Nunn succumbs to Democrat in battleground Iowa House race

Democratic state Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott is projected to defeat Rep. Zach Nunn (R-Iowa), according to Decision Desk HQ (DDHQ), flipping Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District back to Democrats after two terms of Republican control.

Trone Garriott, a Lutheran minister from West Des Moines, unseated the two-term incumbent in a purple district that includes Des Moines and the fast-growing suburbs of Dallas County.

DDHQ projected that Trone Garriott beat Nunn by 9 percentage points with 88 percent of the vote counted at 11:22 p.m. EST.

Nunn first flipped the seat for Republicans in 2022, narrowly ousting former Rep. Cindy Axne (D-Iowa) by less than a percentage point. He secured a second term in 2024 against Democrat Lancon Baccam by nearly 4 percentage points in a district President Trump carried by 4.5 points that same year.

Despite Nunn’s previous victories, the district remained one of the most difficult of Iowa’s four congressional seats for Republicans to hold and a major battleground, particularly as Democrats gained momentum heading into the midterm elections.

The nonpartisan election handicapper Cook Political Report moved the race from “toss-up” to “lean Democrat” in October, citing the difficult political environment facing Nunn despite his strength as an incumbent and Trone Garriott’s polling advantage.

In the final weeks of the campaign, Nunn sought to distance himself from Trump despite receiving his endorsement, voting in favor of a war powers resolution that would limit the president’s military operations against Iran without congressional approval. He also introduced a bill blocking beef imports, breaking with the administration on trade policy.

Trone Garriott, who served in the Iowa state Senate since 2021, outraised Nunn during the campaign. She brought in nearly $8.1 through the final weeks of the midterm election, compared with Nunn’s $6.1 million. Democrats attacked Nunn over his corporate PAC donations, airing advertisements accusing him of receiving financial support from Chinese-owned companies.

Republicans, meanwhile, focused their attacks on Trone Garriott’s record in the Iowa Senate, particularly her vote against legislation banning gender-affirming health care for minors.

Trone Garriott had responded with advertisements of her own pushing back on the criticism, including one in which she said she opposed “letting men in women’s locker rooms.”

The Democrat made healthcare and affordability central issues in her campaign, criticizing Nunn’s support for Republicans’ sweeping tax and spending law and warning that its Medicaid provisions would hurt rural communities in Iowa.