WASHINGTON, DC - Iowa U.S. Senators' Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst are supporting election results showing Mariannette Miller-Meeks won the 2nd Congressional district.
The two Republicans released a joint statement, saying Democrat Rita Hart's decision to appeal the election to "Washington partisans" is an insult to Iowa voters and the nonpartisan election process.
Hart says she'll ask the Democratically controlled U.S. House to decide who won the race which had a six-vote margin.
The Hart campaign chose not to pursue a legal challenge in state courts, saying the tight deadline would not allow enough time to accurately count votes.
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds and Secretary of State Paul Pate both also released separate statements calling for the election results to stand.
Hart is filing a petition with the U.S. House Committee on Administration under the Federal Contested Elections Act, which allows candidates for the House to contest the results of elections.
Read the joint statement for Senator's Grassley and Ernst below:
“Both the original vote count and recount confirmed Mariannette Miller-Meeks won her election. There are legal avenues through which candidates can litigate election disputes if they believe there are specific election irregularities. Rita Hart declined to take legitimate legal action in Iowa courts and instead chose to appeal to Washington partisans who should have no say in who represents Iowans. That’s an insult to Iowa voters and our nonpartisan election process. We are confident in the fairness and accuracy of Iowa’s election system.”