The battle to unseat Liberal Democrat Cindy Axne is heating up. A diverse cadre of Republican contenders ranging from an Airforce combat vet, African-American businesswoman, and a former Bush Staffer are all looking to defeat Axne in the upcoming election:
- Former State Representative Mary Ann Hanusa of Council Bluffs: Hanusa had served for 4 terms in the Iowa House, where she was an Area Representative for Senator Chuck Grassley. Before working alongside the Senator, she took a position in President Geroge Bush’s administration, working in D.C. as the Director Of Presidential Personal Correspondence.
- Johnston Resident Nicole Hasso: A Conservative African American woman fighting against Critical Race Theory and wishing to push against the ‘socialist agenda’ of modern-day Democrats. Hasso had received an academic scholarship from Drake University and has years working in the financial industry. Her campaign surprised many after announcing Texas Senator Ted Cruz had endorsed her run.
- State Senator Zack Nunn of Bondurant: Is a United States Airforce veteran and Drake University Professor. Nunn has been the 3rd to announce their candidacy against Axne. Nunn has served on the White House’s National Security Council as Director Of Cybersecurity, where he worked on security issues dealing with Iran and Russia. Additionally, Nunn has served multiple deployments in the Middle East as an Intelligence Squadron Commander and Combat Aviator.
According to Iowa’s Ballotpedia, “Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District currently covers an area in the southwestern corner of Iowa. Polk, Dallas, Guthrie, Warren, Madison, Adair, Cass, Pottawattamie, Mills, Fremont, Page, Montgomery, Taylor, Adams, Union, and Ring Gold counties are included in this district.”
Additionally, after the 2016 election, this district was,” one of the 105 congressional districts that intersected with one or more pivot counties.”
These 206 Pivot counties voted for Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012 and voted for Trump in 2016.
In 2016, current Congresswoman Cindy Axne defeated David Young in a cutthroat election where Axne won 48.9% of the vote (219,205 votes), compared to Young’s 47.5% (212,997 votes). Axne has never taken in more than 50% of the vote in her races.
The first version of the new congressional map for the district is expected to be released Mid-September.
