The race results between Miller-Meeks and Bohannon will be announced around noon

DAVENPORT, Iowa (KWQC) – The race for Iowa's 1st Congressional District could come down to a few thousand votes in Washington County.

As of Wednesday morning, the race between Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Democrat Christina Bohannon was virtually tied with 97% of votes counted.

The remaining 3% is in Washington County, which still has 66% of its votes to count.

That could be enough to influence the race.

Washington County Auditor Dan Widmer told TV6 Investigates that the delay was because officials wanted to double-check the accuracy of a tabulation machine.

The county immediately alerted the Secretary of State's Office, which met with county officials Wednesday morning.

Widmer said there is no doubt about the security of the election. All ballots are stored in a safe.

Out of an abundance of caution, they check a tabulating machine.

As a result, the counting was delayed by around three and a half hours on election evening. About 5,000 early votes also contributed to a slow count.

Widmer said the district expects final results by midday Wednesday.

The Associated Press still has not called the race in the First District, although Miller-Meeks declared victory after midnight.

As of Wednesday morning, Miller-Meeks led Bohannon by just over 400 votes, 203,899 to 203,486.

With votes already counted in Washington County, Miller-Meeks topped Bohannon 62% to 38%.

Bohannon could end up asking for a recount. Races within 1% fall within the scope of the state's vote recount. In races above 1%, candidates can request a recount, but they must pay for it.

TV6 has reached out to both campaigns for comment.

Miller-Meeks was involved in a recount of her race against Democrat Rita Hart in 2020. Miller-Meeks won by just six votes out of 394,625 cast.

Iowa experienced a statewide recount in the race for auditor in 2022. Democrat Rob Sand narrowly won.

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