Blum wins 1st District race as Vernon concedes

CEDAR RAPIDS - U.S. Rep. Rod Blum, a Republican from Dubuque, retained his 1st District House seat with a win Tuesday over Democratic challenger and former Cedar Rapids City Council member Monica Vernon.

Blum held a strong lead with most precincts reporting.

'This is really rewarding because they've been targeting us since January 2015,” Blum told a crowd of more than 100 at his victory event in Dubuque.

He said he thought he'd be sent back because he's a congressman who's gone to Washington, D.C., and done what he's said he was going to do: work on reforming Congress and balancing the budget.

Vernon, who held what she had intended to be a victory party at CSPS Hall in Cedar Rapids. called Blum to congratulate him.

'We had a great run and I will continue to work on all of these issues,” Vernon told the crowd gathered there.

Iowa's 1st District is one of the most Democratic congressional districts in the state, but the Dubuque businessman has twice beat the demographics to represent the 20 counties of northeastern Iowa. Blum won his first bid for the office by 2.2 points in 2014.

The mood was euphoric at Blum's victory party. Cheers went up as swing state after swing state went for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.

Dan Whetstone, of Cedar Rapids, has been a supporter of Blum since his first bid in 2012 when Blum lost the primary.

'He's in Washington to clean it up,” Whetstone said, adding he was pleased with Blum's first vote against then-House Speaker John Boehner.

Buzz Pounds, 56, of Hopkinton, drove to Vernon's rally to watch results come in. The mood was subdued and concerned as Democrats watched national and local races.

'She's a hard worker,” he said. 'She gets things together. She's a consensus builder. I want someone in congress who will make things work. Blum is an obstructionist.”

Blum, 61, has been in office for one term after beating Pat Murphy of Dubuque to win the open seat in 2014. Democrat Bruce Braley didn't seek re-election to that seat after four terms to run - unsuccessfully - for U.S. Senate.

Blum campaigned on reforming Congress, balancing the budget and eliminating the debt. He earned support from the Iowa Farm Bureau, Iowa Corn Growers, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and National Right to Life.

Outside politics, the Dubuque businessman has lead software companies and is married with five children.

Vernon, 59, has been running for office for nearly four years. She ran for Congress but lost in the 2014 primary and then had an unsuccessful bid for lieutenant governor the same year before besting Murphy in the 2016 primary.

The Cedar Rapids businesswoman, who is married with three daughters, campaigned on getting federal flood protection money for Cedar Rapids, overturning the Citizens United court ruling that opened the way for special interest money, and protecting domestic jobs by eliminating certain tax breaks while expanding others.

The 1st District, which spans the northeast quadrant of Iowa, includes 20 counties and Cedar Rapids, Dubuque, Waterloo and Tama,

Among the 494,763 active registered voters in the district, Democrats number 164,417, which is well ahead of the 143,472 Republican voters

Christiania Crippes of the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier contributed to this report.