Defeated Iowa Democrat drops challenge to House seat she lost to Republican by 6 votes

WASHINGTON (AP) — A defeated Democrat has abruptly dropped her bid to overturn her six-vote loss for a House seat from Iowa, abandoning what loomed as a long legal and political battle in the face of shaky support from her own party. In a three-paragraph statement Wednesday, Rita Hart blamed a “toxic campaign of political disinformation” that she said had “effectively silenced the voices of Iowans.” But she also congratulated Rep. Marianette Miller-Meeks, the Republican who won the November election and was seated when the new Congress took office in January, even as Hart’s appeal proceeded. Miller-Meeks’ victory was certified by a bipartisan board of Iowa officials after a recount.