Zach Nunn (R) defeated incumbent Cindy Axne (D) in Iowa's 3rd Congressional District on November 8, 2022.

The Gazette's Liz Mathews said the race was "likely Iowa’s most competitive House election."^[1] In the 2018 election, Axne defeated incumbent David Young (R) 49.3%-47.1% to win the seat, and in the 2020 election, Axne defeated Young 48.9%-47.5%.

Axne was elected to the U.S. House to represent Iowa's 3rd Congressional District in 2018. Axne ran a digital design firm and worked for the Iowa state government from 2005 to 2014, including positions in the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Iowa Department of Management, and Iowa Department of Administrative Services.^[2] Axne said her "top priority in Washington is putting Iowa families to work in good-paying jobs." She said she would "level the playing field by raising wages, protecting our unions, addressing unfair trade deals that put our workers at risk, and promoting Main Street over Wall Street."^[3]

Nunn was elected to represent Iowa State Senate District 15 in 2019, and previously represented District 30 in the Iowa House of Representatives from 2015 to 2019. Nunn served in the Air Force in Afghanistan and Iraq and was a national counterintelligence officer and director of cybersecurity on the National Security Council. As of the 2022 election, Nunn owned a marketing business and served in the Iowa Air National Guard.^[4] Nunn said he would "put a stop to any DC politicians who try to tell us how to act or how to defend our families," "stop tax and spend handouts and help get Americans back to work," and "not defund the police or abolish border security that combats human traffickers and the exploitation of others."^[5]

The outcome of this race affected the partisan balance of the U.S. House of Representatives in the 118th Congress. All 435 House districts were up for election.

Republicans won a 222-213 majority in the U.S. House in 2022.

Daily Kos calculated what the results of the 2020 presidential election in this district would have been following redistricting. Joe Biden (D) would have received 48.9% of the vote in this district and Donald Trump (R) would have received 49.3%.^[6]

For more information about the primaries in this election, click on the links below:

Candidates and election results

General election

General election for U.S. House Iowa District 3

Zach Nunn defeated incumbent Cindy Axne in the general election for U.S. House Iowa District 3 on November 8, 2022.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Zach Nunn (R)	50.3	156,262
	Cindy Axne (D)	49.6	154,117
	Other/Write-in votes	0.2	534

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 310,913
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Iowa District 3

Incumbent Cindy Axne advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Iowa District 3 on June 7, 2022.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Cindy Axne	99.5	47,710
	Other/Write-in votes	0.5	252

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 47,962
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Iowa District 3

Zach Nunn defeated Nicole Hasso and Gary Leffler in the Republican primary for U.S. House Iowa District 3 on June 7, 2022.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Zach Nunn	65.8	30,502
	Nicole Hasso	19.4	8,991
	Gary Leffler	14.7	6,800
	Other/Write-in votes	0.2	89

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 46,382
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Mary Ann Hanusa (R)

Voting information

See also: Voting in Iowa

Election information in Iowa: Nov. 8, 2022, election.

What was the voter registration deadline?

In-person: Oct. 24, 2022
By mail: Received by Oct. 24, 2022
Online: Oct. 24, 2022

Was absentee/mail-in voting available to all voters?

N/A

What was the absentee/mail-in ballot request deadline?

In-person: Oct. 24, 2022
By mail: Received by Oct. 24, 2022
Online: N/A

What was the absentee/mail-in ballot return deadline?

In-person: Nov. 8, 2022
By mail: Received by Nov. 8, 2022

Was early voting available to all voters?

Yes

What were the early voting start and end dates?

Oct. 19, 2022 to Nov. 7, 2022

Were all voters required to present ID at the polls? If so, was a photo or non-photo ID required?

N/A

When were polls open on Election Day?

7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Candidate comparison

Candidate profiles

This section includes candidate profiles that may be created in one of two ways: either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, or Ballotpedia staff may compile a profile based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements after identifying the candidate as noteworthy. For more on how we select candidates to include, click here.

