Former Capitol Hill aide David Young won the Republican nomination in Iowa’s 3rd District on Saturday, overcoming five other Republican opponents in an hourslong nominating convention .  

Young defeated state Sen. Brad Zaun, 276 votes to 221 votes, in the fifth round of balloting among hundreds of local delegations, according to the Republican Party of Iowa. Young now moves on to face the Democratic nominee, former state Sen. Staci Appel, in November.  

Young’s win comes as a relief to Republicans, who hoped the nominating convention would turn out a candidate other than Zaun.  

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Zaun came in first in the June 3 primary with 25 percent , missing the 35 percent threshold to avoid a convention and giving Republicans a second chance to nominate one of the other candidates. Privately, Republicans had called Zaun their 
least favored outcome
of the nominating convention, citing personal problems that
wouldn’t play well
against a female candidate Young’s win comes as a shock to Republicans, as he came in fifth out of six Republicans in the  primary.  

The 3rd District, with a population center in Des Moines, is open this cycle because GOP Rep. Tom Latham is retiring. It’s highly competitive, and President Barack Obama carried the district by a 4-point margin last cycle. Iowa’s 3rd District is rated a Tossup by the Rothenberg Political Report/Roll Call.