Spirit Lake, Iowa — Democrat Mark Lemke of Spirit Lake has announced his candidacy for the special election in state Senate District 1.
Lemke started his career working at Sears in Estherville. When Sears closed in 1982, he moved to Des Moines to work for RCA, which became General Electric in 1988. He rose through the ranks of the company to the position of National Training Manager for the Northwest Region. In 1999, he left General Electric to start his own company. Lemke retired in 2016 and moved to Spirit Lake and has served as a member of the Monarch Cove Lake Association Board since 2016.
Lemke says that in the Iowa Senate, he’ll fight for policies that will raise incomes for hardworking Iowans, invest in our public schools and our children’s futures, and make it easier for parents to work and raise a family.
Lemke says Iowa can be a great place to live, work, raise a family, and retire, but only if Republicans and Democrats can come together and pass common sense policies that help hardworking Iowans.
Lemke grew up in Armstrong and graduated from Armstrong High School in 1974. He attended Iowa Lakes Community College and studied business administration. He is married with 5 children and 8 grandchildren. He is a member of the Lutheran Church.
The special election to fill the unexpired term of former Iowa District 1 Senator Zach Whiting, will be held on Tuesday, December 14. Senate District 1 is comprised of Lyon, Osceola, Dickinson, Clay, and Palo Alto counties.
