The Cedar Rapids Gazette | By Maya Marchel Hoff

PELLA — Democrat Christina Bohannan said she believes making substantial reforms to federal health care programs would be one of the most impactful ways to support struggling rural communities in the state, as she makes her third attempt to represent Iowa’s 1st Congressional District.

During an event in Pella on Sunday, Bohannan emphasized the importance of restoring funding reductions to Medicaid included in a federal budget reconciliation bill enacted last year. She also said the extension of expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies is needed, and called for allowing Americans to buy into Medicare at any age and including dental, hearing and vision coverage.

“I think any American should be able to buy into Medicare at any age. Now, I’m not talking about socialism,” Bohannan said. “We’re not saying that we’re just going to hand out everything for free. It allows people who already like their health care to keep it. If they like their insurance, if they like their employer-provided health care, great, you can keep that.

“But it does allow people to buy into Medicare, which is very good health care, and it means that you’re not beholden to a particular employer or something like that for your health care,” she continued.

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Iowa’s 1st Congressional District contains the cities of Davenport, Iowa City, Burlington, and Indianola. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks faces a rematch against Christina Bohannan, who came within 0.2% of defeating the incumbent in 2024. Bohannan lost by just 799 votes out of 413,000 and outperformed the top of the ticket by over 8 points – more than any other Red-to-Blue candidate in the country. National forecasters, including the Cook Political Report, universally rate this district as a Toss-Up for 2026. With Rep. Miller-Meeks showing historic weakness at just 31% favorability and facing growing opposition even within her own party, Bohannan has the best opportunity to flip a Republican seat in the country.