2026 forecast · Iowa 4th

Chris McGowan is all but certain to win Iowa's 4th District.

Dave Dawson vs Chris McGowan, an open seat. The model has McGowan ahead by 21.9 points, winning 100 percent of 2,000 simulated elections.

Safe RModel R +21.9Updated October 22, 2026
Dave Dawson
Democrat
39.0%
133,560 projected votes
Chris McGowan
Republican
61.0%
208,471 projected votes
100%McGowan
0%Dawson
McGowan all but certainEach square is one simulated election night, McGowan wins about 100 of 100
RatingSafe R100% chance for McGowan
Model marginR +21.9No polls in the race
80 percent rangeR +12.6 to R +31.22,000 simulations
Projected votes342,031McGowan 61.0%

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

Dave DawsonDemocrat · 0% to win
39.0%
Chris McGowanRepublican · 100% to win
61.0%

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

342,031 votes
CandidateVotesShare
Chris McGowan R208,47161.0%
Dave Dawson D133,56039.0%
Total342,031100%

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%0% Dawson100% McGowan15 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 averageNo polls

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
McGowan +21.9
Chance of winning
Dave Dawson0%
Chris McGowan100%
Simulated vote
Dave Dawson39.0%
Chris McGowan61.0%
How the model gets there
Partisan leanD +31.0
FundamentalsR +21.6
With pollsR +20.9
Early vote turnoutR +1.0
With early voteR +21.9

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 +37R +37Partisan leanthe state's baselineD +31.0Fundamentalsapproval, economy, candidatesR +21.6With pollsno pollsR +20.9With early voteturnout so farR +21.9
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.