Harnessing the young vote and broadening her grassroots outreach is the name of the game for University of Iowa law professor Christina Bohannan in her rematch run against Iowa Republican U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa, who currently holds the 1st Congressional District seat.

Bohannan lost by over 7 percent of the vote in 2022 during her first run against Miller-Meeks. Additionally, the Cook Political Report rating of 2024 house seats shows Iowa’s 1st Congressional District as likely Republican.

She told The Daily Iowan she is confident she can tackle these hurdles in her bid to take on the incumbent Republican.

One tactic is to focus more attention on the population center of the district — the Quad Cities — which went to Miller-Meeks in the last election.

“I spent a lot of time there last time. I’ll spend even more time there this time. And the important thing about Quad Cities is there are so many just good, hard-working people there, people who want good jobs,” Bohannan said.

Not only is Bohannan looking to focus on one of the biggest cities in the district, but she is also looking to attract the young vote at the UI in Iowa City.

“[Young people] have more at stake in these elections than any of us,” Bohannan said. “I am very focused on what is good for young people, and I really want to connect with students here even more than last time and make sure that they’re voting.”

Bohannan expects that a mix of getting young voters to the polls and riding the wave of a presidential election cycle will aid the campaign.

Bohannan is also receiving communications and campaign support from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Iowa’s 1st Congressional District, which Bohannan is running in, is on a list of “districts in play” being targeted by national democrats in an effort to gain a congressional majority.

Miller-Meeks welcomed Bohannan into the race during a talk with reporters following a town hall in Iowa City on Aug. 14.

“Voters who expect common-sense leadership rejected her in 2022 because her liberal views are completely out of step with the majority of the district, and nothing has changed since then,” Woolson said.

Fundraising takes off in first 24 hours

Bohannan announced on Aug. 16 that she raised $276,000 in the first 24 hours of her campaign, more than two-and-a-half times the amount she raised in the first 24 hours of her campaign launch in 2021.

Bohannan’s campaign said it was a record for a congressional campaign in Iowa, with the only campaign launch drawing nearest is Abby Finkenauer’s 2022 Senate campaign with $95,600 raised in the first 24 hours.

During her last campaign, Bohannan raised just over $3 million, while her opponent raised almost $5 million.

“I am overwhelmed by the enthusiasm and the historic level of support I have received from people all across Iowa at the launch of my campaign,” Bohannan said in a press release on Aug. 16. “We need and deserve a representative who works for us — and I will always put Iowans first.”