The Iowa State Capitol on Feb. 13, 2024. (Photo by Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch)
Incumbent Rep. Monica Kurth, D-Davenport, kept her lead over Republican challenger Nathan Ramker in the recount for Iowa House District 98 that concluded Tuesday.
The Scott County Auditor’s Office confirmed Wednesday that the recount board elected to let Election Day results, that showed Kurth ahead of Ramker by 45 votes, stand.
Ramker has conceded the race. Speaking with the Iowa Capital Dispatch Wednesday, the Republican candidate, a CBD shop owner from Blue Grass, said “nothing really changed” through the recount process, but that he plans to run again in 2026. Having started the race as a newcomer and late in the campaign season in 2024, Ramker said he believes he will have a better shot at the seat in the future.
The House District 98 recount was the final state legislative race recount to conclude. In all three of the races, the candidates ahead on Election Night maintained their leads — Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott, D-Waukee, stayed ahead of Republican challenger Mark Hanson in Iowa Senate District 14, and Republican Mike Pike defeated incumbent Sen. Nate Boulton, D-Des Moines, in Senate District 20 as the recounts concluded.
Kurth thanked Scott County election workers for conducting a “smooth” recount process, and said she was ready to return to the state Legislature. Though she and Trone Garriott, a fellow Democrat, came out ahead during the recount processes, Republicans will enter the 2025 Iowa legislative session holding trifecta power. As House Republicans grew from a majority to a supermajority in the 2024 general election — alongside keeping their existing supermajority in the Senate — Kurth said she is anticipating a tough road ahead for Iowa Democrats at the Statehouse.
“It’s going to be more difficult,” Kurth said. “I’ve seen the number in my caucus decline with each session, and each session, things have gotten rougher, tougher. So I anticipate we’ll see that thing. We’ll work hard to find common ground on some of the issues, and on others I’m sure we’re going to be in real opposition.”
A recount also concluded Wednesday in Iowa’s 1st Congressional District, with Republican incumbent Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks declared the winner by the Associated Press over Democratic challenger Christina Bohannan.
This story has been updated to reflect the results of the Iowa Congressional District recount.
