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Iowa State House elections, 2006

From dKosopedia

Categories: 2006 Iowa elections | Iowa

This article discusses elections for the Iowa State House of Representatives in 2006. All 100 seats are on the ballot.

We have provided websites where we can; otherwise, contact info for all the candidates can be found by downloading a PDF from the Sec. of State's Office: Iowa General Election Candidates List.

The current partisan breakdown is 50R and 49 D with one vacancy. There are eight Open Seats (6R and 2D) and 39 candidates who are unopposed (17R and 22D).

Contents 1 Narrative 2 Results 3 Districts 1-10 4 Districts 11-20 5 Districts 21-30 6 Districts 31-40 7 Districts 41-50 8 Districts 51-60 9 Districts 61-70 10 Districts 71-80 11 Districts 81-90 12 Districts 91-100 13 Related Articles 14 External Links

Narrative

This has been an unusual election already. In District 56, a far-right Republican primary challenger took the unprecedented step of buying TV ads to knock off an incumbent from his own party. In District 82, a moderate Republican who lost his primary is running in the general election as an Independent. In District 94, the Republican challenger disavowed his own party after it mailed a vicious smear piece against his opponent. Two other Democratic candidates, Dawn Pettingill and Bob Kressig, were the targets of mailings from a GOP-affliated group in DC. (They were accused of voting for certain bills before they had been elected to the Legislature.) There are also reports of push-polling in four districts, starting in June (Iowa True Blog).

The untimely death of an incumbent has created an open seat in District 52, which will be filled by a special election on December 12.

Blogger John Deeth has a good analysis of these races, so does MyDD, and the Des Moines Register - (Yepsen: Democrats could take over Iowa House and Senate).

Results

Democrats gained five seats in this election, so the next House will have 54 Dems and 45 Republicans (with one vacancy in District 52). Democrats took two open seats away from the Republicans in districts 20 and 37. Thanks to strong candidate recruitment, they also defeated four Republican incumbents in districts 9, 18, 75 and 84. One Democratic incumbent lost in district 21. Two Republican wingnuts defeated moderates in the primary, then held on to win the general election in districts 56 and 82.

Districts 1-10

District 1

• Incumbent: Wesley Whitead (D Winner.
• Challenger: Jamie Simmons (R)

District 2

• Incumbent: Roger F. Wendt (D)
• Challenger: None.

District 3

• Incumbent: Chuck Soderberg (R)
• Challenger: None.

District 4

• Incumbent: Dwayne Alons (R)
• Challenger: None.

District 5

• Incumbent: Royd E. Chambers (R)
• Challenger: None.

District 6

• Incumbent: Mike May (R)
• Challenger: None.

District 7

• Incumbent: Marcella R. Frevert (D)
• Challenger: None.

District 8

• Incumbent: Dolores M. Mertz (D)
• Challenger: None.

District 9

• Incumbent: George S. Eichhorn (R)
• Challenger: McKinley Bailey (D) (website) - Bailey is a decorated vet from Iraq and Afghanistan. Winner.

District 10

• Incumbent: James M. Kurtenbach (R) Open Seat
• Challengers:
  • Susan R. Radke (D) website
  • Dave Deyoe (R) Winner.
• Outlook: Kurtenbach was nominated to run for State Senate (District 5), after the sudden resignation of Stewart Iverson. Deyoe was nominated by a Republican special convention on July 6, 2006.

Districts 11-20

District 11

• Incumbent: Henry V. Rayhons (R) Winner.
• Challenger: Ann Fairchild (D)

District 12

• Incumbent: Linda Upmeyer (R)
• Challenger: None.

District 13

• Incumbent: Bill Schickel (R) Winner.
• Challengers:
  • Alan Steckman (D) (website)
  • Gary Van Horn (I)

District 14

• Incumbent: Mark A. Kuhn (D) Winner.
• Challenger: Darwin J. Reiman (I)

District 15

• Incumbent: Brian J. Quirk (D) Winner.
• Challenger: David Kraft (R)

District 16

• Incumbent: Chuck Gipp (R) (website) Winner.
• Challenger: Thomas Hansen (D) - Organic farmer.
• Outlook: Bleak. In the last three elections, Gipp ran unopposed. Hansen dismays quite a few loyal Democrats

District 17

• Incumbent: Bill Dix (R) - running for Congress, Open Seat
• Challengers:
  • Alek Wipperman (D) (website)
  • Pat Grassley (R) - grandson of Senator Chuck Grassley. Winner.

District 18

• Incumbent: David Lalk (R)
• Challenger: Andrew Wenthe (D) (website) Winner.

