Former state Rep. Christina Bohannan is poised to run for Congress in Iowa’s 1st District next year, setting the stage for a high-profile rematch against Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA) as Republicans seek to maintain control of the House in 2024.
Bohannan is set to announce her bid at a campaign event on Tuesday night, the Democrat told the Des Moines Register. The Iowan law professor said she decided to run after traveling across the district over the last several months, which made it “clear that we need a change in our representation.”
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“Whenever I show the contrast between me and Rep. Miller-Meeks, it is very clear,” Bohannan said. “I mean, you name it, she has been against just about everything that could help southeast Iowans. So what we need to do is get that message out far and wide and reach people that maybe didn’t hear from us last time.”
The highly anticipated rematch comes after Miller-Meeks defeated Bohannan by 7 percentage points as Iowa Republicans swept all four House seats in the 2022 midterm elections. However, House Democrats view Miller-Meeks’s district as a key pickup opportunity, listing it as one of their top targets in the 2024 cycle.
Bohannan’s announcement makes her the latest in a string of Democratic candidates seeking to declare rematches in swing districts narrowly won by Republicans in the midterm election cycle and flip them in their favor.
At least eight other Democratic candidates have announced challenges to Republican incumbents they lost to in 2022, setting the stage for several tight races that could once again determine which party will control the lower chamber. Democrats are especially targeting GOP lawmakers in races that are expected to be competitive in 2024, pointing to the party’s better-than-expected performance during the midterm cycle as evidence of upward momentum coming into play next year.
One of the closest House races during the 2022 cycle was in Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District, in which Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) narrowly defeated Democratic challenger Adam Frisch, despite leaning heavily Republican. Boebert won by just 546 votes, making it one of the tightest midterm races in the country.
Democrats are eagerly targeting the district again, deeming it one of the party’s best opportunities to flip a seat blue in 2024. Frisch announced a challenge to Boebert in February and will likely face the GOP incumbent on the ballot next year.
Rematches are expected in at least two other toss-up districts, including those held by Reps. Marc Molinaro (R-NY) and Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ), who each won their races by less than 2 percentage points last year. Molinaro will face Democratic challenger Josh Riley, while Ciscomani will take on Kirsten Engel.
Other races include the California seats held by Republican Reps. Ken Calvert and John Duarte, as well as the seats of Reps. Ryan Zinke (R-MT), Monica De La Cruz (R-TX), Don Bacon (R-NE), and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA). However, Republicans have expressed confidence in their ability to fend off any rematches and maintain those seats heading into 2024.
Democrats lost 10 seats they previously held during the 2022 midterm cycle, securing a narrow majority for the House GOP. The defeat was not necessarily unexpected because the party of the incumbent president historically loses ground in both chambers of Congress during the midterm elections.
However, Democrats fared far better than initially expected, giving the party hope it can make significant gains next year. Presidential elections also motivate higher turnout than midterm elections, which could benefit Democrats after increased turnout helped boost its strength during the 2020 and 2022 cycles.
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All 435 seats are up for grabs in 2024 as Republicans seek to hold their slim majority in the lower chamber. Of these, 42 are considered competitive, with most of those held by Democrats compared to Republicans, giving the GOP a slight advantage as it prepares for the next election cycle.
However, of the 42 competitive seats, 18 are held by Republicans in districts that voted for President Joe Biden in 2020, compared to just five Democrats who must defend their seats in districts carried by former President Donald Trump. That means there are just enough vulnerable GOP-held seats to keep things competitive heading into the next election cycle.