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By Anna Skinner
Associate News Editor
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Democrat Eric Armstrong won the race for Iowa House District 20 within the state legislature this week, despite having ended his campaign in early September for health reasons.
Armstrong, who was running to fill Democrat Josh Turek’s open statehouse seat since Turek ran for Iowa’s U.S. Senate seat, won the election against his Republican opponent Keith Jones with 55.2 percent of the vote compared to Jones’ 44.8 percent. That, despite Armstrong ending his campaign several weeks ago.
Iowa state law requires candidates to withdraw prior to 81 days before the general election, which would have fallen in mid-August this year. Armstrong still appeared on the ballot since his decision fell too close to Election Day to remove his name.
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Despite dropping out, Armstrong still won by 865 votes. In 2024, Turek won the seat by 561 votes. While voters within House District 20 lean Democrat, having voted for Kamala Harris in 2024, the district falls within Pottawattamie County in southwestern Iowa, which President Donald Trump won by 20 points in the 2024 election, with 59 percent of the vote to Harris’ 39 percent.
"This result just speaks to the Democratic wave. Even democratic candidates who were not campaigning won," Vanderbilt University professor of political science John Geer told Newsweek on Thursday.
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Armstrong’s win comes amid overwhelming Democrat success during this year’s midterm elections. Democrats flipped control of the U.S. House and U.S. Senate, as well as several gubernatorial seats, including in Texas and Ohio, and several state races as well. One of the flipped Senate seats was the one that Turek won against his Republican opponent Ashley Hinson.
Armstrong told the New York Times he would do his best to fill the role but was still struggling with health issues.
If Armstrong is unable to serve in the role, a special election would then be held to fill the seat. Since he was on the ballot, he can't decline the seat the same way a write-in winner could, an Iowa Secretary of State spokesperson told Newsweek on Thursday. If he decided he didn't want the seat, he would "fail to qualify" by not taking the oath, which would then trigger a vacancy on January 2.
Even if Armstrong had to miss some of the votes at the statehouse come next year, University of Iowa professor and expert on Iowa politics Timothy Hagle told Newsweek it “won’t be a major concern.”
“Iowa has a part-time legislature that meets from January to May or so,” Hagle said. “If he had to miss some time it probably won't be a major concern given that Turek missed a lot of votes this year (as Republicans repeatedly pointed out).”
Turek was accused of missing 58 percent of Iowa Statehouse votes this year because of his campaigning efforts for the U.S. Senate seat. He was absent for 261 out of 445 votes between January and April.
Newsweek reached out to Armstrong’s and Jones’ campaigns by email for comment on Thursday morning.
Why Did Eric Armstrong Withdraw?
On September 7, Armstrong’s campaign posted a status to his Facebook page alerting voters that he was dropping out of the race.
“Running a successful campaign requires immense physical and mental energy. Recently, I have been facing some personal health issues that require my full attention and immediate care,” Armstrong said in the post.
“Because I must prioritize my health and recovery at this time, I am stepping down from my campaign, effective immediately. This was a deeply difficult choice. However, I know it is the right one.”
He added: “Our District deserves a representative who can give 100 percent of their energy to this race. Right now, I must focus on healing so that I can continue to serve our community in other ways in the future.”
His campaign hasn’t posted anything since.
What Has His Opponent Keith Jones Said?
Jones has not spoken publicly about the fact that Armstrong withdrew and still won. On Wednesday morning, he thanked those who supported his campaign in a post on Facebook.
“Thank you to everyone who supported my campaign for the Iowa House,” the post said. May God richly bless your family, Iowa and all of the USA!”
What Happens Next
Armstrong will assume his statehouse role come January when he is sworn in. It remains to be seen if he will resign, triggering a special election.
Contact Newsweek editor on this story: Edward Pearcey.
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