Iowa's 3rd congressional district

"IA-3" redirects here. For the state highway, see Iowa Highway 3.

Iowa's 3rd congressional district
The 3rd congressional district of Iowa
Current Representative		Leonard Boswell (D–Des Moines)
Distribution	73.07% urban, 26.93% rural
Population (2000)	585,305
Median income	$43,176
Ethnicity	91.6% White, 3.2% Black, 1.9% Asian, 3.2% Hispanic, 0.4% Native American
Cook PVI	D+1

Iowa's 3rd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Iowa that currently covers an area from Des Moines (on the western end) to the western outskirts of the Cedar Falls-Waterloo Metropolitan Area (on the northeastern end) to the western outskirts of the Cedar Rapids area (on the eastern end) and to Lucas and Monroe counties (on the southern end).

The district is currently represented by Democrat Leonard Boswell.

Redistricting

On June 22, 2001, the Iowa Legislature passed a plan to redistrict the state of Iowa. The plan went into effect in 2002 for the 108th U.S. Congress. The prior redistricting plan was effective from 1992-2001.

List of representatives

Representative	Party	Term	District Residence	Note
District created		March 4, 1863
William B. Allison	Republican	March 4, 1863 – March 3, 1871
William G. Donnan	Republican	March 4, 1871 – March 3, 1875
Lucien L. Ainsworth	Democratic	March 4, 1875 – March 3, 1877
Theodore W. Burdick	Republican	March 4, 1877 – March 3, 1879
Thomas Updegraff	Republican	March 4, 1879 – March 3, 1883
David B. Henderson	Republican	March 4, 1883 – March 3, 1903		Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1899–1903
Benjamin P. Birdsall	Republican	March 4, 1903 – March 3, 1909
Charles E. Pickett	Republican	March 4, 1909 – March 3, 1913
Maurice Connolly	Democratic	March 4, 1913 – March 3, 1915
Burton E. Sweet	Republican	March 4, 1915 – March 3, 1923
Thomas J. B. Robinson	Republican	March 4, 1923 – March 3, 1933
Albert C. Willford	Democratic	March 4, 1933 – January 3, 1935
John W. Gwynne	Republican	January 3, 1935 – January 3, 1949
Harold R. Gross	Republican	January 3, 1949 – January 3, 1975
Chuck Grassley	Republican	January 3, 1975 – January 3, 1981
T. Cooper Evans	Republican	January 3, 1981 – January 3, 1987
David R. Nagle	Democratic	January 3, 1987 – January 3, 1993
Jim R. Lightfoot	Republican	January 3, 1993 – January 3, 1997		Redistricted from the 5th district
Leonard Boswell	Democratic	January 3, 1997 – Present		Incumbent

