18 races to follow for the 2018 midterms

5. Iowa’s 1st District

Candidates: Republican incumbent Rod Blum vs. Democratic challenger Abby Finkenauer

Iowa is bound to garner at least a few front-page political stories in every recent election cycle. The results of Iowa’s caucuses (the state’s version of a primary) and more general elections is often take as signs of larger trends within the national political system. The 1st District of the state voted for Barack Obama in both the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections, but then went for Donald Trump in 2016. That’s at least partially why the results of its 1st District election, along with a few more, could be especially interesting.

Right now, the race is between Republican Representative Rod Blum and Democratic State Representative Abby Finkenauer. Blum is pretty darn conservative, standing as a member of the House Freedom Caucus and a two-term representative. He’s generally fallen in line with the president’s policies, which seemed to help him run unopposed in his party’s primary.

Meanwhile, Finkenauer had to defeat two other Democrats in her own primary election, though she managed to secure the nomination by a comfortably wide margin. Where Blum is leaning on his conservative cred, Finkenauer is going in the opposite direction. She’s garnered endorsements from liberal-friendly groups like NARAL Pro-Choice America and EMILY’s List. She’s also gained former Vice President Joe Biden’s endorsement. Blum, meanwhile, got the thumbs-up from current Vice President Mike Pence.

So, will a win by Blum occur, and thus spell out a fizzled “blue wave” of Democratic losers? Or, will Finkenauer win, thereby predicting a more successful “pink wave” female candidates, many of whom are running as Democrats? Perhaps the whole matter of using Iowa as a national fortune teller is a bit much, but this will turn out to be an interesting election nonetheless.

Campaign website for Rod Blum: https://rodblum.com/
Campaign website for Abby Finkenauer: https://www.abbyfinkenauer.com/