Democrat Abby Finkenauer ousts two-term GOP representative in Iowa’s 1st District

Impact

Iowa state Rep. Abby Finkenauer, a Democrat, ousted two-term Republican Rep. Rod Blum in Iowa’s 1st District on Tuesday, NBC News reported, flipping yet another seat blue and helping Democrats in their quest to regain control of the House.

Finkenauer led Blum 54.7% to 43%, with 15% of precincts reporting, according to the Associated Press.

Iowa’s 1st District is one of a handful of seats President Donald Trump carried in 2016 and former President Barack Obama won four years earlier. The district picked Trump by a 4-point spread in 2016, after backing Obama by 14 points in 2012.

So the fact Finkenauer won here is a promising sign for Democrats hoping to put once-blue Midwestern areas like this one back into their column.

With her win, Finkenauer has become one of the youngest women ever elected to Congress.

Finkenauer is 29, roughly 10 months older than Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who won her race in New York’s 14th congressional district.