Northwest Iowa — Today is Primary Election Day in Iowa. This year, Iowans were encouraged to vote absentee due to pandemic issues. Those that didn’t vote absentee will be voting today. But there will be fewer available voting locations, for that same reason.
On the ballot in O’Brien County are three supervisor positions, the county auditor, and the county sheriff. There are no Democratic candidates for any of the positions, making the primary election that much more important. Sherri Bootsma is running unopposed for the Republican nomination for the District 1 seat. In District 2 it’s John Steensma, and in District 3 it’s Nancy McDowell. County auditor Barb Rohwer is running unopposed as well. Two candidates are running for county sheriff. They are Brenda Starr Collier and Bruce Devereaux.
For Osceola County positions, there are no Democrats running either, and all Republicans are unopposed. Incumbents Jayson Vande Hoef, Jerry Helmers, and Ed Jones will run for their Districts 2, 4, and 5 county supervisor seats, respectively. Incumbent auditor Rochelle Van Tilburg is running for her seat too. Chief Deputy Sheriff Kevin Wollmuth is unopposed in his bid to become the Osceola County Sheriff.
It’s a very similar story for Sioux County positions, there are no Democratic candidates either. John Degen, Al Bloemendaal, and Mark Sybesma are running unopposed for the Districts 1, 3, and 4 County Supervisor Republican nominations, respectively. Republican Auditor Ryan Dokter is unopposed for the Republican nomination for his position, as is Republican Sheriff Dan Altena.
And for Lyon County positions, there actually is one Democratic candidate. Brian L. Wibben is running for the Democratic nomination for County Supervisor, District 3. There are also three Republican candidates for that office. They are Cory Altena, Matthew Christians, and Robert Gruis. Douglas Vanden Bosch is unopposed for the Republican nomination for District 2 County Supervisor. Incumbent Republican Auditor Jen Smit is unopposed for the nomination. Republican County Sheriff Stewert Vander Stoep faces a primary challenge from Republican Steve Michael.
Of course, for the President, those candidates were voted on during the Iowa Caucuses. As of right now, it appears the Republican candidate will be President Donald Trump, and the Democratic Candidate will be Joe Biden, as all other candidates suspended their campaigns.
Iowa Senator Joni Ernst’s position is also on the ballot. She is running unopposed as a Republican. But there are five people running to be the Democratic nominee and face off against Ernst in November. They are Admiral Michael Franken, Kimberly Graham, Theresa Greenfield, Eddie Mauro, and Cal Woods. Woods had earlier suspended his campaign, but his name still appears on the sample ballots seen by KIWA.
Fourth District Republican Congressman Steve King’s seat is also up for election this year. His primary challengers include Randy Feenstra of Hull, Steven Reeder of Arnolds Park, Bret A. Richards of Irwin, and Jeremy Taylor of Sioux City. On the Democratic side, J.D. Scholten is running unopposed for his party’s nomination.
Since Randy Feenstra is running for Steve King’s seat, his District 2 State Senate Seat is up for grabs. Republican Jeff Taylor of Sioux Center is running unopposed for his party’s nomination. There is no Democratic candidate. The District 2 Senator serves O’Brien, Sioux, Cherokee, and parts of eastern Plymouth Counties.
Incumbent Republican John Wills is running unopposed for his party’s nomination for his District 1 State House seat. There are no Democratic candidates either. The first district is made up of Lyon County, Osceola County, and the northern part of Dickinson County.
Dan Huseman is not running again for his District 3 House seat. Zero Democrats and three Republicans have filed. The Republicans are Dennis J. Bush of Cleghorn, K. Lynn Evans of Aurelia, and Mark McHugh of Sheldon. District 3 is made up of all of Cherokee and O’Brien counties as well as eastern Plymouth County and part of eastern Sioux County, including the towns of Boyden, Matlock, Sheldon, and Hospers.
District 4 State Representative Skyler Wheeler of Orange City is unopposed for the Republican nomination for his seat, but there is a Democrat running for that party’s nomination in the primary. He is Bjorn Johnson of Ireton. State House District 4 consists of the remaining portion of Sioux County not represented by District 3. It covers Granville, Alton, Orange City, Maurice, Ireton, Chatsworth, Hawarden, Sioux Center, Rock Valley, and Hull.
Again, this is the Primary Election — in which we select candidates to be on the ballot during the general election in November. Polls are open from 7:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m. statewide. For more information, visit sos.iowa.gov/elections/voterinformation. Find information about polling locations here.
