(Radio Iowa) – Donald Trump has won Iowa’s six electoral college votes for a third time. However, Trump’s double-digit victory here over Kamala Harris is by a wider margin than in the two previous Iowa General Elections. Iowa Republican Party chairman Jeff Kaufmann celebrated last (Tuesday) night with the crowd at the party’s headquarters in Des Moines.

“Let’s make sure the entire state hears us,” Kaufmann said. “Donald Trump won Iowa!” A statement from the Trump campaign says Hawkeye state voters are eager for President Trump to fix what Kamala Harris broke. It closed with a dig at Ann Selzer, who runs the Des Moines Register’s Iowa Poll. A poll released Saturday showed Harris leading Trump in Iowa.

“The Iowa Poll was a joke this year,” Kaufmann said. “…I think every single person in here that’s a Republican…that believes that we need to have accuracy in reporting…here’s my challenge to you: Cancel your subscription to the Des Moines Register and get five more people to do it, too.” Unofficial results indicate Trump received over 56 percent support in Iowa — and finished 14 points ahead of Harris.

Kaufman told Radio Iowa the party’s strategy of urging G-O-P voters to cast absentee ballots paid off. “The first time in Iowa history Republicans are…ahead in terms of number in early voting,” Kaufmann says. There were also long lines at many polling places yesterday. “I would be very, very surprised if we didn’t have more Republican voters than Democrats as we usually do on Election Day as well,” Kaufmann said.

(Radio Iowa) – Republicans appear to have secured supermajorities in the Iowa legisalture, although there could be recounts in some close races. House Speaker Pat Grassley says Republicans in the Iowa House have expanded their majority to 67 seats. “We may have to add on to the Capitol so there’s a room big enough to hold all the House Republicans that we’re going to have this upcoming session,” Grassley said, to cheers. Every Republican incumbent seeking reelection to the House won.

Grassley suggests Democrats, by focusing on the abortion issue, were at a disadvantage. “Why in the world is a party running on one issue…killing babies?” Grassley asked. “And I think Iowans rejected that wholeheartedly tonight here in the Iowa House.”

Republicans have held 34 of 50 seats in the Iowa Senate for the past two years and unofficial results indicate Republicans will hold that 34-seat supermajority when the legislature convenes in January. The state’s most expensive legislative race was in central Iowa – and Democrat Matt Blake, a former Urbandale City Councilman, defeated long-time state Senator Brad Zaun.

Zaun, a Republican who ran for congress in 2010 and 2014, was the only elected official in Iowa to endorse Donald Trump before the 2016 Iowa Caucuses.

(Radio Iowa) – Republican Ashley Hinson won reelection with 57 percent of the vote in Iowa’s second congressional district.) “Fellow patriots and fellow Iowans — we got it done!” Hinson said, to cheers. Hinson, who defeated a Democratic incumbent in 2020, secured a third term in the U-S House with last (Tuesday) night’s victory. “We sent a message, a loud and clear message, that Iowans believe in strong, conservative leadership,” Hinson said.

Hinson, who was endorsed by Trump earlier this year, told a crowd of supporters in Cedar Rapids she looks forward to working with a Trump White House. “Our values and our way of life have come under attack by liberals like Kamala Harris who want to turn our country into a liberal wasteland…They’re radical, they’re wrong and we are going to stop them. Are you with me?” Hinson asked, and the crowd cheered.

Jodi Puffett of Delhi, the independent candidate who ran against Hinson, got about one percent of the vote.

(Radio Iowa) – Fourth district Congressman Randy Feenstra finished 40 points ahead of Democratic challenger Ryan Melton of Webster City. “I’m just humbled by the strong support Iowans of all 36 counties in the fourth district showed to reelect me as their voice in congress,” Feenstra says. “I take this very seriously. I work every day to deliver results for our families and our farmers and our business community.” Feenstra says the election results send a message.

“It’s clear that we’ve got to build the wall. We’ve got to secure our border,” he said. “We also have to get inflation under control. We’ve got to stop this wreckless spending and pass a balanced budget. We also have to be energy independent…We’ve got to use ethanol and biodiesel right here in Iowa.” Feenstra is on the U-S House committee that drafts tax policy and he says the priority is reauthorizing the Trump-era tax cuts that are set to expire at the end of 2025.

“This has got to be on the front burner. I mean, when people start thinking about taxes and how they’re going to plan, especially farmers and small business, they need to know. They need certainty,” Feenstra says. “…In the first 100 days, we want to try to get a tax bill out there and get it passed.”

