Iowa Republican Sens. Joni Ernst and Chuck Grassley spearheaded a letter urging House leaders and top lawmakers on the House Committee on Administration to reject Democratic congressional candidate Rita Hart’s contest of election results in Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District.
The letter, addressed to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, committee Chairwoman Zoe Lofgren, a California Democrat, and committee ranking member Rodney Davis, an Illinois Republican, was also signed by fellow Iowa Republicans Rep.-elect Ashley Hinson and Rep. Randy Feenstra.
“We write to express our deep concern with the effort of Rita Hart to contest her loss to Representative–elect Dr. Mariannette Miller-Meeks in Iowa’s Second Congressional District. As you know, Dr. Miller-Meeks was recently certified as the winner of this contest. Ms. Hart has stated publicly she intends to invoke the Federal Contested Elections Act (FCEA), 2 U.S.C. § 381, et seq., to change the result of this election,” they stated in their letter.
The Iowa lawmakers continue: “In so doing, Ms. Hart chose to circumvent Iowa’s established process and fair and impartial court system. Instead, she is choosing to circumvent Iowa election laws providing for a nonpartisan judicial process to seek a partisan-based judgment to overturn an outcome certified by a bipartisan state canvassing board. Her strategy displaces a nonpartisan process for a partisan one. That would create a dangerous precedent and should be rejected.”
Hart initially lost to Miller-Meeks on election night by just 47 votes, causing Hart to call for a recount of all 24 counties in the 2nd Congressional District, which ultimately resulted in victory for Miller-Meeks by a razor-thin margin of six votes, 196,964 to 196,958.
On Nov. 30, the state canvassing board certified the results, and two days later, Hart, who had decided to forgo a court challenge to the election, announced she would file a petition to the House of Representatives contesting the results of the race. The Iowa Democrat has until Dec. 30 to file the petition.
The Iowa delegation wrote, “The House of Representatives and the Senate have wisely in the past required losing candidates to exhaust their remedies under state law before contesting an election. The House of Representatives and the House Administration Committee should follow these precedents and dismiss any contest filed by Ms. Hart.”
