Iowa’s lone congressional Democrat, Rep. Cindy Axne, is tied with her Republican challenger, state Sen. Zach Nunn, according to an internal poll from Nunn and the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC).
Axne and Nunn are tied at 43 percent, with 14 percent undecided, on the internal poll first reported by the Washington Examiner. The poll was taken from July 9 to 11 with 400 likely general election voters and a five percent margin of error.
The incumbent appears to be caught in the crosshairs of President Joe Biden’s failing poll numbers in the state. The same internal found Biden has an “abysmal” 37 percent job approval rating.
But, while Biden is failing in the polls and appearing to drag her chances of safe reelection down, Axne, over the years, have repeatedly agreed with Biden.
Axne not only has a 100 percent voting record of supporting Biden’s policies with FiveThirtyEight, but also has said he’s a “great president,” defended him on his botched Afghanistan withdrawal, and thinks the Border Crisis is on “a good path.”
However, the poll found Axne had a slight lead with the Independent voters over Nunn, 42 percent to 39 percent. And both candidates received the same 18 percent of voters from their opponent’s party.
Rep. Cindy Axne, D-Iowa, speaks during a roundtable discussion at the Elite Octane ethanol plant, Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2021, in Atlantic, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
Iowa’s Third Congressional District is on the Southwest side of the Hawkeye State. It is considered a swing seat after the once-in-a-decade redistricting process gave the Republicans a slight advantage. The Examiner also noted that the poll, redistricting, and the congresswoman’s failures would help the Nunn in the race.
Axne was recently fact-checked by numerous outlets, including Breitbart News, for an early ad she released about Nunn that was considered to be false and misleading.
Axne’s seat is one of the targeted seats the Republicans are trying to flip in order to win back the House. After striving to win back the House in 2020, the Republicans left the Democrats with the slimmest majority in modern history and gave themselves the upper hand in the midterms.
For Republicans, winning the majority will require a net gain of only five seats in November, and much is on the line in both the House and the Senate. Losing either could mean the Democrats and Biden will have a more challenging time passing their agenda items before the next presidential election.
Currently, Republicans are projected to win between 20 and 35 seats while only needing to net five to take back the House.
“Cindy Axne is one of Joe Biden’s biggest loyalists. If Joe Biden says ‘jump,’ Axne asks, ‘how high,'” said Republican Party of Iowa Communications Director Kollin Crompton of the poll. “Zach Nunn will do the job Axne is too coward to do: put an end to Joe Biden’s disastrous agenda.”
Jacob Bliss is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at jbliss@breitbart.com or follow him on Twitter @JacobMBliss.