Cindy Axne

Party: Democratic Party

Incumbent: Yes

Political Office:

Iowa's 3rd Congressional District (Assumed office: 2019)

Biography: Axne received a bachelor’s in journalism from the University of Iowa in 1987 and received an M.B.A. from the Kellogg School at Northwestern University in 2002. Axne ran a digital design firm and worked for the Iowa state government from 2005 to 2014, including positions in the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Iowa Department of Management, and Iowa Department of Administrative Services.

Key Messages

The following key messages were curated by Ballotpedia staff. For more on how we identify key messages, click here.

Axne said her "top priority in Washington is putting Iowa families to work in good-paying jobs," and said she was "working to level the playing field by raising wages, protecting our unions, addressing unfair trade deals that put our workers at risk, and promoting Main Street over Wall Street."

Axne emphasized her experience as a small business owner and said, "Washington politicians have put politics before Iowa families. Their failure to act has hurt the most vulnerable in our communities and hindered our small business owners and entrepreneurs from starting and growing businesses."

Axne said she "supports a National Paid Family Leave Act, so no one risks losing a day’s pay to care for a sick child or loved one," and said she was "fighting to increase the availability of affordable childcare so working families can save for their children’s future."

Show sources

Sources: Cindy Axne for Congress, "Issues," accessed September 7, 2022; Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, "Axne, Cindy," accessed September 7, 2022; Cindy Axne for Congress, "Meet Cindy," accessed September 7, 2022

This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House Iowa District 3 in 2022.

Zach Nunn

Party: Republican Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office:

Iowa State Senate District 15 (Assumed office: 2019)
Iowa House of Representatives District 30 (2015-2019)

Biography: Nunn graduated from Drake University and the University of Cambridge with degrees in political science and international relations. Nunn served in the Air Force in Afghanistan and Iraq and was a national counterintelligence officer and director of cybersecurity on the National Security Council. As of the 2022 election, Nunn owned a marketing business and commanded an intelligence squadron in the Iowa Air National Guard.

Key Messages

The following key messages were curated by Ballotpedia staff. For more on how we identify key messages, click here.

Nunn said, "I’ve put my life on the line to protect our First and Second Amendment Rights ... In Washington, I’ll put a stop to any DC politicians who try to tell us how to act or how to defend our families."

Nunn said, "As a combat veteran, I know the importance of a strong military when it comes to defending our country, protecting democracy, and promoting peace. In Washington, I will advocate for policies that not only adequately fund our military but prioritize our veterans, active military and families, and mental health."

Nunn said, "Here at home, I passed Iowa’s largest tax-cut, giving $1+ billion dollars back to families to keep more of their hard-earned money. ... We need to stop tax and spend handouts and help get Americans back to work."

Show sources

Sources: Zach Nunn 2022 campaign website, "Issues," accessed May 24, 2022; Zach Nunn 2022 campaign website, "About," accessed May 24, 2022; Des Moines Register, "A fired-up mom, a zealous farmer, a military veteran: Who will win the GOP nod for Iowa's 3rd District?" May 1, 2022

This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House Iowa District 3 in 2022.

Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses

Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

No candidate in this race completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey.

Campaign advertisements

This section includes a selection of up to three campaign advertisements per candidate released in this race, as well as links to candidates' YouTube, Vimeo, and/or Facebook video pages. If you are aware of other links that should be included, please email us.

Cindy Axne

Have a link to Cindy Axne's campaign ads on YouTube? Email us.

Facebook

Zach Nunn

August 23, 2022

August 15, 2022

July 31, 2022

View more ads here:

Election competitiveness

Polls

See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls

Polls are conducted with a variety of methodologies and have margins of error or credibility intervals.^[7] The Pew Research Center wrote, "A margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points at the 95% confidence level means that if we fielded the same survey 100 times, we would expect the result to be within 3 percentage points of the true population value 95 of those times."^[8] For tips on reading polls from FiveThirtyEight, click here. For tips from Pew, click here.

The links below show polls for this race aggregated by FiveThirtyEight and RealClearPolitics, where available. Click here to read about FiveThirtyEight's criteria for including polls in its aggregation.

General election race ratings

See also: Race rating definitions and methods

Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:

Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.^[9]
Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.

Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.^[10]^[11]^[12]

Race ratings: Iowa's 3rd Congressional District election, 2022
Race tracker	Race ratings
	November 8, 2022	November 1, 2022	October 25, 2022	October 18, 2022
The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter	Lean Republican	Lean Republican	Lean Republican	Lean Republican
Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales	Tilt Republican	Toss-up	Toss-up	Toss-up
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball	Lean Republican	Lean Republican	Lean Republican	Lean Republican
Note: Ballotpedia reviews external race ratings every week throughout the election season and posts weekly updates even if the media outlets have not revised their ratings during that week.

Endorsements

See also: Ballotpedia: Our approach to covering endorsements

Click the links below to see official endorsement lists published on candidate campaign websites for any candidates that make that information available. If you are aware of a website that should be included, please email us.

Election spending

Campaign finance

This section contains campaign finance figures from the Federal Election Commission covering all candidate fundraising and spending in this election.^[13] It does not include information on fundraising before the current campaign cycle or on spending by satellite groups. The numbers in this section are updated as candidates file new campaign finance reports. Candidates for Congress are required to file financial reports on a quarterly basis, as well as two weeks before any primary, runoff, or general election in which they will be on the ballot and upon the termination of any campaign committees.^[14] Click here to view the reporting schedule for candidates for U.S. Congress in 2022.

U.S. Congress campaign reporting schedule, 2022
Report	Close of books	Filing deadline
Year-end 2021	12/31/2021	1/31/2022
April quarterly	3/31/2022	4/15/2022
July quarterly	6/30/2022	7/15/2022
October quarterly	9/30/2022	10/15/2022
Pre-general	10/19/2022	10/27/2022
Post-general	11/28/2022	12/08/2022
Year-end 2022	12/31/2022	1/31/2023

Name	Party	Receipts*	Disbursements**	Cash on hand	Date
Cindy Axne	Democratic Party	$7,231,695	$7,246,582	$4,633	As of December 31, 2022
Nicole Hasso	Republican Party	$631,076	$630,994	$83	As of December 31, 2022
Gary Leffler	Republican Party	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
Zach Nunn	Republican Party	$2,633,466	$2,532,398	$101,068	As of December 31, 2022
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2022. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC). * According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee." According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election. * Candidate either did not report any receipts or disbursements to the FEC, or Ballotpedia did not find an FEC candidate ID.

Satellite spending

See also: Satellite spending

Satellite spending describes political spending not controlled by candidates or their campaigns; that is, any political expenditures made by groups or individuals that are not directly affiliated with a candidate. This includes spending by political party committees, super PACs, trade associations, and 501(c)(4) nonprofit groups.^[15]^[16]^[17]

If available, this section includes links to online resources tracking satellite spending in this election. To notify us of a resource to add, email us.

By candidate	By election
Cindy Axne Zach Nunn	Iowa District 03 2022 Race Iowa - House District 03

District analysis

Click the tabs below to view information about voter composition, past elections, and demographics in both the district and the state.

District map - A map of the district before and after redistricting.
Effect of redistricting - How districts in the state changed as a result of redistricting following the 2020 census.
Competitiveness - Information about the competitiveness of 2022 U.S. House elections in the state.
Presidential elections - Information about presidential elections in the district and the state.
Demographics - Information about the state's demographics and how they compare to the country as a whole.
State party control - The partisan makeup of the state's congressional delegation and state government.

