Lanon Baccam, a military veteran and former U.S. Department of Agriculture official, won the Democratic nomination in Iowa’s 3rd U.S. House District on Tuesday.

Baccam will face Republican U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn in November, in a race for the south-central seat that is expected to again be closely contested and watched nationally by both sides of the aisle.

The Associated Press called the race for Baccam over nonprofit leader and small business owner Melissa Vine just 20 minutes after polls closed across Iowa.

Baccam, who joined the Iowa National Guard at 17 and later deployed to Afghanistan, has worked on several Iowa-based Democratic campaigns, including President Joe Biden’s in 2020, and worked at the USDA under former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack.

He is a Mount Pleasant native and the son of Tai Dam refugees who emigrated to the U.S. from Laos and lives in Des Moines with his wife and daughter.

Baccam immediately emerged as the favored candidate by many elected Democrats in Iowa, endorsed by Vilsack as well as State Auditor Rob Sand and a slate of members in the Iowa House and Senate.

He later received the backing of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee — House Democrats’ campaign arm — and the group placed the district among its “Red to Blue” list of high-priority seats this November.

He opted to keep a relatively low profile throughout the primary cycle, largely ignoring his opponent while holding meet-and-greets with supporters and groups across the district. His campaign held few publicly announced events open to the public and press.

Vine, who positioned herself as an outsider running to bring a single mother’s perspective to Congress, failed to keep up with Baccam’s fundraising and party support, while also facing an ethics complaint that resulted in a $500 fine.

Meanwhile, Baccam’s campaign posted prolific fundraising numbers — more than $900,000 in the early months of 2024, the most of any Iowa congressional candidate and more than Nunn. He will head into the general election already well-financed, with more money expected to pour into the district in the coming months from both Democrats and Republicans.

Nunn, an Air Force officer who lives in Bondurant with his wife and six children, is seeking his second term. He defeated former U.S. Rep. Cindy Axne, a Democrat, by just over 2,000 votes in 2022.

House Republicans’ campaign arm, in a statement Tuesday, criticized Baccam while reiterating support for Nunn in the coming general election.

“Lanon Baccam is a paid political activist who has been making a desperate attempt to run from his political past, hide his extreme stances and lie to the voters of Iowa,” said Mike Marinella, spokesperson for the National Republican Congressional Committee.

“National Democrats had to shuffle through every conceivable Iowa Democrat before they landed with this hyper-partisan extremist. Rep. Zach Nunn will have a resounding victory this November and continue delivering meaningful results for Iowans.”

The nonpartisan Cook Political Report has Iowa’s 3rd U.S. House District rated as a “lean Republican” seat heading into the summer.

This story will be updated.

Galen Bacharier covers the Statehouse & politics for the Register. Reach him at gbacharier@registermedia.com or (573) 219-7440, and follow him on Twitter @galenbacharier.