Republicans sweep to victory
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. On the local level, Harlan Hansen won re-election to his Humboldt County Supervisor District 1 seat, holding off a challenge from Independent candidate Brian Ernst by a tally of 436 to 305. Carl Mattes and Rick Pedersen both won re-election to the Supervisor District 2 and District 3 seats on the Republican ticket with 99 percent of the vote each. Both were running unopposed. Humboldt County has a new Recorder, Diane Amundson and Glenda Colwell ran to replace incumbent Linda Fort, who is retiring. Amundson swept to victory with 2,562 votes with 1,236 for Colwell. Incumbent Treasurer Jana Bratland and County Attorney Jonathan Beaty both ran unopposed and were re-elected. Humboldt County followed the rest of Iowa Senate District 5, selecting Republican challenger Tim Kraayenbrink of Fort Dodge to unseat incumbent Democratic Senator Daryl Beall of Fort Dodge. In Humboldt County, Kraayenbrink received 2,510 votes or 65 percent of the 3,851 votes cast. Beall finished with 1,341. Beall took the 25 precincts in Webster County by only 140 votes, while Kraayenbrink more than made up for it in the rural counties of Humboldt, Calhoun and Pocahontas, for a decisive 12,354-9,776 win. The House District No. 10 race had an open seat after incumbent Tom Shaw of Laurens sought not to seek re-election to a third term. Rockwell City agribusinessman and farmer Mike Sexton ran on the Republican ticket against Rockwell City retired school teacher Lynne Gentry on the Libertarian side. Sexton won the race, 8,409 to 2,300. In Humboldt County, the totals were 2,829 for Sexton and 360 for Gentry. Of the 6,916 registered voters in Humboldt County, 3,918 cast ballots, accounting for 56.6 percent of the voters. Here are the highlights in Humboldt County. Gov./Lt. Governor: Branstad/Reynolds 2,753; Hatch/Vernon, 993; Hieb/Watson 69; Other candidates 35 or less U.S. Senate: Joni Ernst 2,564; Bruce Braley 1,135; Rick Stewart 114; Other candidates 25 or less U.S. Rep. District 4: Steve King 2,678; Jim Mowrer 1,161 State Senate District 5: Tim Kraayenbrink 2,510; Daryl Beall 1,341 State Rep. District 10: Mike Sexton 2,829; Lynne Gentry 528 Humboldt Co. Supervisor District 1: Harlan Hansen 436; Brian Ernst 305 Humboldt Co. Supervisor District 2: Carl Mattes 736 Humboldt Co. Supervisor District 3: Rick Pedersen 550 County Treasurer: Jana Bratland 3,385 County Recorder: Diane Amundson 2,562; Glenda Colwell 1,236 County Attorney: Jonathan Beaty 3,191 For complete official vote counts see the Nov. 13 edition of The Humboldt Independent.