In 2020, Feenstra defeated long-time Republican Congressman Steve King in a G-O-P Primary and has easily won his three General Election races. Republicans have a significant voter registration advantage over Democrats in the fourth district.

(Radio Iowa) – In Iowa’s third district, Congressman Zach Nunn won Tuesday’s election with about 51-and-a-half percent of the vote.  “This wasn’t supposed to happen if you pay attention to the polls, if you pay listen to the naysayers,” Nunn said, “…but the only poll that matters is the one on Election Day, and you spoke loud and clear.” Nunn told supporters at the Iowa G-O-P’s Election Night headquarters that he’ll focus on national security and border security in the next congress.

“This is my promise to every Iowan: not only are we going to be working for you, we are going to be holding Washington, D.C. of all stripes accountable to how we get things done in Iowa,” Nunn said. Nunn says the Iowa playbook can work for the entire country. “We’ve been fighting for families, for farmers,” he said, “for Main Street America.”

Nunn also saluted his Democratic challenger Lanon Baccam. Both men served in the Iowa National Guard and Baccam did a tour of duty during the Iraq War. Nunn was recently promoted to Colonel in the Air Force Reserve.

(Radio Iowa) – Three of the four Republican incumbents representing Iowa in the U-S House have won reelection. One county in the first congressional district had not reported its results by midnight and that race has not been called, but Republican Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks issued a statement shortly before 1:30 this (Wednesday) morning:  “This county has typically voted for me over 60% of their votes,” Miller-Meeks said. “We expect it to increase our margin.”

Miller-Meeks, speaking to supporters gathered at the casino in Riverside, held up copies of the Des Moines Register’s “Iowa Poll” that found voters in the district preferred a Democrat rather than a Republican this year. “Thank you Ann Selzer for motivating district one to come out and vote for Miller-Meeks for a third term,” Miller-Meeks said.

Ann Selzer is the Iowa Poll’s director. The race was considered one of the few toss up contests for a U-S House seat and millions of dollars worth of campaign ads aired in the district. “Despite the disgusting vile things that were said about me, despite the over $5.5 million dollars spent to defeat not me, to defeat us,” Miller said. “We are going to Make America Great Again.”

Democrat Christina Bohannan addressed a crowd at Big Grove Brewery in Iowa City as about 97 percent of precincts were reporting. “This is a really, really close race,” Bohannan says. “At this point, it is too close to call unfortunately.” Bohannan ran against Miller-Meeks two years ago, finishing about 20-thousand votes behind — compared to the 413 margin at midnight.  “There were people across the country who thought that we would never make it this far…and we made it a real toss up race and, as of night, it’s kind of still up in the air,” Bohannan said.

Bohannan told her supporters the campaign had been an incredible journey. “Whatever the outcome of this race is, we did something that nobody thought we could do and I want you all to remember that in the future because you have the power to do amazing things.”

Miller-Meeks told reporters she expects a recount in the race and she’s confident she’ll prevail after winning her first congressional race in 2020 after a recount.

Key: [R]= Republican; [D]= Democrat; [I]= Incumbent; Unless otherwise stated, vote is for 1 candidate in each office.

Full results (received at 2:43-a.m.) can be viewed here: Election Night Final Results

Voter turnout: 75.44% (7,288 ballots out of a possible 9,661 registered voters)

County Offices:

Supervisor – District 1

Stephen S. Green [R] [I] – from Atlantic, 978

Write-in votes 11

Supervisor – District 4

Steve Baier [R] [I] – from Griswold, 1,203

Write-in votes 42

Supervisor – District 5

Bernard Pettinger [R] [I] – from Anita, 838 *

Phyllis Stakey [D] – from Massena, 548

Write-in votes 5

Auditor

Kathy Somers [R] [I] – from Atlantic, 5,481

Write-in votes 76

Sheriff

John Westering [R] – from Atlantic, 6,134

Write-in votes 43

Non-Partisan County Offices:Write-in votes

Ag Extension Council (Vote for 4)

Marcy J. Dorsey [R] – from Atlantic, 3,406

Sue Riggs [D] – from Lewis, 3,525

John G. Bierbaum [R] – from Griswold, 3,433

Tony Orstad [R] – from Griswold, 3,487

Write-in votes 48

Soil & Water Conservation District (Vote for 3)

