The October voter registration tally released by the Iowa Secretary of State’s office on Monday shows that registered Democrats now outnumber registered Republicans in Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District by 475 voters.
This is the first time since redistricting in 2012 that Democrats held a voter registration advantage in the district.
Currently, the numbers show:
- Democratic Active Voters: 170,437
- Republican Active Voters: 169,962
- “No Party” Active Voters: 167,320
- Libertarian Active Voters: 3,901
Out of the district’s 16 counties, Democrats only outnumber Republicans in Polk County where they have a 33,784 registration edge. Democrats saw an additional 779 registered voters in September compared to Republicans registering 287 additional voters. The Libertarian Party of Iowa saw an additional 145 voters added in September. “No Party” voters saw the largest gain with 1,818 voters added.
The majority of the Iowa Democratic Party’s registered voter gain occurred before the June 6th primary gaining 9,050 registered voters in May. Republicans held a slight advantage through the summer.
Congressman David Young (R-Iowa), seeking his third term, faces a challenge from the Democrat nominee Cindy Axne, Libertarian nominee Bryan Jack Holder, and three additional candidates added to the ballot by signature (Green Party, Legalize Marijuana Now Party, and an independent candidate).
Young had a voter registration advantage of approximately 11,000 voters over his Democratic opponents a month from election day in 2014 and 2016.