Iowa's 3rd congressional district

Representative

Cindy Axne
D–West Des Moines

Distribution

73.07% urban
26.93% rural

Population (2019)

848,170

Median household
income

$67,681^[1]

Ethnicity

84.3% White
6.4% Hispanic
4.1% Black
2.9% Asian
1.9% Two or more races
0.4% other

Cook PVI

R+3^[2]

Iowa's 3rd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Iowa that covers its southwest quadrant, roughly an area including Des Moines to the borders with Nebraska and Missouri.

From 2003 to 2013, it encompassed Des Moines (on the western end), to the western outskirts of the metropolitan area of Cedar Falls and Waterloo (on the northeastern end), to the western outskirts of the Cedar Rapids area (on the eastern end), and to Lucas County and Monroe County (on the southern end).

The district has been represented in the United States House of Representatives by Democrat Cindy Axne since 2019. It was one of seven districts that voted for Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election while being won by a Democrat. With a Cook Partisan Voting Index rating of R+3, it is the least Republican district in Iowa.^[2]

Statewide races since 2000

Election results from statewide races:

Office	Year	District	Statewide	Nationwide
President	2000	Al Gore 49% – George W. Bush 48%	Gore	Bush
	2004	George W. Bush 50% – John Kerry 50%	Bush	Bush
	2008	Barack Obama 54% – John McCain 44%	Obama	Obama
	2012	Barack Obama 51% – Mitt Romney 47%	Obama	Obama
	2016	Donald Trump 48% – Hillary Clinton 45%	Trump	Trump
	2020	Donald Trump 49.1% – Joe Biden 49.0%	Trump	Biden

