Braley-Lange still too close; good night for Iowa's Congressmen

First District race still too close to call, Lange refuses to concede

UPDATE: U.S. Rep. Bruce Braley, D-Waterloo, and Republican challenger Ben Lange of Independence were still in a dogfight over who will represent Iowa's 1st Congressional District late Tuesday night.

Braley, 52, pulled ahead of Lange, 31, by about two percentage points - or 4,220 votes - with one precinct left to report, according to the Iowa Secretary of State's Office. The race tightened up quickly after several media outlets called the race for Braley early in the evening.

Lange's campaign said there were several rural precincts left to report their results. Lange was in no mood to concede at the clock approached midnight and officials counts showed he trailed by less than 1 percent.

“It's too close to call here. I have no way of knowing,” Lange said from his hometown of Quasqueton. “The crowd is waiting around to see if we can climb back in this.”

Braley's campaign scheduled a late-night press conference to discuss the race, but cancelled. The campaign said they wouldn't comment any further until Lange conceded the race.

Cody Brown, Lange's campaign director, said the results were already a bit of a victory for Lange and felt the media was being presumptuous.

“Just as the pundits didn't give us chance in January, the pundits didn't give us a chance tonight,” Brown said.

The prospect of a recount still looms over the race. Both sides said they wanted all the votes to be counted, including military and overseas votes and any absentees still in the mail.

“We're 100 percent for them counting all the votes,” said Caitlin Legacki, Braley's spokesperson. “We are confident we will win.”

Earlier in the evening, Braley thanked his supporters at the Waterloo Center for the Arts when he thought he had won a third term in Congress.

Braley's campaign said they tried to call Lange three times to ask him to concede and none of the calls were answered.

“I placed my trust in you and the values we share,” he said. “I thank you for putting your trust in me.”

Lange and his camp watched as Braley made his acceptance speech on television, and Lange vowed to wait a bit longer.

“I'm going to continue to watch,” he said.

Braley's campaign said they tried to call Lange three times, and none of the calls were taken.

Iowa's four other Congressman easily won their re-election bids amid a national tide of anti-incumbency.

Braley was first elected in 2006. He easily won re-election in 2008 against former State Sen. David Hartsuch of Bettendorf.

The race between Lange and Braley caught national attention after several groups began airing ads critical of Braley. The most prominent was the American Future Fund, an Iowa conservative group started by Nick Ryan, a campaign director for former Republican Rep. Jim Nussle. The fund spent around $1.2 million in ads against Braley.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Republican consultant Dick Morris also spent money in the race.

Braley noted the ads during his speech.

“If you were within one mile of your TV sets within the past six months you would know they have been spending a lot of money to take me out,” he said.

Rep. Leonard Boswell

3rd District Democrat Boswell wins eighth term

Democratic Rep. Leonard Boswell has won an eighth term in the U.S. House, overcoming a tough challenger from Republican state Sen. Brad Zaun.

Zaun, a former mayor of Urbandale, sought to make Boswell a symbol for what's wrong in Washington. Zaun linked Boswell to national Democratic leaders and blamed them for mismanaging the economy and increasing the deficit.

Boswell responded that he's gained seniority in the House and effectively served his district and the state. Boswell says Democrats successfully prevented an economic meltdown.

The race featured a steady stream of negative television ads from both candidates.

Republican King wins another term in 5th District

Fifth District Republican Rep. Steve King easily won his fifth term in Congress, overcoming a challenge from Democrat Matt Campbell.

Campbell argued that King was more focused on being a national figure in the conservative movement than in helping the 5th District.

Since his first election in 2002, King hasn't been seriously challenged in the predominantly Republican western Iowa district. He cruised to victory again Tuesday.

Over the years, he's become a fixture on national talk radio because of his hard line against President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats.

Campbell is a lawyer from Mannin who was making his first run for Congress.

Republican Latham wins in 4th District

Fourth District Republican Rep. Tom Latham has won to a ninth term in the U.S. House, defeating retired educator Bill Maske.

Latham was first elected to Congress in 1994, representing a sprawling district that includes much of north Iowa. Since that first election, he hasn't been seriously challenged.

Latham has argued he's positioned well within Republican circles to be a force should the GOP take control of the House.

Maske is a veteran Democratic activist who was making his first run for Congress. He had a 34-year career as an educator in a series of Iowa school districts before retiring. At one point he taught at American University in Tehran.

Before being elected to Congress, Latham worked in his family's seed corn business.