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Iowa's 3rd Congressional District election, 2026

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2024
Iowa's 3rd Congressional District
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Democratic primary
Republican primary
General election
Election details
Filing deadline: March 13, 2026
Primary: June 2, 2026
General: November 3, 2026
How to vote
Poll times:

7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Voting in Iowa

Race ratings
Cook Political Report: Lean Republican
DDHQ and The Hill: Pending
Inside Elections: Lean Republican
Sabato's Crystal Ball: Toss-up
Ballotpedia analysis
U.S. Senate battlegrounds
U.S. House battlegrounds
Federal and state primary competitiveness
Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2026
See also
Iowa's 3rd Congressional District
U.S. Senate1st2nd3rd4th
Iowa elections, 2026
U.S. Congress elections, 2026
U.S. Senate elections, 2026
U.S. House elections, 2026

All U.S. House districts, including the 3rd Congressional District of Iowa, are holding elections in 2026. The general election is November 3, 2026. The primary is June 2, 2026. The filing deadline is March 13, 2026. For more information about the primaries in this election, click on the links below:

Candidates and election results

Note: The following list includes official candidates only. Ballotpedia defines official candidates as people who:

  • Register with a federal or state campaign finance agency before the candidate filing deadline
  • Appear on candidate lists released by government election agencies

General election

The primary will occur on June 2, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Iowa District 3

The following candidates are running in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Iowa District 3 on June 2, 2026.


Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Iowa District 3

Incumbent Zach Nunn is running in the Republican primary for U.S. House Iowa District 3 on June 2, 2026.

Candidate
Image of Zach Nunn
Zach Nunn

Candidate Connection = 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.

Candidate profiles

There are currently no candidate profiles created for this race. Candidate profiles will appear here as they are created. Encourage the candidates in this race to complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey so that their profile will appear here.

Voting information

See also: Voting in Iowa

Ballotpedia will publish the dates and deadlines related to this election as they are made available.

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 has completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Ballotpedia is seeking 100 percent participation so voters can learn more about all the candidates on their ballots.

Campaign finance

Name Party Receipts* Disbursements** Cash on hand Date
Zach Nunn Republican Party $2,079,500 $521,924 $1,610,410 As of September 30, 2025
Lanon Baccam Democratic Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***
Xavier Carrigan Democratic Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***
Jennifer Konfrst Democratic Party $426,602 $231,269 $195,333 As of September 30, 2025
Tracy Limon Democratic Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***
Sarah Trone Garriott Democratic Party $958,484 $360,272 $598,212 As of September 30, 2025
Easton Wolfe Democratic Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***

Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2026. 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.

General election 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.[1]
  • 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.[2][3][4]

Race ratings: Iowa's 3rd Congressional District election, 2026
Race trackerRace ratings
1/13/20261/6/202612/23/202512/16/2025
The Cook Political Report with Amy WalterLean RepublicanLean RepublicanLean RepublicanLean Republican
Decision Desk HQ and The HillPendingPendingPendingPending
Inside Elections with Nathan L. GonzalesLean RepublicanLean RepublicanLean RepublicanLean Republican
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal BallToss-upToss-upToss-upToss-up
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.

Ballot access

The table below details filing requirements for U.S. House candidates in Iowa in the 2026 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Iowa, click here.

Filing requirements for U.S. House candidates, 2026
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 3/13/2026 Source
Iowa U.S. House Unaffiliated 1,726, including at least 47 signatures from ½ of the counties in the district N/A 6/2/2026 Source


District history

The section below details election results for this office in elections dating back to 2020.

General election

General election for U.S. House Iowa District 3

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

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

Total votes: 412,905
Candidate Connection = 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

Democratic primary for U.S. House Iowa District 3

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

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

Total votes: 23,028
Candidate Connection = 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

Republican primary for U.S. House Iowa District 3

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

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

Total votes: 21,468
Candidate Connection = 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.

