Incumbent Iowa Republican says Dem House opponent ‘wasting taxpayer money’ with recount

An incumbent Iowa Republican seeking re-election to the House has accused her Democratic opponent of “wasting taxpayer money” by pursuing a recount of their close contest.

The Associated Press has not yet called the race in Iowa’s 1st Congressional District, where Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa, leads Democratic challenger Christina Bohannan by just 801 votes. Bohannan requested a recount last week.

“Four counties in IA-01 have completed their recounts and I’ve gained 2 votes. Once again Christina Bohannan and the Dems are wasting taxpayer money,” Miller-Meeks posted on X Thursday. She has previously declared victory and her campaign is confident in her lead. 

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Congressional election observers from the House Committee on Administration were deployed to Iowa to monitor the uncalled race this week.

Bohannan’s campaign said in a statement last week that they want to ensure “every voter is heard” and pledged to “accept the results regardless of outcome.” 

Republicans have already clinched a razor-thin House majority, but a GOP victory in Iowa would allow the factious conference some room for dissent without log jamming President-elect Trump’s agenda in the next Congress.

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Republican incumbents held onto Iowa’s three other congressional seats, including the competitive 3rd District where Zach Nunn fended off a challenge from Democrat Lanon Baccam.

Republican incumbents Ashley Hinson in the 2nd District and Randy Feenstra in the 4th District won decisively. Hinson defeated Democrat Sarah Corkery. Feenstra defeated Democrat Ryan Melton.

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So far, Republicans have claimed 219 seats in the House of Representatives while Democrats have held on to 213. 

There are still two uncalled races in California’s 13th and 45th Congressional Districts, where Republican incumbents are defending their seats by extremely close margins. 

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The race in Iowa’s 1st Congressional District is a rematch. Miller-Meeks previously defeated Bohannan by a much larger margin of 7 percentage points in 2022. 

Miller-Meeks earned a first term in Congress representing Iowa’s 2nd District when she defeated Democrat Rita Hart by just six votes in 2020.

Fox News Digital’s Danielle Wallace and the Associated Press contributed to this report.