Eric Armstrong wins Iowa House seat two months after suspending his campaign

Democrats also broke a decade of Republican control of Iowa state government

Eric Armstrong, a Democrat who suspended his Iowa House campaign two months ago because of health issues, won election in Tuesday’s midterms to the state House seat representing a western Iowa district that includes part of Council Bluffs. Armstrong’s name remained on the ballot, and he drew support from 55% of the district’s more than 8,000 voters, defeating Republican Keith Jones by 865 votes, according to the Associated Press.

In a Facebook post Thursday, Armstrong said he was proud of the win and would be “open and upfront about what comes next.” He wrote that “the voters of District 20 sent a clear message about the direction they want for Iowa,” adding, “I will make sure that message is carried to the Capitol in January.”

Armstrong announced the suspension in a Sept. 7 Facebook post, writing that he faced “personal health issues that require my full attention and immediate care” and was “stepping down from my campaign, effective immediately” to prioritize his health. He thanked voters for their understanding of what he called a “deeply difficult choice” and asked for privacy.

The district includes part of Council Bluffs and Carter Lake and borders Omaha, Nebraska. Voters there backed Trump two years ago. Armstrong is a former railroad executive, while Jones serves as a Pottawattamie County supervisor and is a retired police lieutenant.

Armstrong was elected to succeed Democratic state Rep. Josh Turek, who holds the seat and won Tuesday’s race for the U.S. Senate. Turek will replace retiring Republican Sen. Joni Ernst.

Turek led Republican Ashley Hinson by less than a percentage point in Pottawattamie County, his home county, according to the AP report. Ernst won nearly 55% of the vote in the county in 2020, and Trump won 59% of its voters in 2024. Across Iowa, Democrats up and down the ballot performed far better in this year’s elections than in recent cycles, the AP reported.

Republicans still control the Iowa Legislature, but they will govern with a smaller House majority and a Democratic governor after Rob Sand won the governor’s race.

The Associated Press attributed the Republican losses in Iowa and across the country to an electorate it described as fed up with high costs, critical of government corruption and unsupportive of an overseas war.