The 2nd district encompasses southeastern Iowa, and is home to the cities of
Davenport,
Iowa City,
Muscatine,
Clinton,
Burlington,
Ottumwa,
Fort Madison,
Oskaloosa,
Bettendorf,
Newton and
Pella. The incumbent was Democrat
Dave Loebsack, who was re-elected with 54.8% of the vote in 2018.
Democratic primary Candidates Nominee •
Rita Hart, former state senator and nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Iowa in
2018 Withdrawn • Newman Abuissa, engineer
Declined • Ken Croken, member of the
Scott County Board of Supervisors •
Cathy Glasson, union leader, nurse, and candidate for
governor of Iowa in 2018 •
Kevin Kinney, state senator •
Dave Loebsack, incumbent U.S. representative • Veronica Tessler, businesswoman
(endorsed Hart) •
Zach Wahls, state senator
Endorsements Results Republican primary Candidates Nominee •
Mariannette Miller-Meeks, state senator; nominee for this seat in
2008,
2010, and
2014 Defeated in primary • Tim Borchardt, retail worker • Steven Everly, electrician • Rick Phillips, businessman •
Bobby Schilling, former U.S. representative from
Illinois's 17th congressional district (2011–2013)
Withdrawn • Thomas Kedley, mayor of
Osceola Declined •
Chris Cournoyer, state senator • Bob Gallagher, mayor of
Bettendorf •
Bobby Kaufmann, state representative • Barbara Kniff-McCulla, CEO of KLK Construction and member of the National Women's Business Council •
Mark Lofgren, state senator • Chris Peters, surgeon and nominee for
Iowa's 2nd congressional district in 2016 and 2018 • Brad Randolph, mayor of
Fort Madison On December 2, Hart announced that she would contest the election with the
House Administration Committee under the 1969
Federal Contested Elections Act. On December 30,
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced Miller-Meeks would be seated provisionally on January 3, 2021, with the rest of the
incoming new Congress members. Republicans sharply criticized Pelosi's decision to review the race in the House Administration Committee, calling it an attempt to steal the election. It was also criticized by moderate Democrats, who argued it was hypocritical to overturn a certified state election after criticizing attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Hart withdrew her challenge on March 31, 2021. This was the closest House race in 2020 and one of the closest House races in a century. ==District 3==