Miller-Meeks to seek reelection in Iowa’s new 1st District

U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks announced Wednesday that she will be running in Iowa’s newly drawn 1st District in 2022.

“I’m running for re-election in Iowa’s 1st District!” Miller-Meeks tweeted on Wednesday morning. “I’m committed to standing up to Washington Democrats and their Socialist Agenda by doing everything in my power to fight for Iowan common sense values.”

Iowa’s redistricting process drew Miller-Meeks’ home county of Wapello into the 3rd District, where Democrat Rep. Cindy Axne resides. The new 1st District, which covers many of the southeastern Iowa counties that Miller-Meeks currently represents, did not have an incumbent living within its borders.

Republican colleagues supported Miller-Meeks’ decision in statements Wednesday. Rep. Ashley Hinson, who now lives and will run for re-election in the 2nd District, tweeted “Let’s go win back the House in 2022.” Sen. Chuck Grassley said he was proud to support “a veteran, a doctor and a public servant fighting for (Iowans) in our nation’s capital.”

The Iowa Democratic Party criticized Miller-Meeks for “abandoning her hometown to run for office.”

“No matter what district she decides to move to, Iowa Democrats are fired up and already working to kick her out in 2022,” the party said in a news release.

Rep. Christina Bohannan, a University of Iowa law professor, announced her challenge to Miller-Meeks in August. She also switched her candidacy from the former 2nd District to the newly drawn 1st District.

One more Democrat has quietly entered the race: Joseph Kerner, who filed with the Federal Election Commission in late September. He had raised just $3,000 before an October filing deadline — far less than Bohannan’s $305,000 haul.