List of members representing the district

Representative	Party	Years	Cong ress	Electoral history
District created March 4, 1863
William B. Allison	Republican	March 4, 1863 – March 3, 1871	38th 39th 40th 41st	Elected in 1862. Re-elected in 1864. Re-elected in 1866. Re-elected in 1868. Retired to run for U.S. Senator.
William G. Donnan	Republican	March 4, 1871 – March 3, 1875	42nd 43rd	Elected in 1870. Re-elected in 1872. Retired.
Lucien L. Ainsworth	Democratic	March 4, 1875 – March 3, 1877	44th	Elected in 1874. Retired.
Theodore W. Burdick	Republican	March 4, 1877 – March 3, 1879	45th	Elected in 1876. Retired.
Thomas Updegraff	Republican	March 4, 1879 – March 3, 1883	46th 47th	Elected in 1878. Re-elected in 1880. Redistricted to the 4th district and lost re-election there.
David B. Henderson	Republican	March 4, 1883 – March 3, 1903	48th 49th 50th 51st 52nd 53rd 54th 55th 56th 57th	Elected in 1882. Re-elected in 1884. Re-elected in 1886. Re-elected in 1888. Re-elected in 1890. Re-elected in 1892. Re-elected in 1894. Re-elected in 1896. Re-elected in 1898. Re-elected in 1900. Renominated but withdrew prior to election.
Benjamin P. Birdsall	Republican	March 4, 1903 – March 3, 1909	58th 59th 60th	Elected in 1902. Re-elected in 1904. Re-elected in 1906. Retired.
Charles E. Pickett	Republican	March 4, 1909 – March 3, 1913	61st 62nd	Elected in 1908. Re-elected in 1910. Lost re-election.
Maurice Connolly	Democratic	March 4, 1913 – March 3, 1915	63rd	Elected in 1912. Retired to run for U.S. Senator.
Burton E. Sweet	Republican	March 4, 1915 – March 3, 1923	64th 65th 66th 67th	Elected in 1914. Re-elected in 1916. Re-elected in 1918. Re-elected in 1920. Retired to run for U.S. Senator.
Thomas J. B. Robinson	Republican	March 4, 1923 – March 3, 1933	68th 69th 70th 71st 72nd	Elected in 1922. Re-elected in 1924. Re-elected in 1926. Re-elected in 1928. Re-elected in 1930. Lost re-election.
Albert C. Willford	Democratic	March 4, 1933 – January 3, 1935	73rd	Elected in 1932. Lost re-election.
John W. Gwynne	Republican	January 3, 1935 – January 3, 1949	74th 75th 76th 77th 78th 79th 80th	Elected in 1934. Re-elected in 1936. Re-elected in 1938. Re-elected in 1940. Re-elected in 1942. Re-elected in 1944. Re-elected in 1946. Lost renomination.
Harold R. Gross	Republican	January 3, 1949 – January 3, 1975	81st 82nd 83rd 84th 85th 86th 87th 88th 89th 90th 91st 92nd 93rd	Elected in 1948. Re-elected in 1950. Re-elected in 1952. Re-elected in 1954. Re-elected in 1956. Re-elected in 1958. Re-elected in 1960. Re-elected in 1962. Re-elected in 1964. Re-elected in 1966. Re-elected in 1968. Re-elected in 1970. Re-elected in 1972. Retired.
Chuck Grassley	Republican	January 3, 1975 – January 3, 1981	94th 95th 96th	Elected in 1974. Re-elected in 1976. Re-elected in 1978. Retired to run for U.S. Senator.
T. Cooper Evans	Republican	January 3, 1981 – January 3, 1987	97th 98th 99th	Elected in 1980. Re-elected in 1982. Re-elected in 1984. Retired.
David R. Nagle	Democratic	January 3, 1987 – January 3, 1993	100th 101st 102nd	Elected in 1986. Re-elected in 1988. Re-elected in 1990. Redistricted to the 2nd district and lost re-election.
Jim R. Lightfoot	Republican	January 3, 1993 – January 3, 1997	103rd 104th	Redistricted from the 5th district and re-elected in 1992. Re-elected in 1994. Retired to run for U.S. Senator.
Leonard Boswell	Democratic	January 3, 1997 – January 3, 2013	105th 106th 107th 108th 109th 110th 111th 112th	Elected in 1996. Re-elected in 1998. Re-elected in 2000. Re-elected in 2002. Re-elected in 2004. Re-elected in 2006. Re-elected in 2008. Re-elected in 2010. Lost re-election.
Tom Latham	Republican	January 3, 2013 – January 3, 2015	113th	Redistricted from the 4th district and re-elected in 2012. Retired.
David Young	Republican	January 3, 2015 – January 3, 2019	114th 115th	Elected in 2014. Re-elected in 2016. Lost re-election.
Cindy Axne	Democratic	January 3, 2019 – Present	116th 117th	Elected in 2018. Re-elected in 2020.

