Election 2024: Warme, Barker win big as Story County results finally come in | News, Sports, Jobs

It took longer than expected, but about 18 hours after the polls closed, the full election results from Story County were finally posted to the Iowa Secretary of State’s website, confirming that Republicans will hold all three Marshall County legislative seats when the next session begins in January.

In Senate District 26, which includes all of Marshall County and most of Story County outside of Ames, Republican Kara Warme of rural Ames prevailed over Democrat Mike Wolfe of rural Maxwell after receiving 17,945 of the 30,107 votes cast across both counties (59.6 percent). Warme, who serves as the chief development officer at YSS, won a contested primary over Senate staffer Gannon Hendrick of McCallsburg back in June, and she will now replace retiring Sen. Jeff Edler (R-State Center).

“I’m so grateful to the voters of Marshall County for entrusting me with this opportunity to serve you in the Iowa Senate. It’s been a privilege getting to know families and businesses across the county. A huge thank you to the many volunteers, donors, and sign hosts who helped spread our positive vision of preserving Iowa for future generations,” Warme said. “I think we’re all glad for the campaigning to end and the real work to begin. I’m looking forward to continued partnerships across the district and to showcasing our strengths and success stories to drive more opportunities statewide.”

Brett Barker, a pharmacist who currently serves as the mayor of Nevada, also won his race in House District 51, which covers about ¾ of Marshall County outside of Marshalltown and the southeast quadrant along with the same swath of Story County as the Senate district. Barker received 11,256 of the 17,998 votes cast (62.54 percent) and defeated Democrat Ryan Condon of Nevada, a National Guard veteran who works for the state’s Health and Human Services (HHS) department.

He will replace retiring Rep. Dave Deyoe (R-Nevada), who had served in the House since 2006.

“We worked really hard starting a year ago to get to every corner of the district, and I was able to get in front of 15,000 voters at their doors. And I knew the hard work was gonna pay off,” Barker said. “I’ve been working for a long time here in the community, have a record to stand on and was able to meet a lot of voters. So I felt really good going into it, and I’m thankful that they rewarded our hard work.”

In addition to reaching a large number of voters, the incoming representative felt he was able to “ignore the noise” and run a clean race, enabling he and Warme to outperform President-elect Donald Trump and Rep. Randy Feenstra on the ticket in most of the precincts within HD51. As he heads to Des Moines, Barker aims to focus on healthcare and economic development.

“I’m known for being a pragmatic voice — someone who listens and learns and then takes a position on things, and I think that will serve me well in the legislature,” he said.

To the east in House District 53, incumbent Rep. Dean Fisher (R-Montour) secured another term over upstart challenger Tommy Hexter, a 25-year-old Democrat from Grinnell. In the district, which covers about ¾ of Tama County outside of the northeast corner and all of Poweshiek County, Fisher received 8,877 votes (56.88 percent) to Hexter’s 6,729 votes (43.12 percent).

Fisher, who was first elected in 2012, told the T-R he was “honored and humbled” that voters had chosen him once again.

“Tommy worked hard on the race, but at the end of the day, I think my experience and my values are what won the day, and I’m just looking forward to getting back to Des Moines and getting back at it,” he said.

Once he returns, two of Fisher’s top priorities will be pushing for further property tax reform and resuming his ongoing effort to strike gender identity from the Iowa Civil Rights Code.

“We keep pressing that issue. I think it’s becoming more and more obvious that we’ve gotta get that done in order to protect our daughters and women,” he said.

Conversely, Hexter said he generally felt good about the outcome.

“I think the results are very solid. My benchmark was 40% in general. The last Democratic challenger got in between 42-43 percent,” he said. “Getting over 40 percent for my first campaign was encouraging.”

Tama County elects first female supervisor

History was made in Tama County on Tuesday when voters elected a woman to the board of supervisors for the first time ever.

Running unopposed on the Nov. 5 general election ballot for Tama County Supervisor District 3, Heather Knebel, a 35-year-old Republican from rural Traer, sailed to victory in her race with 1,645 votes.

When contacted Tuesday evening for comment, Supervisor-elect Knebel was overjoyed but remained humble in her response.

“Thank you so much to everyone that supported me this last year during my campaign!” Knebel said. “Between the kind words, donations, putting out signs, and getting out to vote. I am forever grateful. I thank God for this opportunity. I’m excited for January so I can get to work representing the people! Thank you all!!”

Knebel’s district includes the communities of Gladbrook and Traer while encompassing the townships of Spring Creek, Crystal, and Perry plus parts of far northern Carlton (excluding Garwin) and Howard. The seat is a two-year term.

