Iowa 3rd Congressional District (IA) — Elections 1876–2024

Iowa 3rd Congressional District, Iowa: Bellwether district. In 2024, voted R+4%. Republican peak: R+44 in 1924.

Key facts

2024 presidential margin: R+4MIT Election Lab
Political archetype: BellwetherAkashic typology
Population: 816,3782024 5-year
Median household income: $81,9152024 5-year
White (non-Hispanic): 80.6%2024 5-year
Black: 5.3%2024 5-year
Hispanic / Latino: 8.7%2024 5-year
Peak Democratic margin: D+28 in 1964MIT Election Lab
Peak Republican margin: R+44 in 1924MIT Election Lab

NUNN, ZachCongress 119 · Republican

−1 liberal

+1 conservative

Predecessors: AXNE, Cynthia (2021–2023), AXNE, Cynthia (2019–2021), YOUNG, David (2017–2019), YOUNG, David (2015–2017)

Source · Voteview / Lewis, Poole, Rosenthal et al. (CC-BY).

2024 results by constituent county

22 counties · 1 D · 21 R

R+60

D+60

One cell per constituent county. Ordered by 2024 D-vs-R margin (bluest first). Hover for county-level numbers.

38 presidential elections

Source · MIT Election Lab · ICPSR · VEST (precinct-level 2024).
Year	Won	Margin	Democratic	Republican	Total
2024	R	−4.4%	199,047	217,654	424,039
2020	R	−0.3%	205,595	207,051	421,209
2016	R	−3.0%	165,877	177,116	373,481
2012	D	+5.8%	191,404	169,952	368,345
2008	D	+7.5%	184,786	158,579	349,833
2004	R	−1.8%	162,809	168,917	334,510
2000	D	+0.0%	141,755	141,753	291,247
1996	D	+11.8%	138,021	106,441	268,084
1992	D	+7.5%	128,891	107,481	284,913
1988	D	+15.2%	145,265	106,637	253,613
1984	R	−1.5%	132,394	136,541	271,022
1980	R	−8.7%	108,849	132,305	268,217
1976	D	+5.5%	134,487	120,111	260,105
1972	R	−16.0%	104,312	145,266	255,292
1968	R	−7.6%	101,741	120,024	240,515
1964	D	+28.0%	155,875	87,596	244,271
1960	R	−12.8%	116,757	151,107	268,075
1956	R	−12.6%	116,035	149,666	266,051
1952	R	−21.7%	106,900	166,518	275,328
1948	D	+4.7%	115,281	104,662	224,735
1944	R	−1.9%	112,245	116,569	230,109
1940	R	−1.4%	131,321	134,989	267,493
1936	D	+4.4%	128,932	118,022	250,689
1932	D	+6.4%	107,798	94,477	207,978
1928	R	−34.2%	69,375	142,467	213,625
1924	R	−44.4%	32,260	127,135	213,842
1920	R	−40.2%	56,313	135,515	197,174
1916	R	−5.9%	50,034	56,564	110,945
1912	O	+4.4%	36,174	31,549	105,305
1908	R	−18.8%	41,298	61,621	108,047
1904	R	−39.8%	27,255	68,980	104,805
1900	R	−19.3%	44,458	66,558	114,554
1896	R	−8.6%	50,806	60,476	112,806
1892	R	−13.9%	35,629	48,759	94,159
1888	—	No data	—	—	—
1884	—	No data	—	—	—
1880	—	No data	—	—	—
1876	—	No data	—	—	—

Congressional elections · 16 Senate races

U.S. Senate

Source · MIT Election Lab (MEDSL), Senate. CC-BY 4.0.
Year	Won	D %	R %	Total
2022	R	43.3%	55.4%	1,230,416
2020	R	44.4%	50.9%	1,700,130
2016	R	35.7%	60.1%	1,541,036
2014	R	43.8%	52.1%	1,129,700
2010	R	33.3%	64.4%	1,116,063
2008	D	62.7%	37.3%	1,502,918
2004	R	27.9%	70.2%	1,479,228
2002	D	54.2%	43.8%	1,023,075
1998	R	30.5%	68.4%	947,907
1996	D	51.8%	46.7%	1,224,054
1992	R	27.2%	69.6%	1,292,494
1990	D	54.5%	45.4%	983,933
1986	R	33.6%	66.0%	891,762
1984	D	55.5%	43.7%	1,292,700
1980	R	45.5%	53.5%	1,276,986
1978	R	47.9%	51.1%	824,576

Demographics

Race, ethnicity, and ancestry

Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.

