State Rep. Jennifer Konfrst announced on Monday she is dropping out of the race in Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District. Konfrst, who represents Windsor Heights in the Iowa House, launched her campaign for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. House seat currently held by two-term Republican Rep. Zach Nunn in May last year.
“I’m deeply proud of the campaign we’ve run, but I no longer believe it’s in the best interest of Iowans for me to stay in this race,” Konfrst said in a statement. “I’m looking forward to serving in the Iowa legislature and working with my constituents.”
At the conclusion of her statement on Monday, Konfrst endorsed state Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott “as our candidate to flip this Congressional seat in the general election and defeat Zach Nunn.”
Trone Garriott announced her run in IA-03 three days before Konfrst declared hers. Trone Garriot, a Democrat from West Des Moines, is a Lutheran minister and is part of the leadership team at the Des Moines Area Religious Council, which operates a network of food pantries and provides other services to help meet people’s basic needs. In 2020, she won her first term in Iowa Senate by defeating the Republican mayor of Clive for a seat left open after the Republican incumbent decided to retire. In 2022, after the redistricting that followed the 2020 Census results, Trone Garriott ran for reelection against fellow incumbent Jake Chapman, a Republican who had been in the Iowa Senate for 18 years and was serving as Senate president. Trone Garriott defeated Chapman by 3 percentage points in what became the most expensive race for the Iowa Legislature that year.
“I’m deeply grateful to Jennifer Konfrst for her leadership and for the work she’s done for Iowa families,” Trone Garriott said in a statement paying tribute to Konfrst and thanking her for the endorsement. “In a time when politics can feel loud and chaotic, Jennifer has stayed focused on what matters: protecting our public schools, doing right by Iowans, and standing up for our values. Our party is stronger because of her, and I’m thankful for her service.”
Trone Garriott added that Konfrst “has made me a better candidate.”
Konfrst is in her third term in the Iowa House, and has been one of most the prominent Democratic voices in that chamber. She served as House Minority Leader until May, when she stepped down at the beginning of her run for Congress.
In her statement on Monday, Konfrst said “my primary mission has been to bring some balance back to our state.”
“President Trump, enabled by Republican Congressman Zach Nunn, has unleashed an armed mob on American citizens, increased prices for groceries and utilities and engaged in unprecedented levels of corruption,” Konfrst continued. “We must elect Democrats to the House and Senate in November to stop the chaos, fear and economic destruction — and this work begins in Iowa. I will be in this fight with you to elect Democrats, here at home in Polk County and across the state.”
There is another Democrat running in IA-03. Xavier Carrigan launched his campaign in August. He “works in change enablement, internal communications, and creative production,” according to his campaign site. On the site, Carrigan says he is not a politician and has no interest in becoming one. In 2020, Carrigan ran unsuccessfully in a Democratic congressional primary in his home state of Ohio. He moved to Iowa in 2023, and now lives in Waukee. Carrigan’s candidacy is not expected to have any impact on the primary race in the district.
Konfrst was not the only congressional candidate to end her campaign on Monday.
Peosta Republican Rep. Shannon Lundgren, who is in her fifth term in the Iowa House, announced she was dropping her bid for the Republican nomination in Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District, which has an open seat because incumbent Ashley Hinson is seeking the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate.
“After careful consideration and discussion with my family, I have made the difficult but clear decision to suspend my campaign for Congress,” Lundgren said in a statement. “Serving the people of Dubuque County in the Iowa House has been the honor of my lifetime. I remain deeply committed to fighting for Iowa values — strong families, small businesses, fiscal responsibility, and putting Iowa first — at the state level where I can continue delivering real results for our communities right here at home.”
Lundgren, who was first elected to represent Peosta in 2016, was the fourth Republican to join the race in IA-02. She has been one of most anti-abortion members in the Iowa House during her tenure. In January 2017, her first month in the legislature, Lundgren was the House floor manager for a so-called “fetal heartbeat” abortion ban, but it failed to advance to floor vote. The next year, Lundgren was the floor manager for another version of the bill, which passed and was signed into law by Gov. Terry Branstad. That law was struck down by the courts.
In 2023, Lundgren was again the House floor manager for a bill establishing a ban on almost all abortions after cardiac activity can be detected in an embryo by an ultrasound probe. (Activity can generally be detected six weeks into a pregnancy, before an embryo is considered a fetus and before a heart has formed.) Again, it passed with just Republican votes and was signed into law by Gov. Reynolds. That law currently remains in effect.
In sharp contrast to her statement and video announcing her campaign in September, there was only one passing reference to President Trump in Lundgren’s statement on Monday. At the top of her statement, Lundgren is identified as “an America First Wife, Mom and Grandma, Original Trump Supporter.” In her campaign announcement in September, Lundgren began her statement on social media by declaring, “I’m ready to fight for you, Iowa, and our country. President Trump needs a strong ally to enact his America First agenda, and I have been a loyal supporter of his since 2015.” Approximately half of her almost 90-second announcement video focused on praising President Trump and declaring her loyalty to him.
Lundgren did not endorse either state Sen. Charlie McClintock or Joe Mitchell, the other Republicans running for the nomination in IA-02.
