Harris, Wilz, Shipley, Hayes win contested primaries
Jun. 8—OTTUMWA — Four contested primaries for statehouse seats that will serve the Courier's coverage area were decided Tuesday.
Austin Harris won the Republican nomination for the 26th district of the state house, which will serve all of Monroe and Davis, as well as most of Appanoose County and rural portions of Wapello County.
Harris defeated former state senator Mark Chelgren 1,610 votes to 1,314. Both listed Appanoose County addresses for the election, but Harris is a native to Moulton while Chelgren is originally from California and served in Wapello while in the Iowa Senate.
The race was fairly tight in Wapello, Davis and Monroe, but a wider-margin in Appanoose County helped Harris build a winning lead over his opponent.
No Democrat filed to run for the seat.
Chelgren built a career in the Iowa Senate that frequently grabbed headlines. Harris told the Courier his goal was to work hard for his district.
"I am running for the Iowa House of Representatives to give the people of southern Iowa a strong voice in Des Moines," Harris said last month. "Far too often we send politicians to our state capitol who are more interested in making media headlines instead of doing the hard work to get results for our district."
Harris, 26, was politically active from a young age, and his resume includes managing the successful U.S. House campaign by Mariannette Miller-Meeks. He has also worked with the Iowa Republican Party and the USDA under President Donald Trump.
Ottumwa businessman Hans Wilz defeated the Reynolds-endorsed candidate Corwin Williams in the Republican 25th district primary. The district will serve Ottumwa and rural areas of Wapello County.
Wilz tallied 997 votes to Williams' 719 votes. Democrat Diana Swartz was uncontested for the party's nomination to the 25th district November ballot.
A battle of incumbents seeking the Republican nomination for state house district 87 ended with Jeff Shipley securing the nomination. He recorded 1,605 votes, defeating Joe Mitchell who had 1,319. The two were sitting representatives, but through redistricting found themselves both living in the newly-created district and thus faced off in a contested primary.
The 87th district will include all of Van Buren County and portions of Jefferson and Henry counties.
For the 88th district, Reynolds-endorsed Helena Hayes defeated two-term incumbent Dustin Hite for the Republican primary. Hayes received 1,961 votes to Hite's 1,453. The district will include all of Keokuk county, and portions of Mahaska and Jefferson Counties.
Here's a rundown of each statewide and federal primary, as well as Courier-area primaries for the Iowa Senate and Iowa House.
x-denotes unofficial winner
Republican primaries
U.S. Senator
x-Chuck Grassley 143,289 votes
Jim Carlin 51,755
Write-ins 311
U.S. Rep. District 1
x-Mariannette Miller-Meeks 40,833 votes
Write-ins 540
U.S. Rep. District 2
x-Ashley Hinson 39,896 votes
Write-ins 284
U.S. Rep. District 3
x-Zach Nunn 30,502 votes
Nicole Hasso 8,996
Gary Leffler 6,804
U.S. Rep. District 4
x-Randy Feenstra 51,729 votes
Write-ins 595
Governor
x-Kim Reynolds 184,866 votes
Write-ins 1,801
Secretary of State
x-Paul D. Pate 174,090 votes
Write-ins 566
Auditor of State
x-Todd Halbur 83,776 votes
Mary Ann Hanusa 79,847
Write-ins 455
Treasurer of State
x-Roby Smith 163,819 votes
Write-ins 601
Secretary of Agriculture
x-Mike Naig 171,240 votes
Write-ins 507
Attorney General
x-Brenna Bird 162,742 votes
Write-ins 664
State Senator District 13
x-Cherielynn Westrich 4,060 votes
Write-ins 10
State Senator District 44
x-Adrian Dickey 5,362 votes
Write-ins 20
State Representative District 24
x-Joel Fry 2,824 votes
Write-ins 23
State Representative District 25
x-Hans C. Wilz 997 votes
Corwin Williams 719
Write-ins 1
State Representative District 26
x-Austin Harris 1,610 votes
Mark Chelgren 1,314
Write-ins 5
State Representative District 87
x-Jeff Shipley 1,605 votes
Joe Mitchell 1,319
Write-ins 5
State Representative District 88
x-Helena J. Hayes 1,961 votes
Dustin D. Hite 1,453
Write-ins 4
Democrat primaries
U.S. Senate
x-Michael Franken 86,732
Abby Finkenauer 62,498
Glenn Hurst 7,562
Write-ins 157
U.S. Rep. District 1
x-Christina Bohannan 37,267 votes
Write-ins 109
U.S. Rep. District 2
x-Liz Mathis 40,736 votes
Write-ins 150
U.S. Rep. District 3
x-Cindy Axne 47,689 votes
Write-ins 252
U.S. Rep. District 4
x-Ryan Melton 20,787 votes
Write-ins 69
Governor
x-Deidre DeJear 145,316 votes
Write-ins 799
Secretary of State
x-Joel Miller 97,883 votes
Eric VanLancker 38,598
Write-ins 293
Auditor of State
x-Rob Sand 144,933 votes
Write-ins 314
Treasurer of State
x-Michael Fitzgerald 145,689 votes
Write-ins 235
Secretary of State
x-John Norwood 139,499 votes
Write-ins 347
Attorney General
x-Tom Miller 146,058
Write-ins 399
State Senator District 13
x-Matt Greiner 2,181 votes
Write-ins 11
State Senator District 44
Write-ins 144
State Representative District 24
Write-ins 40
State Representative District 25
x-Diana M. Swartz 1,172 votes
Write-ins 11
State Representative District 26
Write-ins 51
State Representative District 87
x-Mike Heaton 1,587 votes
Write-ins 5
State Representative District 88
x-Lisa Ossian 723 votes
Write-ins 5
Kyle Ocker is the editor of the Ottumwa Courier and the Oskaloosa Herald. He can be reached at kocker@ottumwacourier.com. Follow him on Twitter @Kyle_Ocker.