District map

	2024 → ← 2020
Iowa's 3rd Congressional District
	Democratic primary; Republican primary; General election
Election details
	Filing deadline: March 18, 2022
	Primary: June 7, 2022; General: November 8, 2022
How to vote
	Poll times: 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Voting in Iowa
Race ratings
	Cook Partisan Voter Index (2022): R+3; Cook Political Report: Lean Republican; Inside Elections: Tilt Republican; Sabato's Crystal Ball: Lean Republican
Ballotpedia analysis
	U.S. Senate battlegrounds; U.S. House battlegrounds; Federal and state primary competitiveness; Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2022
See also
	Iowa's 3rd Congressional District; U.S. Senate • 1st • 2nd • 3rd • 4th; Iowa elections, 2022; U.S. Congress elections, 2022; U.S. Senate elections, 2022; U.S. House elections, 2022; Alabama U.S. House racesAlaska U.S. House racesArizona U.S. House racesArkansas U.S. House racesCalifornia U.S. House racesColorado U.S. House racesConnecticut U.S. House racesDelaware U.S. House racesFlorida U.S. House racesGeorgia U.S. House racesHawaii U.S. House racesIdaho U.S. House racesIllinois U.S. House racesIndiana U.S. House racesIowa U.S. House racesKansas U.S. House racesKentucky U.S. House racesLouisiana U.S. House racesMaine U.S. House racesMaryland U.S. House racesMassachusetts U.S. House racesMichigan U.S. House racesMinnesota U.S. House racesMississippi U.S. House racesMissouri U.S. House racesMontana U.S. House racesNebraska U.S. House racesNevada U.S. House racesNew Hampshire U.S. House racesNew Jersey U.S. House racesNew Mexico U.S. House racesNew York U.S. House racesNorth Carolina U.S. House racesNorth Dakota U.S. House racesOhio U.S. House racesOklahoma U.S. House racesOregon U.S. House racesPennsylvania U.S. House racesRhode Island U.S. House racesSouth Carolina U.S. House racesSouth Dakota U.S. House racesTennessee U.S. House racesTexas U.S. House racesUtah U.S. House racesVermont U.S. House racesVirginia U.S. House racesWashington U.S. House racesWest Virginia U.S. House racesWisconsin U.S. House racesWyoming U.S. House racesSubmit

Below was the map in use at the time of the election, enacted as part of the 2020 redistricting cycle, compared to the map in place before the election.

Iowa District 3
until January 2, 2023

Click a district to compare boundaries.

Iowa District 3
starting January 3, 2023

Click a district to compare boundaries.

Effect of redistricting

See also: Redistricting in Iowa after the 2020 census

The table below details the results of the 2020 presidential election in each district at the time of the 2022 election and its political predecessor district.^[18] This data was compiled by Daily Kos Elections.^[19]

2020 presidential results by Congressional district, Iowa
District	2022 district		Political predecessor district
District	Joe Biden	Donald Trump	Joe Biden	Donald Trump
Iowa's 1st	47.6%	50.5%	47.1%	51.1%
Iowa's 2nd	46.9%	51.3%	47.4%	50.8%
Iowa's 3rd	48.9%	49.3%	49.0%	49.1%
Iowa's 4th	36.2%	62.2%	35.7%	62.7%

Competitiveness

See also: Primary election competitiveness in state and federal government, 2022

This section contains data on U.S. House primary election competitiveness in Iowa.

Iowa U.S. House competitiveness, 2014-2022
Office	Districts/ offices	Seats	Open seats	Candidates	Possible primaries	Contested Democratic primaries	Contested Republican primaries	% of contested primaries	Incumbents in contested primaries	% of incumbents in contested primaries
2022	4	4	0	10	8	0	1	12.5%	0	0.0%
2020	4	4	1	18	8	0	4	50.0%	1	33.3%
2018	4	4	0	16	8	3	1	50.0%	1	25.0%
2016	4	4	0	13	8	2	2	50.0%	2	50.0%
2014	4	4	2	21	8	1	3	50.0%	0	0.0%

Post-filing deadline analysis

The following analysis covers all U.S. House districts up for election in Iowa in 2022. Information below was calculated on May 20, 2022, and may differ from information shown in the table above due to candidate replacements and withdrawals after that time.

Ten candidates filed to run for Iowa’s four U.S. House districts, including four Democrats and six Republicans. That’s 2.5 candidates per district, less than the 4.5 candidates per district in 2020 and the four in 2018.

This was the first election to take place under new district lines following the 2020 census. Iowa was apportioned four districts, the same number it was apportioned after the 2010 census. The 10 candidates running this year were the fewest candidates running for Iowa's U.S. House seats since at least 2012, when 11 candidates filed.

