Mariannette Miller-Meeks’ six-vote lead certified by Iowa Secretary of State
Mariannette Miller-Meeks’ razor thin margin was certified by Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate, making Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District the most competitive district in the country.
Iowa State Senator for District 41, Mariannette Miller-Meeks discuses COVID-19 at The Palmer House Stable on Oct. 20. Miller-Meeks was a 2020 candidate for US Representative for Iowa 2nd District.
November 30, 2020
Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate certified the results of the most competitive congressional race in the country, finalizing Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks’ six-vote margin of victory.
The Associated Press will not call Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District race for Miller-Meeks until legal challenges have been settled. But, on Twitter, Miller-Meeks said she’s ready to get to work.
Miller-Meeks was unavailable for comment because she’s in Washington D.C. attending an orientation for freshmen in Congress, according to her campaign.
Once again, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to the voters of #ia02!
I will never quit fighting for you and your opportunity at the American Dream!
Let’s get to work! #ia02 https://t.co/5vmUFSEtzg
— Dr. Miller-Meeks (@millermeeks) November 30, 2020
The Hart campaign released a statement Monday saying the recount process is designed to count ballots that have already been tallied, “meaning that additional legal ballots may have yet to be counted.” The Hart campaign did not immediately get back to The Daily Iowan for comment.
“Over the next few days, we will outline our next steps in this process to ensure that all Iowans’ voices are heard,” Hart campaign manager Zach Meunier wrote in the statement, signaling a possible legal challenge of the results.
Twice during the tabulation of votes, mistakes discovered at a precinct in Jasper and Lucas Counties changed the front runner of the race. Then, while trailing by 47 votes, the campaign for Democrat Rita Hart requested a recount in all 24 of the district’s counties.
Meunier also wrote in the statement that the Miller-Meeks campaign “sought to keep legitimate votes from being counted, pushing to disqualify and limit the number of Iowans whose votes are counted.”
This was Miller-Meeks fourth run for Congress, losing to U.S. Rep. Dave Loebsack three different times. Loebsack, a Democrat, will retire in January after serving six terms.
“This race reinforces that every single vote can make a difference and hopefully sends a message about how important it is to be a voter,” Pate said in a press release after the state canvass board met certified results of statewide elections.
