Iowa’s Miller-Meeks seeks reelection in a district where she neither lives nor votes

U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, a Republican seeking a fourth term in Congress, is registered to vote in Wapello County, outside the Iowa 1st Congressional District she represents, according to a Scott County elections official.

Scott County elections manager James Martin confirmed the registration status to Heartland Signal on Monday. “Mariannette Miller-Meeks is not currently registered in Scott County,” he said. “She is registered in Wapello County. You would need to contact them for further information.”

Miller-Meeks did not respond to Heartland Signal’s request for comment.

The registration change revives questions about the congresswoman’s residency that have followed her since Iowa redrew its congressional districts in 2021. Although the U.S. Constitution requires House members to live in the state they represent, it does not require them to reside in their specific district.

Miller-Meeks returned her voter registration to her longtime Ottumwa property in 2025, her campaign confirmed to the Quad-City Times. She said she moved back to be with her husband. Her campaign also said she remained committed to representing the 1st District, citing more than 280 events across its 20 counties in 2025.

The controversy began after redistricting changed the district boundaries ahead of the 2022 election. Miller-Meeks had represented the 2nd District during her first term, with her home in Ottumwa. The new map placed most of the former 2nd District in the 1st, while moving Wapello County, where Ottumwa is located, into the 3rd District.

Iowa redraws congressional boundaries after each decennial census to account for population changes. The 2021 map took effect for the 2022 elections, and the current map places Ottumwa in the 3rd District.

Miller-Meeks subsequently registered to vote at the LeClaire home, within the 1st District, of then-state Sen. Chris Cournoyer, a friend and political colleague. Iowa Starting Line reported in December 2022 that the address was a three-bedroom house shared by Cournoyer and the congresswoman’s family. Miller-Meeks’ office confirmed the property was one of her residences.

In 2024, she changed her registration to a Davenport apartment partially owned by David Barker, a prominent Republican donor, The Gazette reported. A LeClaire resident also filed a complaint with the Office of Congressional Ethics questioning whether Miller-Meeks lived in the district she represented, according to the Cedar Rapids newspaper.

Sandy Dockendorff, chair of the Iowa 1st Congressional District Democrats, questioned whether Miller-Meeks’ residency outside the district undermines her ability to represent its constituents.

“If voters can’t trust her to meet this basic expectation, why should they trust her to get anything else right?” she said. “She isn’t contributing to the local economy or experiencing the same economic challenges as the people who live here. So what is she basing her votes on?”

Living outside a district is not illegal for a member of Congress, but repeated changes in voter registration and addresses connected to political allies and donors can raise questions about transparency and whether a representative maintains meaningful ties to the constituents she serves.

The residency issue comes as Miller-Meeks faces Democrat Christina Bohannan in a rematch of their closely contested 2024 race. Miller-Meeks won that election by 799 votes. Her decision to live and register outside the district could become a political liability in a contest where even a small shift in voter support could matter. By registering outside the 1st District, Miller-Meeks is also giving up her own vote in the very race she is trying to win. The contest faces further uncertainty in 2026, as the Congressional Leadership Fund canceled planned advertising spending in Iowa’s 1st District in October, as reported by the Associated Press.

Miller-Meeks has faced other scrutiny, including a campaign payment of $3,500 to her son for consulting that was later returned and a widely criticized remark that she would hold a town hall “when hell freezes over.” She later held a town hall in November 2025.

Although Miller-Meeks cannot vote for herself in the 1st District, she can cast a ballot in Iowa’s 3rd District race between Republican incumbent Zach Nunn and Democrat Sarah Trone Garriott.