October 12, 2024

Incumbents sweep primaries

Tuesday, primary elections were held around Iowa.

Union County Auditor Sandy Hysell released federal, state and county election primary results late Tuesday night. They will remain unofficial until the board of supervisors approve them.

Starting with the Republican primaries, the Union County Board of Supervisors had four candidates running for two positions. Candidates included incumbents Dennis Brown and Rick Friday, as well as new-comers Bill Oetken and Tom Spencer. Friday and Brown won the nominations at 854 and 598 votes, respectively. Spencer had 386 votes and Oetken had 179 votes.

Brown has been serving as a supervisor since 2010. Two things Brown mentioned during the candidate forum in May were ending the population decline and stabilizing tax levels.

Initially filling a vacancy, Friday has served as a supervisor since 2018. During the forum, Friday said working with HF 718 and the 800 miles of county roads are important to him. He also wants more attention to Osage Street and Hi and Dry Road, busier roads in the county.

Brian Bolton ran uncontested for county sheriff, earning 1,033 votes. Current sheriff Mark Shepherd did not run, retiring after one term. Bolton announced his intention to run during the 2024 Iowa Rebublican Caucus, stating he wants to leave Creston a better place than he found it.

Sandy Hysell also ran uncontested as the incumbent for Union County Auditor, earning 1,013 votes.

For the state primaries, the incumbents all ran uncontested: Amy Sinclair for District 12 State Senator, Devon Wood for District 17 State Representative and Ray “Bubba” Sorensen for District 23 State Representative. Sinclair received 142 votes, Wood 768 votes and Sorensen 154 votes.

At the federal level, incumbent Zach Nunn ran uncontested for District 3 U.S. Representative. He received 949 votes.

For the Democratic primaries, no one ran on the county side.

Karen Varley won the vote for District 23 State Representative with 12 votes and Nicole Loew won the vote for District 12 State Senator with 13 votes.

At the federal level, Lanon Baccum and Melissa Vine both ran for District 3 U.S. Representative. Baccam won over Vine by 99 votes, with Baccam receiving 130.

Regular elections will be held Nov. 5.