Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:40 a.m. CST

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa voters have reelected Republican U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst to a second term after a heated race in which she portrayed herself as a conservative who was willing to work with Democrats. Ernst beat Democrat Theresa Greenfield, a Des Moines real estate developer. Ernst argued that she had been true to her deeply conservative beliefs as both a state legislator and U.S. senator. She said she had been able to work with Democrats on issues such as veterans health care and child care, though she also served in Republican leadership and has been an ardent supporter of President Donald Trump.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — President Donald Trump and Sen. Joni Ernst have held off challenges in Iowa, which had been considered a swing state after voters chose Democrat Barack Obama twice but swung to favor Trump four years ago. The Republican president and Democrat Joe Biden held events in Iowa in the days leading up to Tuesday’s election indicating what had appeared to be a tight race. Ernst had breezed to an easy win in 2014. She won again but by a narrower margin against Democrat Theresa Greenfield, who heads a Des Moines property development company.

UNDATED (AP) — The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 is reaching record highs in several U.S. states, as Americans vote for their next president under the shadow of a resurging pandemic. While daily infections are rising in all but three states, the surge is most pronounced in the Midwest and Southwest. Missouri, Oklahoma, Iowa, Indiana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Colorado and New Mexico reported record hospitalizations this week. Nebraska’s largest hospitals started limiting elective surgeries and looked to bring in nurses from other states. Officials in Iowa and Missouri warned bed capacity could soon be overwhelmed. The resurgence loomed over candidates and voters, fearful about both the virus and its economic toll.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa’s rate of positive coronavirus cases moved up to second in the nation behind only South Dakota. Data from researchers at Johns Hopkins University on Tuesday showed the seven-day rolling average of the positivity rate in Iowa has risen over the past two weeks from 25.5% on Oct. 19 to 37.4% on Nov. 2. Only South Dakota has a higher average rate, at 50.6%. The 730 people being treated Tuesday at Iowa hospitals for coronavirus infections also was a record. The state posted 1,516 new confirmed cases and 22 deaths, bringing the total to 133,229 cases and 1,755 deaths. Gov. Kim Reynolds on Tuesday announced she would spent an extra $28 million on relief to hospitals and county health departments that are struggling amid increased coronavirus cases.