Democrat Rita Hart on Wednesday announced she would no longer contest the results of her race against Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks, calling off a House investigation into the election that she had requested.
Hart said in a statement Wednesday that she had asked the House Administration Committee to discontinue its investigation after discussions with people regarding the future of the probe.
“Since Election Day, and throughout this entire process, my mission has been about ensuring the voices of Iowans who followed the law are not silenced,” she wrote. “I am saddened that some Iowans’ votes will not count through no fault of their own. The work of ensuring it does not happen again will continue beyond this campaign.”
Running to represent the people of #IA02 in the U.S. House of Representatives has been one of the greatest honors of my life. I could not have done it without all of you. Read my statement from today here: pic.twitter.com/ustS72pWsq
— Rita Hart (@RitaHartIA) March 31, 2021
A recount in November named Miller-Meeks the winner, by six votes out of 400,000 votes cast. Though Miller-Meeks is serving as the district’s representative, Hart had requested that the House overturn the result, alleging that 22 legally cast ballots were not counted during the initial November canvass and subsequent recount.