During the June 4 primary election, Knebel defeated Republicans Eli Hoskey of Toledo and Robert ‘Bob’ Vokoun of Gladbrook for her party’s nomination with 64.4% of the vote. With no Democratic candidate on the ballot in either the primary or general, Knebel all but ensured a trailblazing result on Tuesday.

Forty-seven years ago, Republican Jean Kruse of Traer became the first woman to serve on the Tama County Board of Supervisors after she was appointed to fill a vacancy resulting from the unexpected passing on Oct. 11, 1977, of then-District 1 Supervisor Robert Cold.

At the time of her appointment, Kruse was a 36-year-old mother and small business owner. Kruse endorsed Knebel – also a young mother and small business owner – in her own District 3 race ahead of the June primary this year.

District 3 is one of five new Tama County supervisor seats. During the November 2022 midterm election, voters overwhelmingly passed a public measure to move the county from a three-member board to a five-member board – a form of government the county has not utilized since 1934. The public measure was placed on the Nov. 2022 ballot as a result of a petition drive organized by members of Tama County Against Turbines (TCAT).

Elsewhere in the county Tuesday evening, Republican incumbent Curt Hilmer of Dysart was reelected to District 1 for a second term after running unopposed; Republican David Turner of Tama, also running unopposed, was elected in District 2; Republican Mark Doland of rural Toledo narrowly beat Democrat Berleen Wobeter of rural Toledo by 43 votes in a bruising race for the District 4 seat; and Republican Curt Kupka of Chelsea handily beat Democrat Bruce Lenhart of rural Tama for the District 5 seat.

At presstime, Doland had not responded to a request for comment. Wobeter reflected on the race in a statement shared with the T-R.

“When I picked up my nomination papers for the June primary I was uncertain of what was to come but willing to meet the challenge,” she said. “It is disappointing to lose by so few votes but I have absolutely no regrets and have been given so much more than the numbers indicate. Campaigning means stepping out in unfamiliar ways with the rich reward of new relationships. Friends and family supported my efforts in ways I didn’t anticipate but so gratefully acknowledge. ‘You don’t know your community until you see who opens the door’ is my treasured new slogan. And my forever and always ‘nice’ husband was my rock.”

While Wobeter did not rule out running again and/or attending future board of supervisor meetings, she said she is currently unsure of the path ahead following defeat.

“I think it might also be valuable to observe how various promises made by supervisor candidates play out in the boardroom. There are bound to be some interesting new dynamics and even potential expensive litigation should certain decisions be made,” she said in likely reference to the incoming board’s strongly anti-wind turbine position. “Hopefully work will proceed with respect and dedication.”

Also on Tuesday, Republican Karen Rohrs of Toledo – the county’s deputy auditor/elections administrator – won her race for Tama County Auditor after running unopposed, while Republican Casey Schmidt of Dysart – also running unopposed – won his race for Tama County Sheriff. Schmidt previously breezed to victory during the June 4 primary by taking nearly 54% of the vote share in a three-way race against detectives Lucas Dvorak of Gladbrook and Trevor Killian of Toledo. Rohrs will replace retiring Auditor Laura Kopsa (D-Tama), while Schmidt replaces retiring Sheriff Dennis Kucera (R-Traer).

A direct ballot initiative specific to all Tama County voters passed with overwhelming support. The measure to make EMS an essential service of the county and create a 75 cent levy to fund the program garnered support from 76.6 percent of voters, with 6,044 in favor and just 1,842 opposed.

Elsewhere in the greater T-R coverage area, Republican Hardin County Supervisor BJ Hoffman won another term over Democratic challenger Lisa Lawler after receiving 3,492 of the 5,141 votes cast (67.92 percent) while Sheriff Dave McDaniel ran unopposed for re-election. Republican Jolene Pieters also ran unopposed for county auditor, and Rep. Josh Meggers (R-Grundy Center) won an uncontested race to serve another term in the Iowa House.

In Grundy County, Republicans LJ Kopsa of District 1, Vic Vandehaar of District 3 and Jeff Pabst of District 5 all won seats on the Board of Supervisors running unopposed. Kopsa, who hails from rural Beaman, narrowly won a June primary over fellow Republican Shane Jacobson and will replace Lucas Halverson. Halverson became one of the youngest supervisors in county history when he won his seat in 2020 and is not seeking re-election. Republican Auditor Alan Tscherter and Sheriff Kirk Dolleslager both won re-election running unopposed.