WEST DES MOINES, Iowa — Former state Sen. Staci Appel has opened up a significant single-digit lead over her Republican opponent in a competitive open-seat race in Iowa, according to a tracking poll conducted for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and obtained by CQ Roll Call.  

Appel led former Capitol Hill aide David Young, 49 percent to 42 percent, according to the Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research poll. Nine percent of respondents were undecided. The poll showed Appel increasing her lead from the DCCC’s last poll on Sept. 15, when Appel led Young 47 percent to 44 percent.  The new poll surveyed 400 likely voters on Oct. 1 and 2, and had a 4.9-point margin of error.  

Republican Rep. Tom Latham’s retirement from the 3rd District provided Democrats with a prime opportunity to add a seat, even in an unfavorable national climate.  

Appel, along with the DCCC and Democrat-aligned House Majority PAC, is outspending Young and Republicans on the airwaves. The candidate has focused her message on education, charging that Young would close the Department of Education.
“I’m a mom of six, and making sure our kids have the tools to compete for the 21st century jobs, that’s extremely important,” Appel told CQ Roll Call in the district on Oct. 4. She attended a walk that was raising money for mental health awareness at the Iowa Farm Bureau on the cold Saturday morning.  

Young, a former chief of staff to GOP Sen. Charles E. Grassley, recently ended a four-day tour of the district with the senator in tow, hoping to drum up goodwill for his bid.  

The race is currently rated a Tossup  by the Rothenberg Political Report/Roll Call.  

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