Iowa Democrat Eric Armstrong wins state House race despite dropping out in September

Retired railroad executive Eric Armstrong won Iowa’s 20th House District race despite withdrawing his campaign in September, citing personal health issues. His victory matters as Democrats made gains across Iowa, though Republicans retained control of both chambers of the state legislature.

The Associated Press projected Armstrong would beat Republican Keith Jones by about nine percentage points. Armstrong said he would do his best to represent his constituents, while acknowledging he was still dealing with health issues. He would succeed Democrat Josh Turek, who won a US Senate seat; Democrats also captured three of Iowa’s four US House seats and the governorship.