Davenport Republican David Pautsch launches second run for Congress

Davenport Republican David Pautsch has filed to run in 2026 for Iowa's 1st Congressional District, seeking the Republican nomination for the second time in a run from the party's right flank.

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Current U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks fended off Pautsch in the GOP primary in 2024, winning with about 55 percent of the vote to Pautsch's 44%. It was a stronger than expected showing for Pautsch, who raised just $43,000 for the race.

Pautsch, known best for organizing the Quad Cities Prayer Breakfast, has touted his support of now-President Donald Trump, posing for photos with him when Trump was campaigning for the Iowa caucuses in late 2023. He has painted Miller-Meeks as not being far enough to the right.

Pautsch filed his statement of candidacy earlier this month with the Federal Elections Commission, and said he plans to announce his candidacy with an event at 2:30 p.m. Feb. 27 at the Iowa Capitol rotunda in Des Moines.

Miller-Meeks' campaign did not immediately respond to questions from the Quad City Times about whether she plans to run for re-election, but she did file a statement of candidacy Monday for 2026 with the FEC.

“Mariannette is spending all her energy on helping President Trump implement his agenda — it is not time for campaigning,” a Miller-Meeks spokesperson, Anthony Cruz, wrote in an email.

The primary is June 2, 2026, and the general midterm election date is Nov. 3, 2026.

In a news release Tuesday, Pautsch said he is running again for Congress because he "wants to help President Trump save America from the financial and moral corruption that has caused us to drift from the solid spiritual and constitutional foundations upon which our Founders established this country."

Pautsch said he's been endorsed by My Pillow founder Mike Lindell and conservative radio host Eric Metaxas.

Pautsch, who founded Thy Kingdom Come Ministry in the Quad Cities, was in his 2024 bid critical of Miller-Meeks’ votes to protect same-sex marriage and to certify the 2020 election.

Miller-Meeks is an ophthalmologist whose longtime residence has been in Ottumwa, but recently she has registered her residence at a Davenport apartment. Miller-Meeks first won election by a six-vote margin in 2020, then won re-election in 2022 and 2024 against Democrat Christina Bohannan each time.

The 20-county district contains Warren, Jasper, Marion, Mahaska, Keokuk, Iowa, Jefferson, Van Buren, Johnson, Washington, Henry, Lee, Jones, Cedar, Muscatine, Louisa, Des Moines, Jackson, Clinton and Scott counties.