Lange concedes First District race to Braley

UPDATE: U.S. Rep Bruce Braley, D-Waterloo, has become the official winner in the First District congressional race after Republican Ben Lange conceded the race early Wednesday morning.

Lange, an Independence attorney, called Braley's campaign to congratulate him on the win. Braley beat Lange by just two percentage points - or 4,315 votes - according to the Iowa Secretary of State's Office.

“This morning I reached out to Congressman Braley to congratulate him on his victory,” Lange said in a statement. “I wish him the best as he goes back to Washington to represent us in Congress. It's a difficult job, and these are difficult times.”

Lange said he hoped his campaign “brought to light some solutions to the challenges the country faces.”

The race had been called for Braley early in the night Tuesday, but quickly tightened up. At one point, Braley had a lead of less than 900 votes. By 1 a.m., Braley had expanded his lead to 4,200 votes.

Caitlin Legacki, Braley's spokeswoman, said Braley and Lange had a cordial conversation about the race on Wednesday morning.

“They wished each other the best and agreed that it was a hard fought campaign and that running for public office is not an easy thing to do,” Legacki said.

Braley was first elected in 2006, beating out Davenport businessman Mike Whalen. He easily won re-election in 2008 over state Senator David Hartsuch.

In both those races, Braley captured 56 percent or more of the vote and had a lead of several percentage points. This was his narrowest win yet with just 49 percent of the total vote.

The 1st District race took on a new tone than in previous contests when spending by outside groups caught national attention and made the race more competitive than it first appeared.

“The reality of the situation is that nearly $3 million was spent attacking Bruce and lying about his record,” Legacki said. “In any kind of election, that kind of money will have some impact, but we knew from day one Iowa's middle class families were going to stand with Bruce and they proved us right again last night.”

The most prominent group involved in that effort was the American Future Fund, an Iowa based conservative organization. The group spent $1.2 million on advertising against Braley. They also ran ads against U.S. Rep. Dave Loebsack, D-Mount Vernon.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Republican consultant Dick Morris also spent money in the race. A Democratic group, the Commonsense Ten, also got into the race late with a $165,000 ad campaign against Lange.

Braley's votes on health care reform - known as the Affordable Care Act - and the federal bailout were among those that Lange had criticized.

Lange thanked his supporters in his statement and did not comment on whether he'd be involved in politics in the future.

RELATED:

RELATED:

• Braley-Lange still too close to call