Megan Srinivas wins Democratic nomination in House District 30 primary on Des Moines' south side
Megan Srinivas will represent Democrats in the race to represent Iowa House District 30 after an expensive and at times heated battle for the party's nomination.
Srinivas, of Des Moines, received 63.5% of the vote during Tuesday's primary election, according to unofficial results from the Polk County Auditor's Office. She defeated Des Moines resident Eddie Mauro, who received 36.5%.
Srinivas, an infectious disease physician who works at Broadlawns Medical Center, had previously run unsuccessfully for a Fort Dodge Iowa House seat in 2018. She has been a vocal public health voice in Iowa during the coronavirus pandemic and a critic of Gov. Kim Reynolds' COVID-19 policies. She said she was prompted to run to work on issues she sees her patients experience that she can't fix as a doctor.
"I'm very proud that our team stuck to the issues and remains focused on positivity and what we could do to help the community," she told the Des Moines Register Tuesday evening. "That's the type of voice that I want to have, whether it's throughout the rest of this race or whether it's in the Legislature in the future. It's about focusing on what we can do to help people, and that's what I will always keep as my main motivation."
Mauro, who runs a Des Moines-based insurance company, has previously run unsuccessfully for U.S. House and Senate. He heavily stressed his south side roots in the race.
Srinivas will now face Republican Jerry Cheevers for the seat. Cheevers lost races for the seat in 2018 and 2020 to incumbent Democratic Rep. Bruce Hunter, who is retiring at the end of his term. Hunter had endorsed Srinivas in the primary.
►More: Iowa Democrats make their pitches in three deep-blue open legislative districts in Des Moines
The weeks leading up to Tuesday's primary became contentious. Mauro has attacked Srinivas for previously registering to vote as a Republican, and a group of Srinivas' endorsers called on Mauro last week to exit the race over what they said were "unacceptable" tactics and bullying.
Since Jan. 1, Mauro has spent more than $131,000 in the race, and Srinivas has spent more than $111,000, according to state campaign finance reports.
The seat is among a handful of deep blue Des Moines-area legislative districts that Democrats have held for years. In the redrawn district boundaries, which changed this year due to redistricting, active registered Democratic voters outnumbered active Republicans in the district more than two to one as of June 1, according to the Iowa Secretary of State's office.
Election results: See Iowa primary election results across the state
Ian Richardson covers the Iowa Statehouse for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at irichardson@registermedia.com, at 515-284-8254, or on Twitter at @DMRIanR.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Candidate Srinivas wins Democratic nomination in Iowa House District 30