General election

General election for U.S. House Iowa District 3

Zach Nunn (R) defeated incumbent Cindy Axne (D) in the general election for U.S. House Iowa District 3 on November 8, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Zach Nunn
Zach Nunn (R)
 
50.3
 
156,262
Image of Cindy Axne
Cindy Axne (D)
 
49.6
 
154,117
  Other/Write-in votes
 
0.2%
 
534

Total votes: 310,913
Candidate Connection = 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

Democratic primary for U.S. House Iowa District 3

Incumbent Cindy Axne (D) advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Iowa District 3 on June 7, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Cindy Axne
Cindy Axne
 
99.5
 
47,710
  Other/Write-in votes
 
0.5%
 
252

Total votes: 47,962
Candidate Connection = 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

Republican primary for U.S. House Iowa District 3

Zach Nunn (R) defeated Nicole Hasso (R) and Gary Leffler (R) in the Republican primary for U.S. House Iowa District 3 on June 7, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Zach Nunn
Zach Nunn
 
65.8
 
30,502
Image of Nicole Hasso
Nicole Hasso
 
19.4
 
8,991
Image of Gary Leffler
Gary Leffler  Candidate Connection
 
14.7
 
6,800
  Other/Write-in votes
 
0.2%
 
89

Total votes: 46,382
Candidate Connection = 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.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

General election

General election for U.S. House Iowa District 3

Incumbent Cindy Axne (D) defeated David Young (R) and Bryan Holder (L) in the general election for U.S. House Iowa District 3 on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Cindy Axne
Cindy Axne (D)
 
48.9
 
219,205
Image of David Young
David Young (R)
 
47.5
 
212,997
Image of Bryan Holder
Bryan Holder (L)
 
3.4
 
15,361
  Other/Write-in votes
 
0.1%
 
384

Total votes: 447,947
Candidate Connection = 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

Democratic primary for U.S. House Iowa District 3

Incumbent Cindy Axne (D) advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Iowa District 3 on June 2, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Cindy Axne
Cindy Axne
 
99.2
 
76,681
  Other/Write-in votes
 
0.8%
 
623

Total votes: 77,304
Candidate Connection = 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

Republican primary for U.S. House Iowa District 3

David Young (R) defeated Bill Schafer (R) in the Republican primary for U.S. House Iowa District 3 on June 2, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of David Young
David Young
 
69.5
 
39,103
Image of Bill Schafer
Bill Schafer  Candidate Connection
 
30.1
 
16,904
  Other/Write-in votes
 
0.4%
 
227

Total votes: 56,234
Candidate Connection = 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.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

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 2026 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.


Below is the district map in place for this election. Click the map below to enlarge it.

2023_01_03_ia_congressional_district_03.jpg
See also: Primary election competitiveness in state and federal government, 2026
Information about competitiveness will be added here as it becomes available.

Partisan Voter Index

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

Heading into the 2026 elections, based on results from the 2024 and 2020 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district is R+2. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 2 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Iowa's 3rd the 211th most Republican district nationally.[5]

2020 presidential election results

The table below shows what the vote in the 2024 presidential election was in this district. The presidential election data was compiled by The Downballot.

2024 presidential results in Iowa's 3rd Congressional District
Kamala Harris Democratic PartyDonald Trump Republican Party
47.0%52.0%

Presidential voting history

See also: Presidential election in Iowa, 2024

Iowa presidential election results (1900-2024)

  • 11 Democratic wins
  • 21 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 2024
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 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 October 2025.

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 October 2025.

State executive officials in Iowa, October 2025
OfficeOfficeholder
GovernorRepublican Party Kim Reynolds
Lieutenant GovernorRepublican Party Chris Cournoyer
Secretary of StateRepublican Party Paul Pate
Attorney GeneralRepublican Party Brenna Bird

State legislature

Iowa State Senate

Party As of January 2026
     Democratic Party 17
     Republican Party 33
     Other 0
     Vacancies 0
Total 50

Iowa House of Representatives

Party As of January 2026
     Democratic Party 33
     Republican Party 67
     Other 0
     Vacancies 0
Total 100

Trifecta control

Iowa Party Control: 1992-2025
Four years of Democratic trifectas  •  Eleven 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 25
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 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 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 R

See also

Iowa 2026 primaries 2026 U.S. Congress elections
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Voting in Iowa
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Ballot access

External links

Footnotes

  1. Inside Elections also uses Tilt ratings to indicate an even smaller advantage and greater competitiveness.
  2. Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Nathan Gonzalez," April 19, 2018
  3. Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Kyle Kondik," April 19, 2018
  4. Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Charlie Cook," April 22, 2018
  5. Cook Political Report, "2025 Cook PVI℠: District Map and List (119th Congress)," accessed July 1, 2025


Senators
Representatives
District 1
District 2
District 3
Zach Nunn (R)
District 4
Republican Party (6)