| Mahaska County at the Polls |
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| Friday, 09 November 2012 15:24 |
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Mahaska County's Republican voter registration advantage paid off in Tuesday's general election. As part of CRI's continuing coverage of Election 2012, CRI's Maureen McKamey and Amy Langdon were at the Mahaska County Courthouse to bring you the totals from across the county for our special live webcast.
It was a good night for Republicans here but it wasn't enough to carry state and national elections. Here are the results from the races that impact Oskaloosa and Mahaska County as well as reactions from the winners. In the only contested race left completely up to Mahaska County, Republican Mike Vander Molen was voted the next Mahaska County Supervisor, defeating Democrat Tom Rielly with 55% of the vote. In a very tight race that impacts the eastern corner of Mahaska County, Republican Larry Sheets defeated Democrat Joe Judge to win the State House seat in District 80. Sheets won by just 113 votes, that's less than 1 percent of the total vote in that district. In the race for the state house district 79 seat, which includes Oskaloosa and most of Mahaska County, Republican Incumbent Guy Vander Linden defeated Democrat Chris Wilson with 72% of the total vote. Vander Linden was basically running unopposed after Wilson moved out of state for a job. We spoke to Vander Linden early in the night about how the lack of an opponent impacted his race. The winner in the race for the Iowa Senate District 40 seat is a familiar face in Mahaska County. Republican Ken Rozenboom, currently serving as a Mahaska County Supervisor, defeated Democrat Tim Tripp with 60 percent of the total vote. In the 2nd District Congressional Race, Democrat Dave Loebsack will serve Iowa again in Washington. He beat out Republican John Archer with 55 percent of the vote. But that wasn't the case in Mahaska county, where it was Archer who took the lead with 60 percent of the vote. Nationally, Iowa went the way of the country, electing Obama with 52% of the vote. But like the Congress race, it was a different story in Mahaska County. 59% of voters in the county went with Romney. Only 39% voted Obama. Iowans also voted to retain Justice David Wiggins on the Iowa Supreme Court. Each election year, voters decide whether various Iowa judges at all levels should keep their jobs. But after the Iowa Supreme Court issued a ruling in 2009 that led to legalizing gay marriage in Iowa, the justices who supported the decision have faced campaigns urging voters to remove them. Three of the justices were voted out in 2010. Wiggins, the remaining justice responsible for the decision, received a different outcome. 54% of voters in Iowa said Wiggins should stay in office, just enough for him to retain his position. In Mahaska County, however, only 36% want Wiggins to keep his job. Remember all results are unofficial until the ballots are re-checked during canvassing. The Mahaska County Supervisors will approve the final numbers on November 13. |








