attorney General	Brenna Bird

State legislature

Iowa State Senate

Party		As of February 2024
	Democratic Party	16
	Republican Party	34
	Other	0
	Vacancies	0
Total		50

Iowa House of Representatives

Party		As of February 2024
	Democratic Party	36
	Republican Party	64
	Other	0
	Vacancies	0
Total		100

Trifecta control

The table below shows the state's trifecta status from 1992 until the 2024 election.

Iowa Party Control: 1992-2024
Four years of Democratic trifectas • Ten years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year	92	93	94	95	96	97	98	99	00	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24
Governor	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R
Senate	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	S	S	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R
House	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R

Election context

Ballot access requirements

The table below details filing requirements for U.S. House candidates in Iowa in the 2024 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Iowa, click here.

Filing requirements for U.S. House candidates, 2024
State	Office	Party	Signatures required	Filing fee	Filing deadline	Source
Iowa	U.S. House	Ballot-qualified party	1,726, including at least 47 signatures from ½ of the counties in the district	N/A	3/15/2024	Source
Iowa	U.S. House	Unaffiliated	1,726, including at least 47 signatures from ½ of the counties in the district	N/A	8/24/2024	Source

District election history

The section below details election results for this office in elections dating back to 2018.