Iowa Democrat who quit race wins seat anyway

The Democratic nominee in an Iowa state House District race won his race on Wednesday afternoon, despite suspending his bid in September for health reasons, amid a historic election night Democrats have declared a “ blue tsunami .”

Eric Armstrong, a retired railroad executive, defeated GOP candidate Keith Jones by about 9 percentage points and around 865 votes, according to The Associated Press.

Armstrong will fill the state House seat previously held by Josh Turek, the Democratic state lawmaker who won the Iowa Senate race on Tuesday evening.

In a Facebook post on Sept. 7, Armstrong announced he would be stepping away from his campaign, effective immediately, to address “some personal health issues.”

“Because I must prioritize my health and recovery at this time, I am stepping down from my campaign, effective immediately,” he wrote in the post. “This was a deeply difficult choice. However, I know it is the right one.

“Our District deserves a representative who can give 100 percent of their energy to this race,” the Democrat continued. “Right now, I must focus on healing so that I can continue to serve our community in other ways in the future.”

Armstrong told The New York Times in a phone call Wednesday morning that he would do his “best to represent” his district.

“But I still have health issues, that’s what I’m struggling with,” he added.

Democrats scored major wins in statewide races across the country, gaining control of both chambers of Congress and flipping state legislatures across the country. The party turned the gubernatorial and Senate seats in Texas blue for the first time in decades and secured notable victories in red states like Kansas, South Carolina and Florida.

In Iowa, Turek bested his GOP opponent in the Senate race and Democrat Rob Sand won the state’s gubernatorial race.