Recent election results

Year^[3]	Winner			Second			Percentage
Year^[3]	Party affiliation	Candidate	Votes	Party affiliation	Candidate	Votes	Percentage
1920	Republican	Burton E. Sweet	67,859	Farmer–Labor	Roy Jacobs	1,974	97% – 3%
1922		Thomas J. B. Robinson	34,518	Democratic	Fred P. Hageman	24,304	58% – 41%
1924			54,921		Willis N. Birdsall	25,215	69% – 31%
1926			32,180		Ellis E. Wilson	13,696	70% – 30%
1928			60,025		Leo. F. Tierney	38,469	61% – 39%
1930			27,098		W. L. Beecher	15,908	63% – 37%
1932	Democratic	Albert C. Willford	48,939	Republican	Thomas J. B. Robinson	47,776	51% – 49%
1934	Republican	John W. Gwynne	42,063	Democratic	Albert C. Willford	35,159	51% – 43%
1936			53,928		Albert C. Willford	47,391	52% – 46%
1938			45,541		W. F. Hayes	30,158	60% – 40%
1940			65,425		Ernest J. Seemann	43,709	60% – 40%
1942			54,124		William D. Kearney	35,065	61% – 39%
1944			74,901		William D. Kearney	56,985	58% – 42%
1946			48,346		Dan J. P. Ryan	29,661	62% – 38%
1948		H. R. Gross	78,838		Dan J. P. Ryan	56,002	58% – 41%
1950			73,490		James O. Babcock	40,786	64% – 36%
1952			109,992		George R. Laub	56,871	66% – 34%
1954			68,307		George R. Laub	41,622	62% – 38%
1956			97,590		Michael Micich	69,076	59% – 41%
1958			61,920		Michael Micich	53,467	54% – 46%
1960			99,046		Edward J. Gallagher, Jr.	76,837	56% – 44%
1962			66,337		Neel F. Hill	50,580	57% – 43%
1964			83,455		Stephen M. Peterson	83,036	50.1% – 49.9%
1966			79,343		L. A. Pat Touchae	48,530	62% – 38%
1968			101,839		John E. Van Eschen	57,164	64% – 36%
1970			66,087		Lyle D. Taylor	45,958	59% – 41%
1972			109,113		Lyle D. Taylor	86,848	56% – 44%
1974		Chuck Grassley	77,468		Stephen Rapp	74,859	51% – 49%
1976			117,957		Stephen Rapp	90,981	56% – 44%
1978			103,659		John Knudson	34,880	75% – 25%
1980		T. Cooper Evans	107,869		Lynn G. Cutler	101,735	51% – 48%
1982			104,072		Lynn G. Cutler	83,581	55% – 45%
1984			133,737		Joe Johnston	86,574	61% – 39%
1986	Democratic	David R. Nagle	83,504	Republican	John McIntee	69,386	55% – 45%
1988			129,204	Republican	Donald B. Redfern	74,682	63% – 37%
1990			100,947	unopposed		833	99% – 1%
1992	Republican	Jim Ross Lightfoot	125,931	Democratic	Elaine Baxter	121,063	49% – 47%
1994	Republican	Jim Ross Lightfoot	111,862	Democratic	Elaine Baxter	79,310	58% – 41%
1996	Democratic	Leonard Boswell	115,914	Republican	Mike Mahaffey	111,895	49% – 48%
1998			107,947		Larry McKibben	78,063	57% – 41%
2000			156,327		Jay Marcus	83,810	63% – 34%
2002			115,367		Stan Thompson	97,285	53% – 45%
2004			168,007		Stan Thompson	136,099	55% – 45%
2006			114,689		Jeff Lamberti	103,182	52% – 47%
2008			175,423		Kim Schmett	131,524	56% – 42%
2010			122,147		Brad Zaun	111,925	50% – 46%
2012	Republican	Tom Latham	202,000	Democratic	Leonard Boswell	168,632	51% – 42%
2014		David Young	148,814		Staci Appel	119,109	52% – 42%
2016		David Young	208,598		Jim Mowrer	155,002	53% – 40%
2018	Democratic	Cindy Axne	169,888	Republican	David Young	164,667	49% – 47%
2020	Democratic	Cindy Axne	219,205	Republican	David Young	212,997	49% – 48%

2002

2002 Iowa's 3rd congressional district election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Leonard Boswell*	115,367	53.41
	Republican	Stan Thompson	97,285	45.04
	Libertarian	Jeffrey J. Smith	2,689	1.25
	Socialist Workers	Edwin B. Fruit	569	0.26
	No party	Others	75	0.04
Total votes			215,985	100.00
Turnout
	Democratic hold

2004

2004 Iowa's 3rd congressional district election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Leonard Boswell*	168,007	55.21
	Republican	Stan Thompson	136,009	44.72
	No party	Others	213	0.07
Total votes			304,229	100.00
Turnout
	Democratic hold

2006

2006 Iowa's 3rd congressional district election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Leonard Boswell*	115,769	51.85
	Republican	Jeff Lamberti	103,722	46.45
	Socialist Workers	Helen Meyers	3,591	1.61
	No party	Others	205	0.09
Total votes			223,287	100.00
Turnout
	Democratic hold

