Iowa’s 3rd District congressional candidates made their closing pitches to voters at separate events Monday evening, just 12 hours before the polls were set to open.
Republican U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn is hoping to win a second term in Congress, while Democrat Lanon Baccam is seeking to flip the seat from GOP control.
The 3rd Congressional District is rated a toss-up by nonpartisan election forecasters. The district covers 21 counties in central and southern Iowa, including the cities of Des Moines, West Des Moines, Winterset, Osceola and Ottumwa.
Election Day is Tuesday. The polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
More: Your guide to the 2024 election in Iowa
Zach Nunn calls 3rd District ‘the most competitive district in America’
Nunn rallied Monday evening in Altoona with U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, where he praised the Republican Party’s success at getting its voters to cast their ballots early this year.
“Raise your hands if you’ve already voted,” Nunn said, as hands shot up around the room. “Look at that crowd!”
Nunn called for Republican priorities like fighting illegal immigration and securing the U.S. southern border and reining in government spending. He also highlighted bipartisan work he’s done on issues like expanding family and medical leave for National Guard members and reserve soldiers and fighting to end puppy mills.
He touted his record as the 10th-most bipartisan legislator in Congress, according to the Lugar Center at Georgetown University, based on the number of bipartisan bills members introduced or co-sponsored.
“Here’s what I offer to you in the 3rd District, friends,” Nunn said. “This is the most competitive district in America. We will deliver. We have stood for Republican principles, but we’ve worked with independents and Democrats to have real legislation that changes people’s lives for the better.”
Nunn told reporters after his remarks that he’s proud of his office’s work to serve constituents on issues such as helping veterans access their benefits, helping Iowans access their Social Security and Medicare and helping new citizens get their passports.
“We have a constituent service return rate that exceeds almost every other freshman in Congress,” he said. “Those are the kind of things that when Iowans come up and tell you it’s important to them, we know very well that’s how they’re going to vote because we’ve made their life better. We’re privileged to get to fight for them.”
More: Zach Nunn, looking for 2nd term in Iowa’s 3rd District, campaigns on immigration, economy
‘Your job’s not done,’ Democrats tell supporters at a rally for Lanon Baccam
Baccam took the stage in a crowded gymnasium at the Franklin Center in Des Moines Monday night where he and other Democrats urged supporters to keep working, even through the final hours of Election Day.
“Your job’s not done,” U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack told the crowd. “You’ve got 24 more hours. In fact, this is the most important 24 hours of the entire election. This is the difference between winning and losing.”
Baccam thanked those who have made phone calls and knocked doors on his behalf.
“We are on the cusp. You all can feel it. Look at this room,” he said before resurrecting former President Barack Obama’s famous call-and-response campaign chant, “Fired up, ready to go!”
“There’s no question, I’m going to fight for our friends in labor,” he told the group. “I’m going to fight for our education. And I’m going to pass the Women’s Health Protection Act, and we’re going to restore Roe as the law of the land.”
Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart, who lost her own congressional race by six votes in 2020, called herself the “poster child for every vote counts.”
“I’m here tell you folks that our races are closer than we ever imagined,” she said. “We have been talking about this for almost two years. We knew what we were coming up against, but now here we are, and it’s even closer than we ever imagined. So we have got to get everyone out there to vote.”
She told Democrats to keep calling, texting, and getting people to the polls.
“You can make the difference,” she said.
More: In a divided 3rd District, Democrat Lanon Baccam pitches a return to a more united Iowa
Nunn, Baccam react to new Iowa Poll showing voters prefer a Democrat
The most recent Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll found a plurality of likely Iowa voters in the 3rd District prefer a Democratic candidate over a Republican, 48% to 41%.
Speaking to reporters following his remarks, Nunn dismissed the poll’s results, saying “we’re not going to let that deter us.”
“Look, we feel energized,” he said. “We’ve been out for weeks now knocking doors, talking to folks. And here’s the reality. Polls don’t vote. And I think you can look at all sorts of polling out here. What matters is what type of a ground game do you have? We have approached this like a military operation. We’ve got boots on the ground. We have knocked tens of thousands of doors just in the last three days alone.”
During his remarks to the crowd, Baccam also referenced the poll.
“I know that was exciting,” he said. “But I don’t think anyone in this room is surprised, because you all have been putting in the hard work day after day, making sure we can get into the position we are right now. And not only will I flip this seat tomorrow, we might flip one in southeast Iowa.”
Iowa’s 1st Congressional District in southeast Iowa is also projected to be close, where Democrat Christina Bohannan challenges Republican U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks.
More: Iowa Poll: Democrats are preferred over Republicans in 2 of 4 congressional districts
The 3rd District has seen millions of dollars in ad spending, with Nunn attacking Baccam on the issue of immigration and Baccam criticizing Nunn’s record on abortion.
Baccam has out-raised Nunn in four consecutive fundraising quarters, but Nunn has tallied more over the entire election cycle: about $5.3 million to Baccam’s $4.8 million. Baccam has spent $4.5 million across the election cycle, while Nunn has spent $4.4 million.
OpenSecrets, a nonpartisan organization that tracks money in politics, outside spending from groups like super PACs has totaled about $15.7 million spent in the 3rd District. That includes $3 million in spending to support Nunn and $950,000 to support Baccam, as well as more than $6 million opposing Baccam and $5.7 million opposing Nunn.
Brianne Pfannenstiel is the chief politics reporter for the Des Moines Register. She is also covering the 2024 presidential race for USA TODAY as a senior national campaign correspondent. Reach her at bpfann@dmreg.com or 515-284-8244. Follow her on Twitter at @brianneDMR.
Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email atsgrubermil@registermedia.com or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on Twitter at@sgrubermiller.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Zach Nunn, Lanon Baccam make closing arguments for Iowa’s 3rd District