Terry Langan [R] – from Griswold, 1,430

Curt Behrends [R] – from Wiota, 3,910*

Chris P Witzman [R] – from Atlantic, 2,930*

Chase Wheatley [No Party] – from Massena, 3,266*

Write-in votes 34

Hospital Board

Leanne Pellett [R] – from Atlantic, 4,252

Linda L. Pelzer [R] – from Griswold, 3,972

Ned Brown [R] – from Atlantic, 3,750

Write-in votes 49

Edna Township Trustee

Dan Schrier [R] – from Cumberland, 58

Union Township Trustee

Delmar South [R] from Cumberland, 97

Write-in votes 1

Public Measure A

Shall the Cass County Board of Supervisors, upon recommendation by the Cass County EMS Advisory Council, for the purpose of funding emergency medical services in Cass County, including, but not limited to, ambulance service, personnel, and equipment, be authorized, for a period of 15 years, to 1) levy and impose a local option income surtax of one percent upon the state individual income tax of each individual taxpayer who is a resident of Cass County on December 31 for each calendar year commencing with the calendar year 2025, and 2) levy and impose an ad valorem tax not exceeding seventy-five cents per one thousand dollars of assessed valuation on all taxable property within Cass County commencing with the levy of property taxes for collection in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026?

YES 4,883  NO 1,506

Public Measure B

Shall the Board of Directors of the CAM Community School District in the Counties of Adair, Adams, Audubon, and Cass, State of Iowa, be authorized to contract indebtedness and issue General Obligation Bonds in an amount not to exceed $22,500,000 to provide funds to construct, furnish and equip a classroom addition to the High School building; to remodel, repair, improve, furnish and equip exterior and interior portions of the existing High School building, including mechanical, electrical, and fire systems improvements, secure entry improvements, and technology and security improvements; and improve the site?

YES 671   NO 859

Public Measure SB

Shall the Board of Directors of the Iowa Western Community College (Merged Area XIII) in the Counties of Adair, Adams, Audubon, Cass, Crawford, Fremont, Harrison, Mills, Monona, Montgomery, Page, Pottawattamie and Shelby, State of Iowa, be authorized to contract indebtedness and issue General Obligation Bonds in an amount not to exceed $55,000,000 to provide funds to construct, furnish, and equip a new academic building and renovate, remodel, and improve existing buildings within the Merged Area XIII?

YES 3,564  NO  2,480

Key: [R]= Republican; [D]= Democrat; [I]= Incumbent; Unless otherwise stated, vote is for 1 candidate in each office.

County Offices:

Supervisor – District 3

Bryant Amos [R] 893

Write In 42

Supervisor – District 5

Alex Burton [R] 874

Write-In 12

Auditor

Jill Ozuna [R] – [I] 4,201

Write-In 46

Sheriff

Jon D. Spunagle – [R] [I] 4,366

Write-In 81

Non-Partisan Offices:

Soil & Water Conservation District (Vote for 3)

Dave Carbaugh 3,267

Kent Swanson 3,205

Kerry Confer 3,222

Write-In 35

County Ag. Extension Council (Vote for 4)

Chad Jacobs 2,970

Edward Lucas Oster 2,778

Kassandra Houdek 2,786

Ryan Hart 3,100

Write-In 34

Hospital Trustee (Vote for 3)

Jeff L. Vanderhoof 3,214

Ann Carder 3,154

James C. Norris 2,961

Township Trustees

Lincoln Township (Vote for 2)

Kirk Baird 72

Bryan Jenkins 79

Washington Township (Vote for 2)

Mike Jackson 30

Lorin Petersen 82

Wroite-In 19

No candidates filed for the following Township positions: Pilot Grove & Pilot Grove TFV; West Township; Red Oak Township; Sherman, Garfield, Grant and Frankfort Townships. East, Douglas & Scott Township are appointed by the Board of Supervisors in Montgomery County.

Key: [R]= Republican; [D]= Democrat; [I]= Incumbent; Unless otherwise stated, vote is for 1 candidate in each office.

County Offices:

Sheriff

Marty Arganbright – [D] [I] 2,433

Matt Harmann – [R] 3,984*

Write-In 11

Auditor

Dani Fink – [R] [I] 5,485

Write-In 75

Non-Partisan Offices:

County Ag. Extension Council (Vote for 4)

Carol Wendl 3,446

Kayla Willms 3,140

Ruth Blomquist 2,984

Dwayne Seeck 2,699

Genevieve McCreary 2,366

Write-In 62

Hospital Trustee (Voted for 3)

Douglas Kent 4,013

Cheryl L. Marks 4,073

Emily Donovan 4,282

Write-In 70

Soil & Water Conservation District Commissioner (Vote for 3)

Bryan Coffman 4,174

Stephen D Roe 3,532

David Deardorff 4,337

Write-In 56

View the results here: Mills_County_Election_Summary_Report_11-5-24-min