DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – David Young, a longtime aide to U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley, has been elected in Iowa’s 3rd district. Voters on Tuesday elected Young, a Republican, over Democrat Staci Appel, a former state legislator.

Young took an unusual path to his House victory. He first was a candidate for U.S. Senate but switched to the 3rd district race when incumbent Republican Rep. Tom Latham announced he’d retire. Young finished fifth in the primary, but won the nomination at a special convention.

In the campaign, Young fended off arguments by Appel that after working for two decades in Washington, he was more beholden to lobbyists and big donors than to Iowans. Young responded that his Washington experience meant he could be effective on his first day in the Capitol.