Christina Bohannan feels empowered by close 2024 finish and toss-up of IA-01 race in 2026

Democrat Christina Bohannan doesn’t feel defeated. In fact, she is emboldened by her narrow loss to Republican U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks back in 2024, which was decided by less than 800 votes. Knowing victory was close, her third campaign for Congress is motivated to get those votes she lost.

During a recent trip to Newton, Bohannan told local Democrats that she will be giving extra attention on Jasper County and Warren County for 2026. The candidate said her campaign outperformed expectations during the last election, only losing to Miller-Meeks by a 0.2 percent margin.

“Outperformed by more than eight points across the entire district, by 15 points in the more rural and reddest counties in the district; 33,000 people who voted for Donald Trump also voted for me,” Bohannan said on June 28 in Maytag Park. “And that doesn’t just happen, friends. That kind of stuff doesn’t just happen.”

Bohannan credited the work to local parties and supporters who donated to her campaign or knocked doors. It made a difference, she said, and it was because that race was so close is why she was standing in front of them again, ready to take on Miller-Meeks once more.

However, Bohannan is convinced the 2026 election cycle is going to be different. She noted that in the past the race for Iowa’s 1st Congressional District has been favored for Republicans, which was certainly true in Bohannan’s first bid for the seat back in 2022. It took work from 2024 to make the election a toss-up.

For 2026, Bohannan said the seat is already considered a toss-up race, a notion that is backed up by a number of political analysts and the results from 2024.

“We showed we can win,” Bohannan said. “…People are fed up and they are fired up. We have been seeing these rallies. Some of them I know went to some of those recently. Hundreds and thousands of people are showing up to protest representatives like Mariannette Miller-Meeks all throughout Iowa.”

Why? Bohannan claimed it is because Miller-Meeks does not represent her constituents and gets her political agenda from party leaders. The Democratic candidate argued her Republican opponent is compromised and votes by what her donors and corporate PACs want, rather than the people she represents.

“I get my political agenda from you,” Bohannan said.

Miller-Meeks is “making life worse for Iowans” and is putting “party bosses, corporate PACs and billionaire donors” ahead of her own constituents. Bohannan said she cannot stand by and let that happen. Miller-Meeks has had three terms in Congress. To Bohannan, she has had three chances to do right by Iowans.

“And every single time she has sold us out,” Bohannan said. “She has sold us out to divisive party politics. She has sold us out to the billionaires and the corporate PACs who fund her campaign and who help her get re-elected no matter how bad she’s been. But enough is enough. It is time for a change.”