Lang/Hunter
11/8-9/22
As expected, Republicans had a huge night in state and local elections.
Incumbent Republican Kim Reynolds trounced Democrat Deidre DeJear to earn four more years as Governor.
Republican Senator Charles Grassley has been reelected to another six-year term after the 89-year-old defeated Democrat Michael Franken 56 to 43%.
Congressional races saw three Republican reelections, with Mariannette Miller Meeks taking District 2 over Christina Bohannon with 53 percent of the vote, and Ashley Hinson winning another term in District 1 over Liz Mathis with 54 percent of the vote. The only Democrat representing Iowa in the House, Cindy Axne, lost by just 2067 votes to Republican challenger Zach Nunn. District 4 wasn’t even close, with Randy Feenstra overwhelmingly reelected over his challenger by a 2 to 1 margin.
Other state offices saw Paul Pate win reelection to Secretary of State, Rob Sand narrowly holding onto his position as State Auditor by 3000 votes with two counties yet to report, Roby Smith won the State Treasurer’s race over longtime Democrat officeholder Michael Fitzgerald, Mike Naig was reelected as Secretary of Agriculture, and longtime state Attorney General Tom Miller was defeated by Brenna Bird by about 20,000 votes.
Johnson and Linn County voted overwhelmingly Democratic in all statewide races.
The Johnson County Board of Supervisors race saw a Democratic sweep, with incumbent Jon Green and newcomer V Fixmer-Oraiz taking the open seats.
Local contested state senate races saw Democrat Janice Weiner win in a landslide with 82% of the vote in District 45 and Republican Dawn Driscoll defeat Democrat Kevin Kinney in District 46 with 54%.
Iowa House contests included Democrat Amy Nielsen winning in District 85 with 64% of the vote, Democrat Elinor Levin earning a victory in District 89 with 82%, Republican Brad Sherman taking District 91 with 58%, and Republican heather Hora winning District 92 with 60%..
Iowa voters overwhelmingly passed the constitutional amendment on the ballot that adds the right to bear arms by a 2 to 1 margin. Johnson County voters took the exact opposite position.
Statewide, nearly 55 % of registered voters went to the polls for the midterms. Linn County had a slightly higher 58 percent turnout, while Johnson County had a 70 percent turnout rate.
A full tally of local results can be found on the Johnson County Auditor’s web site at johnsoncountyiowa.gov. Statewide results can be found at sos.iowa.gov.