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Campaign Almanac: Trump endorses Miller-Meeks for re-election in Iowa’s 1st District
Also, Unions line up behind Sand for Iowa governor, Willems for attorney general
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President Donald Trump has endorsed U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks for re-election in Iowa’s 1st Congressional District, calling the three-term Republican “an incredibly strong advocate for the Great People of Iowa’s 1st Congressional District!”
In a Truth Social post Sunday, Trump praised Miller-Meeks as “a distinguished Medical Doctor and U.S. Army Veteran” who “knows the America First Policies required to Defend our Country, Support our Brave Military/Veterans, and Ensure PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH.”
“In Congress, Mariannette is working hard to Grow our Economy, Cut Taxes and Regulations, Advocate for our Amazing Farmers and Ranchers, Promote MADE IN THE U.S.A., Champion American Energy DOMINANCE, Keep our now very Secure Border, SECURE, Stop Migrant Crime, and Defend our always under siege Second Amendment,” Trump wrote.
“Mariannette Miller-Meeks has my Complete and Total Endorsement for Re-Election — SHE WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN!”
Miller-Meeks, whose longtime residence has been in Ottumwa and rents an apartment in Davenport, responded Sunday on social media, saying, “I'm honored to have President Trump's complete and total Endorsement! It’s critical we keep this seat to continuing winning for Iowa's workers, farmers, and families.”
The endorsement gives Miller-Meeks a powerful boost in consolidating GOP support heading into the June 2026 primary as she seeks a fourth term representing the competitive southeast Iowa district.
The 1st District race — which includes Davenport, Iowa City, Burlington and Indianola — is again expected to be among the nation’s most closely watched contests. The Cook Political Report, Sabato’s Crystal Ball and Inside Elections all rate the race as a “toss-up.”
The former state lawmaker, ophthalmologist and 24-year Army veteran has survived two razor-thin elections, and national Democrats have again targeted Iowa’s 1st Congressional District as a potential pickup.
Miller-Meeks first won in 2020 by just six votes over Democrat Rita Hart, then defeated Democrat Christina Bohannan in 2022 and 2024, winning by fewer than 800 votes in 2024 — less than a quarter of a percentage point.
Bohannan, a University of Iowa law professor and former state lawmaker, is seeking a rematch in what’s expected to be one of the nation’s most competitive House contests. Democrats Taylor Wettach, a Muscatine native and lawyer, and Travis Terrell, a health care worker from Tiffin, are also seeking their party’s nomination to run for the seat in 2026.
Miller-Meeks faces a potential primary challenge from Davenport Republican David Pautsch, who drew 44 percent in the 2024 GOP primary against Miller-Meeks. Pautsch told the Quad City Times in February he's been endorsed by My Pillow founder Mike Lindell and conservative radio host Eric Metaxas.
Trump’s backing also comes as Miller-Meeks continues to highlight her alignment with the president’s policies. At her annual “Triple M Tailgate” fundraiser in Iowa City last month, she touted Republican priorities on border security, tax relief and parental rights, while blasting Democrats over the ongoing federal shutdown.
“We’re still standing, still going, and we are never going to give up,” she told supporters. “I’m like the defensive line of the Iowa Hawkeyes — don’t come at me, don’t come after my family, don’t come after my district.”
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, speaking at the same event, called Miller-Meeks “the key” to GOP success in Iowa and beyond.
“Mariannette Miller-Meeks winning means we’re winning everything you’re fighting for in Iowa,” he said.
Iowa’s primary election is June 2, 2026, and the general election is Nov. 3, 2026.
Iowa labor groups back Democrats Rob Sand, Nate Willems for statewide offices
Organized labor is throwing its weight behind Democratic candidates in Iowa’s top statewide races, endorsing State Auditor Rob Sand for governor and labor attorney Nate Willems for attorney general during a union rally Saturday in Cedar Rapids.
The Iowa Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO — the state’s largest umbrella group for union workers — formally announced its support before a crowd of members representing public, private and building trade sectors. Speakers said the endorsements reflect a growing push by organized labor to restore workplace rights and strengthen collective bargaining after years of Republican control at the Statehouse.
Iowa Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, President Charlie Wishman called the early nod unusual and emphatic: “It’s really not very often that the state Federation does early endorsements, but these two, in our view, are no brainers without question.”
Union officials and local leaders used the event to rally around issues that have animated organized labor in the state — undoing restrictions on public-sector bargaining rights, improving workplace safety, addressing housing affordability and tightening wage enforcement. They also cited long-running challenges for unions, including right-to-work laws and privatization of public services, and urged a return to policies they said benefit working families.
Building trades leader Mike Sadler of UA Local 125 said, “We need a new governor and a new attorney general in the state of Iowa,” pointing to changes in project labor agreements, unemployment and workers’ compensation.
APWU’s Kim Karol praised Sand’s record on public service and transparency: “He has shown a strong commitment to transparency, to honesty and to — regardless of political affiliation — find waste, fraud and abuse.”
Sand, a two-term state auditor and former prosecutor, told union members he’s “sick of state government that works for insiders and special interest groups, and finally have a government that is actually focused on serving regular people of the state of Iowa,” criticizing privatized Medicaid and the state’s contract with Odyssey, the New York company administering Iowa’s program that provides state funding for eligible K-12 students to use for private school tuition and other educational expenses. Sand said its pay was doubled without added taxpayer benefit.
Willems, a former state legislator and labor attorney from Mount Vernon, vowed to refocus the attorney general’s office on protecting Iowans from wage theft and corporate abuses.
Saturday’s endorsements give Sand and Willems a boost heading into the 2026 elections, when both statewide offices are on the ballot. Labor leaders said they will mobilize members across Iowa to turn out union households — a crucial bloc in a state where Republicans have dominated recent cycles — and argued Sand and Willems can rebuild worker protections and reshape state government priorities around the needs of working families.
Gazette-Lee Des Moines Bureau
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