All four incumbents filed to run for re-election, meaning there were no open seats this year. The Republican primary in the 3rd district was the only contested primary. That’s the fewest contested primaries since at least 2012, when three primaries were contested. There were four contested primaries each year from 2014 to 2020.

No incumbent faced a primary challenger. That’s the lowest number since 2014, when no incumbent faced a primary challenger either. One incumbent faced a primary challenger in both 2020 and 2018, and two incumbents did in 2016. Candidates filed to run in the Republican and Democratic primaries in all four districts, so no seats were guaranteed to either party this year.

Presidential elections

Partisan Voter Index

See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index

Heading into the 2022 elections, based on results from the 2020 and 2016 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was R+3. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 3 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Iowa's 3rd the 208th most Republican district nationally.^[20]

2020 presidential election results

The table below shows what the vote in the 2020 presidential election would have been in this district. The presidential election data was compiled by Daily Kos.

2020 presidential results in Iowa's 3rd based on 2022 district lines
Joe Biden	Donald Trump
48.9%	49.3%

Presidential voting history

See also: Presidential election in Iowa, 2020

Iowa presidential election results (1900-2020)

11 Democratic wins
20 Republican wins

Year	1900	1904	1908	1912	1916	1920	1924	1928	1932	1936	1940	1944	1948	1952	1956	1960	1964	1968	1972	1976	1980	1984	1988	1992	1996	2000	2004	2008	2012	2016	2020
Winning Party	R	R	R	D	R	R	R	R	D	D	R	R	D	R	R	R	D	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	R	D	D	R	R

Demographics

The table below details demographic data in Iowa and compares it to the broader United States as of 2019.

Demographic Data for Iowa
	Iowa	United States
Population	3,190,369	331,449,281
Land area (sq mi)	55,853	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White	89.1%	70.4%
Black/African American	3.7%	12.6%
Asian	2.5%	5.6%
Native American	0.3%	0.8%
Pacific Islander	0.1%	0.2%
Two or more	3%	5.2%
Hispanic/Latino	6.2%	18.2%
Education
High school graduation rate	92.5%	88.5%
College graduation rate	29.3%	32.9%
Income
Median household income	$61,836	$64,994
Persons below poverty level	11.1%	12.8%
Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2020). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2015-2020).
**Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

State party control

Congressional delegation

The table below displays the partisan composition of Iowa's congressional delegation as of November 2022.

Congressional Partisan Breakdown from Iowa, November 2022
Party	U.S. Senate	U.S. House	Total
Democratic	0	1	1
Republican	2	3	5
Independent	0	0	0
Vacancies	0	0	0
Total	2	4	6

State executive

The table below displays the officeholders in Iowa's top four state executive offices as of November 2022.

State executive officials in Iowa, November 2022
Office	Officeholder
Governor	Kim Reynolds
Lieutenant Governor	Adam Gregg
Secretary of State	Paul Pate
Attorney General	Thomas John Miller

State legislature

The tables below highlight the partisan composition of the Iowa General Assembly as of November 2022.

Iowa State Senate

Party		As of November 2022
	Democratic Party	18
	Republican Party	32
	Vacancies	0
Total		50

Iowa House of Representatives

Party		As of November 2022
	Democratic Party	40
	Republican Party	60
	Vacancies	0
Total		100

Trifecta control

As of November 2022, Iowa was a Republican trifecta, with majorities in both chambers of the state legislature and control of the governorship. The table below displays the historical trifecta status of the state.

Iowa Party Control: 1992-2022
Four years of Democratic trifectas • Eight years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year	92	93	94	95	96	97	98	99	00	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22
Governor	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R
Senate	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	S	S	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R
House	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R

Election context

Ballot access requirements

The table below details filing requirements for U.S. House candidates in Iowa in the 2022 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Iowa, click here.

Filing requirements for U.S. House candidates, 2022
State	Office	Party	Signatures required	Filing fee	Filing deadline	Source
Iowa	U.S. House	Ballot-qualified party	1,726, including at least 47 signatures from ½ of the counties in the district	N/A	3/18/2022	Source
Iowa	U.S. House	Unaffiliated	1,726, including at least 47 signatures from ½ of the counties in the district	N/A	8/19/2022^[21]	Source