Campaign Almanac: Eastern Iowa races getting tighter, political forecaster says

Eastern Iowa’s Congressional campaigns seem a little more competitive to at least one national politics forecaster.

Inside Elections this week changed its forecast for both Iowa’s 1st and 2nd Congressional District campaigns in the Democratic candidates’ favor, from “likely Republican” to “lean Republican.”

In Eastern Iowa’s new 1st District, Democrat Christina Bohannan, an attorney and state legislator from Iowa City, is challenging Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks.

In the new 2nd District, Democrat Liz Mathis, a nonprofit leader and state legislator from Hiawatha, is challenging Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson.

“Over the last several weeks, our campaign has really felt the momentum build, as we draw larger crowds to our events, send more volunteers out to knock doors, and add new donors to our fundraising rolls,” Mathis said in a news release. “We are excited that the ratings and polls are reflecting what we’re hearing from a broad base of supporters — we can flip this district back to blue.”

EDUCATORS ENDORSE MATHIS: The National Education Association endorsed Liz Mathis, the Democratic candidate for Congress in Eastern Iowa’s new 2nd District.

Mathis is challenging Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson.

“In Congress, Liz Mathis will be a champion for America’s students and Iowa’s working families,” National Education Association president Becky Pringle said in a news release from the Mathis campaign. “She is someone who knows how critical it is to ensure that every student — Black and white, Native and newcomer, Latino and Asian, from rural, suburban and urban communities alike — has access to quality public schools.”

Gazette Des Moines Bureau