Jim Nussle Republican Bruce Braley Democratic Regarded as one of the more hotly contested races in the nation, Republican nominee Mike Whalen of Bettendorf, the operator of the Heart of America Restaurants and Inns (HOARI) chain, took on Democratic candidate Bruce Braley, an attorney from Waterloo.

Following an election that was peppered with negative attack ads from both sides, Braley defeated Whalen by a solid margin.

[5] However, Dave Loebsack of Mount Vernon, a political science professor at Cornell College, received write-in votes in the June 6 primary to become the Democratic nominee.

The campaign eventually heated up,[7] as Loebsack was hoping to ride what he viewed as voter discontent with the Bush administration.

Boswell ultimately took advantage of the strong Democratic wave sweeping across the country and defeated Lamberti to win a sixth term.

expected the race to be a tough one, Latham defeated Spencer by a solid margin to win a seventh term.