General Election races set

June 9, 2016

Initial results are in from Tuesday’s congressional, state and local primary elections. All but one congressional district faced competitive primaries in one party, and several legislative seats also had primaries. Continue reading for the highlights of key races.

U.S. Senate: Former Lt. Gov. Patty Judge won a four-way contested Democrat primary and will face Republican incumbent U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley in November.

Congressional District 1: Monica Vernon, a former Cedar Rapids councilwoman was victorious in a rematch against Pat Murphy, former Speaker of the House, to win the Democrat nomination. She will face first-term U.S. Rep. Rod Blum in November in what will be a hotly contested race and one to watch.

Congressional District 2: The second congressional district will feature incumbent Democrat U.S. Rep. Dave Loebsack from Iowa City against Republican Dr. Christopher Peters, a surgeon from Coralville and former state Senate candidate. Neither candidate had a primary challenge and this district looks to be a safe seat for the Congressional Democrats to hold. It would be Loebsack’s sixth term.

Congressional District 3: First-term GOP U.S. Rep. David Young from Van Meter easily won his party’s nomination. Military veteran Jim Mowrer of Des Moines, and former 4th district congressional candidate won the hard-fought Democrat primary. This will be a race to watch.

Congressional District 4: Seven-term U.S. Rep. Steve King defeated state Sen. Rick Bertrand in the Republican primary. King will face Kim Weaver of Sheldon in the General Election. This seat should be safe for the Republicans.

Iowa Senate
Senate District 16: The Iowa Senate has one open seat in the east side of Des Moines with the retirement of state Sen. Dick Dearden (D-Des Moines). The seat had a very competitive Democrat primary and no Republican candidate has declared. Nate Boulton, a plaintiff attorney from Des Moines received the most votes and is expected to win the general election.

Senate District 8: Although not an open seat, SD 8 had a competitive Republican primary won by Dan Dawson. He will face Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal (R-Council Bluffs) in November.

Senate District 42: Incumbent state Sen. Rich Taylor (D-Mount Pleasant) will face Republican challenger Danny Graber in the district that includes Mt. Pleasant and Keokuk. This district is considered a safe democrat seat.

Iowa House
After Tuesday’s primary there are 13 open house seats. Prior to the primary 12 seats (7 Republican, 5 Democrat) were open. In House District 29, incumbent state Rep. Dan Kelley (D-Newton) lost his primary election and the seat will now be an open seat. Democrat Wes Breckenridge and Republican Patrick Payton, both of Newton, will be on the November ballot.

House District 4: Skyler Wheeler won a competitive Republican primary to advance to the general in one of Iowa’s most Republican districts which includes Sioux Center and Orange City. There is not a Democrat candidate and Wheeler is expected to be the next representative

House District 6: Sioux City Attorney Jim Carlin beat Jacob Bossman in a competitive Republican primary to face Democrat Perla Alarcon-Flory in the general election. The seat has a Republican voter registration advantage.

House District 32: State Rep. Brian Meyer (D-Des Moines) defeated his primary opponent by an almost 40 point margin. Meyer is expected to return to the state house; his district is heavily Democrat and no Republican candidate has filed.

House District 39: Republican incumbent state Rep. Jake Highfill (R-Johnston) staved off a primary challenge from retired eye doctor Christian DenOuden. Highfill will face a challenge from Democrat Maridith Morris in November. The district has high Republican voter registration and is expected to remain in Republican control.

House District 41: Incumbent state Rep. Jo Oldson (D-Des Moines) defeated a primary challenge by Eddie Mauro by more than 30 points in a primary with particularly high voter turnout. No Republican has filed and Oldson is expected to return to the Iowa Legislature.

For the complete primary election results click here. If you are interested in more information about Iowa House and Senate races to watch in the general election, click here to sign up for our election newsletter updates.