German

25.0%

Irish

13.3%

English

12.3%

American

3.9%

Italian

2.8%

Scottish

1.8%

French

1.5%

Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release. Hispanic/Latino is an ethnicity that overlaps the race categories, so these shares can total more than 100%. Ancestry is a self-reported, multiple-response item; ancestry percentages do not sum to the parent race percentage.

Age distribution by sex

Median age: 37.6 in this county, 39.1 nationally

Male

Age

Female

0.7%

85+

1.2%

1.9%

75–84

2.5%

4.5%

65–74

4.8%

5.8%

55–64

6.0%

6.1%

45–54

5.8%

7.1%

35–44

6.8%

7.1%

25–34

6.9%

4.3%

18–24

4.1%

9.2%

5–17

8.8%

3.3%

3.1%

Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.

Median household income

2024 inflation-adjusted dollars

$81,915

Congressional District 3 ranks near the middle of US counties.

Congressional District 3$81,915

Iowa$75,059

United States$80,734

Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.

Poverty rate

All persons below federal poverty line

10.3%

Child poverty is below the national average.

Children under 1813.4%

Working age (18–64)9.3%

Seniors (65+)8.8%

Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.

Language at home

Population aged 5 and older

87.4%

speak English only

Spanish5.7%

Asian & Pacific Islander2.7%

Other Indo-European2.6%

Other languages1.5%

Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.

Religious adherents

Adherents per capita by tradition

Catholic & Orthodox

11.6%

Mainline Protestant

10.2%

Other Christian

7.0%

Methodist

4.7%

Pentecostal & Holiness

2.5%

Baptist

2.0%

Non-Christian

1.8%

Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 60.1% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

Iowa's 3rd covers the Des Moines metro and its fast-growing suburbs, where a 2020 presidential split has narrowed to R+3.9 in 2024, reflecting the competitive realignment reshaping Midwestern urban-suburban corridors.

The Democratic margin in Iowa 3rd Congressional District has rarely exceeded twenty-eight points in modern history; the Republican margin has rarely exceeded forty-four points. 2024 delivered the district to the Republican candidate by four points.

Its demographics resemble the country more than they resemble most districts. A 81% non-Hispanic-white share, a 10% poverty rate, and a median household income of $81,915 — all within the broad national range.

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Cite this page

All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.

Congressional District 3, Iowa. Akashic. https://akashic.app/cd/1903/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.

License: CC BY 4.0

Frequently asked questions

How did Congressional District 3, Iowa vote in 2024?

In 2024, Congressional District 3, Iowa voted Republican by 4.4 points (R+4), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 424,039 votes cast, 199,047 went Democratic and 217,654 went Republican.

What is Congressional District 3, Iowa's political archetype?

Akashic classifies Congressional District 3, Iowa as a "Bellwether" district based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the district has voted Democratic 11 times, Republican 22 times, and other 1 times.

When did Congressional District 3, Iowa last vote Democratic?

The most recent presidential election in which Congressional District 3, Iowa voted Democratic was 2012.

How many people live in Congressional District 3, Iowa?

Congressional District 3, Iowa has a population of 816,378 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.

What is the median household income in Congressional District 3, Iowa?

Median household income in Congressional District 3, Iowa is $81,915 — above the national median of $80,734. The Iowa state median is $75,059.

What is the political history of Congressional District 3, Iowa?

Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Congressional District 3, Iowa from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 11 went Democratic and 22 went Republican. The district's archetype — "Bellwether" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.

Iowa 3rd Congressional District votes the way the country votes.

Key facts

U.S. Senate

Demographics

Compare two places, side by side

Frequently asked questions