O’Brien County, Iowa — Despite the disruption of normal life due to the COVID-19 pandemic, one thing that goes on as scheduled is politics.
The deadlines have now passed for candidates to file papers to get their names on the June 2nd Iowa Primary. That Primary election, by the way, is set to go on as scheduled, at least as of today, according to O’Brien County Auditor Barb Rohwer.
Let’s take a look at the choices O’Brien County voters will have in this June’s primary. U.S. Senator Joni Ernst is the only Republican on the June 2nd primary ballot, while Democrats will choose from five candidates: Michael Franken, Kimberly Graham, Theresa Greenfield, Eddie J. Mauro and Cal Woods.
The 4th District U.S. House seat is up for grabs, with five Republicans and one Democrat filing papers for the Primary. J.D. Scholten is the lone Democrat seeking the nomination, while O’Brien County Republicans will choose between incumbent Steve King, Randy Feenstra, Steven Reeder, Bret A. Richards and Jeremy Taylor.
For Iowa Senate, District 2, the seat being vacated by Randy Feenstra, there is one name on the Republican Ballot, Jeff Taylor. No Democrats have filed papers for Senate District 2.
For Iowa Senate District 3, three Republicans will have their names on the Primary ballot. They include: Dennis J. Bush, K. Lynn Evans, and Mark McHugh. No Democrats have filed to run in the primary.
In O’Brien County, all of the county officials whose terms end this year have filed for reelection, except one. O’Brien County Sheriff Allen Schuknecht will be retiring at the end of the term. O’Brien County Republican voters will have a primary choice between Brenda Starr Collier of Primghar, and Bruce Devereaux of Paullina, who currently serves as Schuknecht’s Chief Deputy.
In Supervisor District 1, incumbent Sherri L. Bootsma will be on the Republican primary ballot, as will District 2 incumbent John Steensma and District 3 incumbent Nancy McDowell. O’Brien County Auditor Barb Rohwer has also filed for reelection on the June 2nd Republican Primary ballot. No Democrats have filed for county office in O’Brien County.
Filing deadline for federal and state offices was March 13th, while the filing deadline for county office was Wednesday (March 25th).
