A Council Bluffs legislative race so close it's being called the tightest Iowa House contest in the state is headed to a recount Monday morning, with Pottawattamie County officials expecting an answer the same day. Democratic challenger Ben Larson requested the recount after unofficial results showed Republican incumbent Brent Siegrist clinging to a narrow lead in Iowa House District 19.
A Margin Too Close to Call Outright
Just how narrow that lead is depends on which report you read. According to Bleeding Heartland, unofficial results put Siegrist 39 votes ahead of Larson, 5,157 to 5,118, while the Nonpareil reported Siegrist held onto the seat by just 37 votes. Either way, the margin is thin enough that Nonpareil described District 19 as the closest Iowa House contest in the state this election. KTIV, which first reported on the scheduled recount, similarly put the initial count at a 37-vote edge for Siegrist.
District 19 is the more Republican-leaning of Council Bluffs' two state House districts, per the same Bleeding Heartland report. Larson, per Gray Media's Iowa Capitol Bureau, said he focused his campaign on new leadership to address Iowa's cancer crisis.
How the Recount Will Work
Pottawattamie County Auditor Mary Ann Hanusa said the recount will begin Monday morning, November 16, and that she expects to announce results the same day, since there are only eleven precincts to count, the Bleeding Heartland report notes. Bleeding Heartland reported that staff from the auditor's office will handle the work under a newer procedure.
Staff plan to run the ballots through a vote-counting machine and examine undervotes for any discernible mark favoring either candidate, per the same Bleeding Heartland account. Each candidate may designate up to five observers to watch the process. Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate said, according to KTIV, that he received Larson's written recount request on Tuesday, and that his office has one week to prepare; KTIV also reported that Larson could pursue legal action if he disagrees with the eventual results.
Candidates Sound Off
Siegrist told KTIV he was not worried about the recount, saying there were only four provisional ballots involved, according to the Bleeding Heartland report. He said his legislative service could help him win again in a year when some of his Republican colleagues lost their seats, attributing his survival in part to his legislative work and community reputation.
A separate state law allows a candidate to request a recount when the margin falls below one percent, according to KTIV's reporting. Text of House File 928 obtained from the Iowa Legislature specifies that a recount is to be ordered when the difference between the apparent winner and the requesting candidate is one percent or less, though that excerpt does not by itself confirm the provision's current effective status.
Bigger Picture for Iowa Democrats
The recount comes after what the Des Moines Register described as a blue surge on election night, with Rob Sand becoming Iowa's first Democratic governor elected since 2006, Sarah Trone Garriott and Christina Bohannan ousting Republican U.S. House incumbents, and Josh Turek flipping a U.S. Senate seat. Iowa GOP Chairman Jeff Kaufmann pushed back on the idea that the wave would reach the statehouse, telling the Register, “There's still a red wall out there, and the red wall is called the Iowa Legislature.”
Even so, Republicans lost some Iowa House seats this cycle, according to KTIV. Iowa House Minority Leader Brian Meyer, a Democrat, said every seat counts for his party and described the overall election outcome as a repudiation of what is happening, adding that Republicans in Des Moines voted the way they wanted. Regardless of how the District 19 recount turns out, KTIV reported that Republicans will keep their majority in the Iowa House.
Other Close Races Also Headed to Recounts in 2024
District 19 was not the only razor-thin Iowa contest drawing a second look in 2024. SW Iowa News Source reported that Republican challenger Mark Hanson planned to seek a recount against Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott, who led by 24 votes, while Sen. Nate Boulton requested a recount in Senate District 20 after trailing Republican Mike Pike by 44 votes. The same outlet reported that Republican challenger Nathan Ramker requested a recount in House District 98, where incumbent Monica Kurth led by 45 votes.
