Iowa House matchups set as primaries shape congressional battlefield

Iowa voters locked in nominees for several closely watched fall races Tuesday, setting up competitive House contests and a marquee Senate race as primaries in California, New Jersey, Montana, New Mexico and South Dakota helped define the fight for control of Congress.

In Iowa’s 1st Congressional District, Democratic former state Rep. Christina Bohannan will again face Republican Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, NBC News projected. It will be their third consecutive matchup in southeastern Iowa, following a 2024 race Miller-Meeks won by fewer than 800 votes, according to NPR.

The 3rd District race, anchored in Des Moines, also is set. Republican Rep. Zach Nunn and Democratic state Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott were unopposed in their primaries. NPR reported that Trone Garriott has won tough races in Republican-heavy state legislative districts.

A third Iowa House race could be competitive in November. In the 2nd District, left open by Republican Rep. Ashley Hinson’s Senate bid, former state Rep. Joe Mitchell, backed by President Donald Trump, is projected to win the Republican nomination. He will face Democratic state Rep. Lindsay James.

Iowa Democrats also chose state Rep. Josh Turek as their U.S. Senate nominee, according to an Associated Press race call cited by NPR. Turek defeated state Sen. Zach Wahls in a primary that offered competing views of the party’s direction. Turek, who represents a Trump-won state House district, had support from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and former Sen. Tom Harkin. Wahls, who represents a deep-blue state Senate seat, was backed by several labor unions, progressive groups and Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.

Turek will face Hinson, who had Trump’s endorsement and faced only a nominal primary challenge. Iowa’s Republican governor primary remained too close to call, NPR reported, after a five-person contest to replace outgoing Gov. Kim Reynolds. Trump endorsed Rep. Randy Feenstra last week. State Auditor Rob Sand ran unopposed for the Democratic nomination. At an Iowa Faith and Freedom Spring Kickoff event, state GOP Chairman Jeff Kaufmann urged “unity after the primary,” saying, “If we don’t do that, then there could be consequences.”

Beyond Iowa, Democrats in New Jersey selected Rebecca Bennett, a healthcare executive and former Navy helicopter pilot, to challenge Republican Rep. Tom Kean Jr. in the battleground 7th District. In the state’s deep-blue 12th District, Adam Hamawy, a surgeon whom Sen. Tammy Duckworth credits with saving her life in Iraq, is projected to win the Democratic nomination for the seat being vacated by Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman.

California remained central to the House map after Democrats redrew congressional lines. The state uses a top-two primary system in which all candidates run on one ballot, regardless of party. In the Fresno-area 22nd District, Republican Rep. David Valadao advanced toward a general election in a perennial battleground, with Democrats Jasmeet Baines and Randy Villegas competing for the other spot. In the San Diego-area 48th District, redistricting moved the seat from safely Republican to light-blue, prompting Rep. Darrell Issa to retire; Trump-backed Jim Desmond is running, while Democrats Marni von Wilpert and Ammar Campa-Najjar are among the contenders.

Several California incumbents also faced notable challenges. Reps. Young Kim and Ken Calvert were forced into a member-on-member primary in the 40th District, with Calvert projected to advance. Democratic Reps. Mike Thompson, Doris Matsui, Brad Sherman, Jimmy Gomez and Linda Sánchez faced intraparty challengers. In the San Francisco-based 11th District, opened by former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s retirement, state Sen. Scott Weiner led the first tallied votes, followed by San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan and Saikat Chakrabarti.

Other contests also came into focus. In Montana’s open 1st District, Trump-backed Aaron Flint is projected to win the Republican primary. In New Mexico’s 2nd District, Democratic Rep. Gabe Vasquez is expected to face Trump-backed former police officer Greg Cunningham. In South Dakota’s lone House district, Trump-backed Attorney General Marty Jackley won the Republican primary for the seat opened by Rep. Dusty Johnson’s run for governor.