Northwest Iowa — There will definitely be some new representation of our area in Des Moines when the Iowa Legislature convenes in January 2021.
In Iowa State House District 3, Republican Dan Huseman has decided not to run again. No Democrats filed, but three Republicans ran for the Republican nomination on Tuesday. The winner, with 2214 votes was Dennis J. Bush of Cleghorn. Coming in second was K. Lynn Evans of Aurelia with 1935. Mark McHugh of Sheldon had 1165 votes. The district 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.
The only contested statehouse race in our area was District 3 (Huseman’s seat).
Republican Skyler Wheeler of District 4 ran unopposed for his party’s nomination but will have a challenger in November. Democrat Bjorn Johnson of Ireton also ran unopposed for his party’s nomination. 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.
Incumbent Republican John Wills ran unopposed for his party’s nomination for his District 1 State House seat. There were no Democratic candidates. The first district is made up of Lyon County, Osceola County, and the northern part of Dickinson County.
As far as the State Senate, District 1 State Senator Zach Whiting wasn’t up for election. He was elected in 2018, and his current term ends on January 9, 2023. That district covers Lyon, Osceola, Clay, Dickinson, and Palo Alto counties.
Jeff Taylor ran unopposed for the GOP nomination for Senator Randy Feenstra’s old District 2 seat. There were no Democrats running and there were under 100 write-in Democrats for the seat. The District 2 Senator serves O’Brien, Sioux, Cherokee, and parts of eastern Plymouth Counties.
So there will definitely be someone new in Dan Huseman’s seat and in Randy Feenstra’s seat in January. And the possibility exists that there could be someone new in Skyler Wheeler’s seat as well. We’ll have to wait until the general election in November to find out.