Historical Election Results

Year	Party Affiliation	Winner	Number of Votes	Party Affiliation	Loser	Number of Votes	Percentage of Votes
1920	Republican	Burton E. Sweet	67,859	Farmer-Labor	Roy Jacobs	1,974	97% - 3%
1922	Republican	Thomas J. B. Robinson	34,518	Democrat	Fred P. Hageman	24,304	58% - 41%
1924	Republican	Thomas J. B. Robinson	54,921	Democrat	Willis N. Birdsall	25,215	69% - 31%
1926	Republican	Thomas J. B. Robinson	32,180	Democrat	Ellis E. Wilson	13,696	70% - 30%
1928	Republican	Thomas J. B. Robinson	60,025	Democrat	Leo. F. Tierney	38,469	61% - 39%
1930	Republican	Thomas J. B. Robinson	27,098	Democrat	W. L. Beecher	15,908	63% - 37%
1932	Democrat	Albert C. Willford	48,939	Republican	Thomas J. B. Robinson	47,776	51% - 49%
1934	Republican	John W. Gwynne	42,063	Democrat	Albert C. Willford	35,159	51% - 43%
1936	Republican	John W. Gwynne	53,928	Democrat	Albert C. Willford	47,391	52% - 46%
1938	Republican	John W. Gwynne	45,541	Democrat	W. F. Hayes	30,158	60% - 40%
1940	Republican	John W. Gwynne	65,425	Democrat	Ernest J. Seemann	43,709	60% - 40%
1942	Republican	John W. Gwynne	54,124	Democrat	William D. Kearney	35,065	61% - 39%
1944	Republican	John W. Gwynne	74,901	Democrat	William D. Kearney	56,985	58% - 42%
1946	Republican	John W. Gwynne	48,346	Democrat	Dan J. P. Ryan	29,661	62% - 38%
1948	Republican	H. R. Gross	78,838	Democrat	Dan J. P. Ryan	56,002	58% - 41%
1950	Republican	H. R. Gross	73,490	Democrat	James O. Babcock	40,786	64% - 36%
1952	Republican	H. R. Gross	109,992	Democrat	George R. Laub	56,871	66% - 34%
1954	Republican	H. R. Gross	68,307	Democrat	George R. Laub	41,622	62% - 38%
1956	Republican	H. R. Gross	97,590	Democrat	Michael Micich	69,076	59% - 41%
1958	Republican	H. R. Gross	61,920	Democrat	Michael Micich	53,467	54% - 46%
1960	Republican	H. R. Gross	99,046	Democrat	Edward J. Gallagher, Jr.	76,837	56% - 44%
1962	Republican	H. R. Gross	66,337	Democrat	Neel F. Hill	50,580	57% - 43%
1964	Republican	H. R. Gross	83,455	Democrat	Stephen M. Peterson	83,036	50.1% - 49.9%
1966	Republican	H. R. Gross	79,343	Democrat	L. A. Pat Touchae	48,530	62% - 38%
1968	Republican	H. R. Gross	101,839	Democrat	John E. Van Eschen	57,164	64% - 36%
1970	Republican	H. R. Gross	66,087	Democrat	Lyle D. Taylor	45,958	59% - 41%
1972	Republican	H. R. Gross	109,113	Democrat	Lyle D. Taylor	86,848	56% - 44%
1974	Republican	Charles E. Grassley	77,468	Democrat	Stephen J. Rapp	74,859	51% - 49%
1976	Republican	Charles E. Grassley	117,957	Democrat	Stephen J. Rapp	90,981	56% - 44%
1978	Republican	Charles E. Grassley	103,659	Democrat	John Knudson	34,880	75% - 25%
1980	Republican	Cooper Evans	107,869	Democrat	Lynn G. Cutler	101,735	51% - 48%
1982	Republican	Cooper Evans	104,072	Democrat	Lynn G. Cutler	83,581	55% - 45%
1984	Republican	Cooper Evans	133,737	Democrat	Joe Johnston	86,574	61% - 39%
1986	Democrat	David R. Nagle	83,504	Republican	John McIntee	69,386	55% - 45%
1988	Democrat	David R. Nagle	129,204	Republican	Donald B. Redfern	74,682	63% - 37%
1990	Democrat	David R. Nagle	100,947	N/A	No Opponent	833	99% - 1%
1992	Republican	Jim Lightfoot	125,931	Democrat	Elaine Baxter	121,063	49% - 47%
1994	Republican	Jim Lightfoot	111,862	Democrat	Elaine Baxter	79,310	58% - 41%
1996	Democrat	Leonard L. Boswell	115,914	Republican	Mike Mahaffey	111,895	49% - 48%
1998	Democrat	Leonard L. Boswell	107,947	Republican	Larry McKibben	78,063	57% - 41%
2000	Democrat	Leonard L. Boswell	156,327	Republican	Jay Marcus	83,810	63% - 34%
2002	Democrat	Leonard L. Boswell	115,367	Republican	Stan Thompson	97,285	53% - 45%
2004	Democrat	Leonard L. Boswell	168,007	Republican	Stan Thompson	136,099	55% - 45%
2006	Democrat	Leonard L. Boswell	114,689	Republican	Jeff Lamberti	103,182	52% - 47%
2008	Democrat	Leonard L. Boswell	175,423	Republican	Kim Schmett	131,524	56% - 42%
2010	Democrat	Leonard L. Boswell	122,147	Republican	Brad Zaun	111,925	50% - 46%

Recent Election Results

2002

Iowa's 3rd Congressional District Election (2002)
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Democratic	Leonard Boswell*	115,367	53.41%
	Republican	Stan Thompson	97,285	45.04%
	Libertarian	Jeffrey J. Smith	2,689	1.25%
	Socialist Workers	Edwin B. Fruit	569	0.26%
	No party	Others	75	0.04%
Totals			215,985	100.00%
Voter turnout			%
	Democratic hold

2004

Iowa's 3rd Congressional District Election (2004)
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Democratic	Leonard Boswell*	168,007	55.21%
	Republican	Stan Thompson	136,009	44.72%
	No party	Others	213	0.07%
Totals			304,229	100.00%
Voter turnout			%
	Democratic hold

2006

Iowa's 3rd Congressional District Election (2006)
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Democratic	Leonard Boswell*	115,769	51.85%
	Republican	Jeff Lamberti	103,722	46.45%
	Socialist Workers	Helen Meyers	3,591	1.61%
	No party	Others	205	0.09%
Totals			223,287	100.00%
Voter turnout			%
	Democratic hold

2008

Iowa's 3rd Congressional District Election (2008)
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Democratic	Leonard Boswell*	176,904	56.31%
	Republican	Kim Schmett	132,136	42.06%
	Socialist Workers	Frank Forrestal	4,599	1.46%
	No party	Others	521	0.17%
Totals			314,160	100.00%
Voter turnout			%
	Democratic hold

2010

Iowa's 3rd Congressional District Election (2010)
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Democratic	Leonard Boswell*	122,147	50.73%
	Republican	Brad Zaun	111,925	46.49%
	Socialist Workers	Rebecca Williamson	6,258	2.60%
	No party	Others	426	0.18%
Totals			240,756	100.00%
Voter turnout			%
	Democratic hold

References

• Martis, Kenneth C. (1989). The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company. 
• Martis, Kenneth C. (1982). The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company. 
• Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present