DES MOINES, Iowa – Clinton County completed its recount on Saturday of its results in Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District race, the last county in the district to do so; they found that former State Senator Rita Hart, D-Wheatfield, netted an additional two votes. As it stands, State Senator Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Ottumwa, leads after the recount by six votes.
It was originally reported that Hart, unofficially, picked up nine votes in Jasper County, but after concluding their recount on Wednesday, found that did not happen.
In Scott County, where Hart picked up 26 votes, the Scott County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to certify the results even after a discrepancy of 131 more absentee ballots after the recount than the county’s official canvass. The State Canvass Board will meet Monday afternoon to certify elections statewide.
Miller-Meeks claimed victory on Saturday.
“With the Clinton County recount finished this afternoon, all 24 counties have counted, recounted and in some cases, recounted again, the results of Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District. I would be remiss if I didn’t take a moment to thank county auditors, their staffs and the volunteers who worked so hard these past few weeks to conduct the recount. They personify the words ‘public servant’ and ‘engaged citizenship,'” she said in a released statement.
“While the race is extraordinarily close, I am proud to have won this contest and look forward to being certified as the winner by the state’s Executive Council on Monday. It is the honor of a lifetime to be elected to serve the people of eastern and southern Iowa. Iowans are tenacious, optimistic and hard working, and I will take those same attributes to Washington, D.C., on their behalf. From 24 years of service to our country in the U.S. Army and Army Reserves to my several decades of protecting the health of Iowans as a medical professional, I will bring that same Iowa grit to Congress by working to strengthen our healthcare system, combat the COVID pandemic, and get Iowans safely back to work and school,” Miller-Meeks added.
The Hart campaign still could file a legal challenge.
