It was a banner night for Republicans on the national, state and local levels Tuesday, as Iowans re-elected the nation’s longest-serving governor, elected the first Iowa woman to the U.S. Senate and gave three of four U.S. House races to the GOP, two of which had no incumbents running. Nationally, Joni Ernst (R-Red Oak) became the first female congressperson from the Hawkeye state as she defeated Bruce Braley (D-Waterloo) for Tom Harkin’s open seat in the U.S. Senate. Ernst received 52.2 percent of the vote to Braley’s 43.7 percent. In Humboldt County, Ernst received 2,564 votes to 1,135 for Braley. In the U.S. House District 4 race, incumbent Steve King (R-Kiron) breezed to victory over challenger Jim Mowrer (D-Boone), by more than 60,000 votes, 169,089 to 104,106. In Humboldt County, almost 70 percent of those casting ballots marked King, 2,678 to 1,161, with one write-in.
