A potential House vote on who will be seated in an ongoing Iowa House congressional race could have far-reaching political ramifications for another Iowan.
Democrat Rita Hart said she’ll petition the U.S. House of Representatives to ultimately decide who won her congressional contest against Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks in Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District. It was the closest House race in the nation, with Iowa certifying Miller-Meeks as the winner with a margin of just six votes.
If the Democratic-led House decides to hear Hart’s case, then that could kick off a scenario where all members of Congress would have to cast a vote on whether Hart should be seated as the official representative in the 2nd District.
IOWA HOUSE SEAT FLIPPED BY REPUBLICAN IN JEOPARDY?
It’s happened before. House Democrats voted in 1985 to seat a fellow Democrat who initially lost an Indiana House race by 418 votes under the state-certified results. But Indiana Democratic incumbent Frank McCloskey petitioned the House and a months-long congressional investigation and recount determined that McCloskey won the election by four votes.
Now Democrats — holding a razor-thin majority in the House — could be faced with a tough political predicament of deciding whether to let the Iowa results stand or vote to overturn them if a congressional recount comes out in favor of Hart.
A new poll of likely voters found that a potential vote could have electoral ramifications for Iowa Democratic Rep. Cindy Axne of the neighboring 3rd Congressional District.
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