2008

2008 Iowa's 3rd congressional district election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Leonard Boswell*	176,904	56.31
	Republican	Kim Schmett	132,136	42.06
	Socialist Workers	Frank Forrestal	4,599	1.46
	No party	Others	521	0.17
Total votes			314,160	100.00
Turnout
	Democratic hold

2010

2010 Iowa's 3rd congressional district election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Leonard Boswell*	122,147	50.73
	Republican	Brad Zaun	111,925	46.49
	Socialist Workers	Rebecca Williamson	6,258	2.60
	No party	Others	426	0.18
Total votes			240,756	100.00
Turnout
	Democratic hold

2012

2012 Iowa's 3rd congressional district election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Tom Latham*	202,000	50.56
	Democratic	Leonard Boswell*	168,632	42.20
	Independent	Scott G. Batcher	9,352	2.34
	Socialist Workers	David Rosenfeld	6,286	1.57
	No party	Others	572	0.14
Total votes			399,561	100.00
Turnout
	Republican gain from Democratic

2014

2014 Iowa's 3rd congressional district election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	David Young	148,814	52.8
	Democratic	Staci Appel	119,109	42.2
	Libertarian	Edward Wright	9,054	3.2
	No party preference	Bryan Jack Holder	4,360	1.5
	Write-ins		729	0.3
Total votes			282,066	100
	Republican hold

2016

Map showing the results of the 2016 election in Iowa's 3rd congressional district by county

2016 Iowa's 3rd congressional district election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	David Young*	208,598	53.45
	Democratic	Jim Mowrer	155,002	39.71
	Libertarian	Bryan Jack Holder	15,372	3.94
	Nominated by Petition	Claudia Addy	6,348	1.63
	Nominated by Petition	Joe Grandanette	4,518	1.16
		Write-ins	449	0.12
Total votes			390,287	100.00
	Republican hold

2018

Results of the 2018 Iowa's 3rd congressional district election

2018 Iowa's 3rd congressional district election^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Cindy Axne	169,888	49.0	+9.29
	Republican	David Young*	164,667	47.49	-5.96
	Libertarian	Bryan Jack Holder	7,005	2.02	−1.92
	Legal Marijuana Now	Mark Elworth, Jr.	1,906	0.55	+0.55
	Green	Paul Knupp	1,795	0.52	+0.52
	Independent	Joe Grandanette	1,271	0.37	−0.79
	Write-ins		178	0.05	+0.00
Plurality			5,221	1.51
Turnout			346,710	100
	Democratic gain from Republican		Swing	+15.25

2020

Results of the 2020 Iowa's 3rd congressional district election

2020 Iowa's 3rd congressional district election^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Cindy Axne (incumbent)	219,205	48.9
	Republican	David Young	212,997	47.6
	Libertarian	Bryan Jack Holder	15,361	3.4
	Write-in		384	0.1
Total votes			447,947	100.0
	Democratic hold

Historical district boundaries

2003–2013

References

General

^ "My Congressional District".
^ ^a ^b "Introducing the 2021 Cook Political Report Partisan Voter Index". The Cook Political Report. April 15, 2021. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
^ "Election Statistics". 2005. Archived from the original on July 25, 2007.
^ "Iowa General Election 2018". Iowa Secretary of State. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
^ "General Election - 2020 Canvass Summary" (PDF). Iowa Secretary of State.

Specific

Martis, Kenneth C. (1989). The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
Martis, Kenneth C. (1982). The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present

U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Maine's 1st congressional district	Home district of the Speaker of the House December 4, 1899 – March 4, 1903	Succeeded by Illinois's 18th congressional district

Iowa's congressional districts

Current districts: 1st; 2nd; 3rd; 4th

All districts: Territory; At-large; 1st; 2nd; 3rd; 4th; 5th; 6th; 7th; 8th; 9th; 10th; 11th

The at-large and 5th–11th districts are obsolete.

See also: Iowa's past and present representatives, senators, and delegations

Recent U.S. House elections in Iowa: 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2022

This page was last edited on 16 June 2022, at 03:51