Democrat Rob Sand has been elected Iowa’s state auditor, beating incumbent Republican Mary Mosiman. Sand won Tuesday’s election after a more high-profile campaign than is typical for the office.
Sand, an attorney and former prosecutor with the state attorney general’s office, ran an aggressive campaign that focused on his call for more investigations of misspending in state and local governments.
Mosiman was appointed auditor in 2013 and then elected to a full term in 2014. She previously was Story County’s auditor and worked in the Iowa Secretary of State’s Office. She had stressed her experience as a certified public accountant.
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Democrat Cindy Axne has beaten incumbent Republican Rep. David Young to represent Des Moines and much of southwest Iowa in the U.S. House. Voters chose Axne on Tuesday after twice electing Young, a former aide to Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley. In her campaign, Axne focused on health care and Young’s support for President Donald Trump. Axne noted that Young voted repeatedly to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which stopped insurance companies from denying coverage to people with pre-existing conditions among other requirements. Young acknowledged his votes but argued he’d always favored protecting people with pre-existing conditions. Trump and Vice President Mike Pence held separate Iowa rallies last month to support Young. The 3rd District is made up of 16 counties and includes Des Moines.
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Democratic Rep. Dave Loebsack has been elected to a seventh term in Congress, representing southeast Iowa’s 2nd District. Voters on Tuesday chose Loebsack over Republican Christopher Peters, a doctor who also ran against Loebsack in 2016. In his campaign, Peters repeatedly criticized health care changes made through the Affordable Care Act, which Loebsack supports. Peters called for enacting changes to create a more efficient and less costly system. Loebsack, a college professor before being elected to the U.S. House, focused his campaign on improving the rural economy, including passing a farm bill.
The 2nd District includes 24 counties and the cities of Burlington, Davenport, Iowa City and Muscatine.
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Democrat Abby Finkenauer has been elected in northeast Iowa’s 1st Congressional District, becoming one of the youngest women ever elected to the U.S. House. Finkenauer defeated incumbent Republican Rod Blum on Tuesday. She won after a campaign that played up her blue collar roots and focused on the need to help working-class families. Blum lost in his bid for a third term. He was elected in 2014 as a tea party candidate and remained a reliable conservative and strong supporter of President Donald Trump. He’s acknowledged that Trump’s tariff fight with China has been costly for Iowa farmers but argued the president is a master negotiator and that the immediate pain will ultimately pay off in better commodity prices. The 1st district covers 20 counties and includes the cities of Cedar Rapids, Dubuque and Waterloo.