US Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, a Republican, has changed her voter registration three times since Iowa redrew its congressional map, and she is now registered at her home in Ottumwa, outside of the 1st Congressional District, which she represents.
The US Constitution requires House members to live in the state they represent, not the district. Miller-Meeks’ longtime home in Ottumwa landed in the 3rd District after the 2020 census. Ahead of the 2022 election, she said she would find a residence in the 1st District, where she was running. Here’s how that has gone:
Miller-Meeks’ various addresses
In October 2022, she registered to vote at the Le Claire home of then-state Sen. Chris Cournoyer, now Iowa’s lieutenant governor, Iowa Starting Line first reported. Before the 2024 primary, she switched to a Davenport apartment in a complex partially owned by Iowa Board of Regents member David Barker, a campaign donor. Her campaign said she chose it for easy access to Interstate 74 and her Davenport office.
A Le Claire voter filed an ethics complaint in 2024 alleging Miller-Meeks still lived primarily in Ottumwa. Her campaign called it “frivolous.” A separate challenge to her Davenport ballot was dismissed.
In July 2025, she moved her registration back to Ottumwa. Her campaign said she did so “to be by her husband’s side” and noted that she has lived in southeast Iowa for almost 40 years.
In Washington, Miller-Meeks also rented a Capitol Hill basement apartment from two registered lobbyists, using as much as $26,000 from her taxpayer-funded office budget. Their firm was paid about $1.8 million to lobby for PhRMA, the drug industry’s trade group. Her campaign said she paid fair market rent in accordance with House ethics rules, and the lease has since ended.
Her reelection battle
The residency questions come as the race tightens. Cook Political Report moved the 1st District from “toss-up” to “leans Democratic” on Oct. 9, following a similar shift by Sabato’s Crystal Ball on Sept. 22. Days later, the Congressional Leadership Fund, the House GOP’s leading super PAC, canceled planned ad spending in the district and redirected the money to Iowa’s 2nd and 3rd districts, an official told the Quad-City Times. Miller-Meeks’ campaign said she “has the resources to win.” She won the 2024 rematch by 799 votes.
Miller-Meeks faces Democrat Christina Bohannan again on Nov. 3. Because her registration is in Wapello County, she will cast her own ballot in the 3rd District race rather than the 1st District contest where she is on the ballot.
For more on this race, check out Iowa Starting Line side-by-side look at the two candidates’ records.
