Democratic state Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott defeated Republican Rep. Zach Nunn on Election Night, flipping Iowa's 3rd Congressional District back to Democratic control after two terms in Republican hands.
Decision Desk HQ projected the race at 11:22 p.m. EST on Nov. 4 with 88 percent of the vote counted, showing Trone Garriott ahead by 9 percentage points, Politicstrone-garriott-defeats-nunn-iowa-3rd-district-flipSarah Trone Garriott Defeats Zach Nunn, Flipping Iowa's 3rd DistrictDemocrat Sarah Trone Garriott unseated Rep. Zach Nunn by 9 points in Iowa's 3rd Congressional District, ending two years of Republican control of the Des Moines-area seat.Iowa 3rd Congressional District, Zach Nunn, Sarah Trone Garriott, 2026 midterm election, Iowa election resultsZach Nunn's two-term run in Iowa's 3rd District is over. Sarah Trone Garriott won by 9 points in a seat Republicans knew was their toughest to hold. Here's how it slipped away.Supporters watch election results come in on Nov. 4, 2026. Photo: The Hill
Democratic state Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott defeated two-term Republican Rep. Zach Nunn on Tuesday night, flipping Iowa's 3rd Congressional District back to Democratic control in one of the most closely watched House races in the country.
Decision Desk HQ projected the race at 11:22 p.m. EST with 88 percent of the vote counted, showing Trone Garriott ahead by 9 percentage points, according to The Hill. The result ends Republican control of the Des Moines-area seat that Nunn won for the GOP in 2022.
A Purple District Slips From Republican Hands
Trone Garriott, a Lutheran minister from West Des Moines who has served in the Iowa Senate since 2021, unseated Nunn in a district that includes Des Moines and the fast-growing suburbs of Dallas County. The seat has been a true battleground: Nunn first flipped it in 2022 by less than a percentage point against former Rep. Cindy Axne, then won reelection in 2024 by nearly 4 points over Democrat Lancon Baccam.
Even with those wins under his belt, the 3rd District remained the hardest of Iowa's four congressional seats for Republicans to defend, MyWabashValley.com reported, especially as Democrats built momentum heading into the midterms. President Donald Trump carried the district by 4.5 points in 2024, but that cushion was not enough to save the incumbent this cycle.
Cook Political Report Saw the Shift Coming
The nonpartisan Cook Political Report moved the race from