2026 forecast · Iowa 3rd

Sarah Trone Garriott is favored to win Iowa's 3rd District.

Sarah Trone Garriott vs Zach Nunn. The model has Garriott ahead by 5.4 points, winning 82 percent of 2,000 simulated elections.

Lean DModel D +5.4Polls R +0.0Updated October 22, 2026
Sarah Trone Garriott
Democrat
52.7%
181,452 projected votes
Zach Nunn
Republican
47.3%
162,804 projected votes
82%Garriott
18%Nunn
Garriott favoredEach square is one simulated election night, Garriott wins about 82 of 100
RatingLean D82% chance for Garriott
Model marginD +5.4Polls R +0.0
80 percent rangeD +13.2 to R +2.62,000 simulations
Projected votes344,256Garriott 52.7%

The district map

Every district in the state, shaded by its rating

Iowa districts

4 districts
Safe DLikely DLean DToss upLean RLikely RSafe R

Vote share

Each candidate's projected share and the range of 80 percent of simulations

Sarah Trone GarriottDemocrat · 82% to win
52.7%
Zach NunnRepublican · 18% to win
47.3%

Scale runs from 25 to 75 percent. The dot is the forecast, the band is the 80 percent range and the brighter tick marks 50 percent.

Projected district vote

344,256 votes
CandidateVotesShare
Sarah Trone Garriott D181,45252.7%
Zach Nunn R162,80447.3%
Total344,256100%

Each candidate's expected vote in the On Point simulation, at the forecast's projected turnout.

The trend

Each side's chance of winning over the forecast's recent updates

0%25%50%75%100%82% Garriott18% Nunn14 updates agoToday

Polling

Every poll in the average, and how the model reads it

The Iowa governor polling average
38%40%42%44%46%48%50%52%54%56%58%JulAugSepOct51.6Sand45.0Lahn
The line is the On Point average: a robust LOWESS fit through the polls, weighted by recency, sample, voter screen and pollster grade, refit three times so outliers count for lessDot size is each poll's weight todayHover or use the arrow keys to read any day
What moves the average today
Fox News/Beacon Research and Shaw & CompanySep 28 · 1,008 LV · A++17%Sand +9.0
Emerson College/Nexstar MediaOct 6 · 650 LV · Gold15%Sand +4.0
On Point PollingOct 21 · 491 LV · Gold15%Sand +4.7
New York Times/SienaOct 1 · 606 LV · Gold11%Sand +11.0
New York Times/SienaSep 30 · 600 LV · Gold7.8%Sand +11.0
Suffolk UniversityOct 4 · 500 LV · B+6.4%Sand +12.0
Every other poll together: 28%

This is the same On Point polling average as the full average page. The forecast reads the polls through its own Election Day projection, shown as the On Point average in the table below, and blends it with partisan lean and fundamentals.

Polls of the race

Full average
PollsterSampleAgeMargin
On Point averageWeighted averageR +0.0

Each margin is the poll as the pollster published it. The forecast counts every poll after its house effect and the undecided split, which is what the trail above shows; hover a margin for the counted value. Lean R and Lean D mark partisan leaning firms.

Model margin
Garriott +5.4
Chance of winning
Sarah Trone Garriott82%
Zach Nunn18%
Simulated vote
Sarah Trone Garriott52.7%
Zach Nunn47.3%
How the model gets there
Partisan leanD +4.0
FundamentalsD +5.8
With pollsD +6.5
Early vote turnoutR +1.1
With early voteD +5.4

Read from 0 ballots cast so far in Iowa, against the party mix the forecast expected of them, with similar states and primary turnout. Early vote tracker

How we got here

From the state's partisan lean to the forecast, one stage at a time

D +10R +10Partisan leanthe state's baselineD +4.0Fundamentalsapproval, economy, candidatesD +5.8With pollsaverage R +0.0D +6.5With early voteturnout so farD +5.4
Methodology
Every county is rebuilt by simulating voters going to the polls, 2,000 times, from On Point Polling survey data, past results, and the polling average. How the model works.