District 19

• Incumbent: Bob Kressig (D) Winner.
• Challenger: Matt Reisetter (R)

District 20

• Incumbent: Willard Jenkins (R) - retiring, Open Seat
• Challengers:
  • Doris J. Kelley (D) Winner.
  • David Wieland (R)

Districts 21-30

District 21

• Incumbent: Don Shoultz (D)
• Challenger: Tami Wiencek (R) - former TV anchorwoman. Winner.

District 22

• Incumbent: Deborah L. Berry (D) (website) Winner.
• Challenger: Michael Anthony (R)

District 23

• Incumbent: Dan Rasmussen (R) Winner.
• Challenger: Pete McRoberts (D) (cw)

District 24

• Incumbent: Roger Thomas (D)
• Challenger: None.

District 25

• Incumbent: Thomas J. Schueller (D) Winner.
• Challenger: David Bevan Kendell (R)

District 26

• Incumbent: Polly Bukta (D) Winner.
• Challenger: Lester A. Shields (R)

District 27

• Incumbent: Pam Jochum (D) Winner.
• Challenger: John Hulsizer Jr (R)

District 28

• Incumbent: Pat Murphy (D)
• Challenger: None.

District 29

• Incumbent: Ro Foege (D) (website) Winner.
• Challenger: Emma Nemecek (R) (website)

District 30

• Incumbent: Dave Jacoby (D)
• Challenger: None.

Districts 31-40

District 31

• Incumbent: Ray Zirkelbach (D) - Democratic veteran, just back from Iraq.
• Challenger: None.

District 32

• Incumbent: Steven Lukan (R) Winner.
• Challenger: Tom Avenarius (D)

District 33

• Incumbent: Dick Taylor (D)
• Challenger: None.

District 34

• Incumbent: Todd Taylor (D) (website) Winner.
• Challenger: David Gochenouer (R) (website)

District 35

• Incumbent: Kraig Paulsen (R) (website) Winner.
• Challenger: Jan Kvach (D) - retired teacher. (website)

District 36

• Incumbent: Swati Dandekar (D) (website) Winner.
• Challenger: Nick Wagner (R) - engineer for the ESCO Group.

District 37

• Incumbent: Jeff Elgin (R) - retiring, Open Seat
• Challengers:
  • Art Staed (D) (website) - educator. Winner.
  • Andy Anderson (R) (website)

District 38

• Incumbent: Rob Hogg (D) - running for State Senate, Open Seat
• Challengers:
  • Tyler Olson (D) - attorney (website) Winner.
  • Don Palmer (R) - retired engineer (website)

District 39

• Incumbent: Dawn Pettengill (D) (website) Winner.
• Challengers: Connie Jacobsen (R)
• Outlook: Jacobsen was nominated by party convention on July 1st.

District 40

• Incumbent: Lance J. Horbach (R) (website) Winner.
• Challengers: Sharon Owens (D) - Kindergarten teacher

Districts 41-50

District 41

• Incumbent: Paul Bell (D) Winner.
• Challengers: Adam Vandall (R)

District 42

• Incumbent: Geri Huser (D)
• Challengers: None.

District 43

• Incumbent: Mark Smith (D) - social worker (website)
• Challengers: None.

District 44

• Incumbent: Polly Granzow (R) Winner.
• Challengers: Tim Hoy (D)

District 45

• Incumbent: Beth Wessel-Kroeschell (D)
• Challengers: None.

District 46

• Incumbent: Lisa Heddens (D) Winner.
• Challengers:
  • John E. Griswold (R)
  • Eric Cooper (Lib)

District 47

• Incumbent: Ralph Watts (R) Winner.
• Challengers: Russ Wiesley (D)

District 48

• Incumbent: Donovan Olson (D) Winner.
• Challenger: Charles Braun (R)

District 49

• Incumbent: Helen Miller (D)
• Challenger: None.

District 50

• Incumbent: David A. Tjepkes (R) Winner.
• Challenger: Lynne R. Gentry (D)

Districts 51-60

District 51

• Incumbent: Rod Roberts (R)
• Challenger: None.

District 52

• Incumbent: Mary Lou Freeman (R) - deceased.
• Candidates: TBD.
• Outlook: Ms. Freeman died of natural causes on Sept. 5, 2006. A special election to fill her seat will be held on December 12th.

District 53

• Incumbent: Dan Huseman (R)
• Challenger: None.

District 54

• Incumbent: Christopher Rants (R)
• Challenger: None.

District 55

• Incumbent: Clarence C Hoffman (R)
• Challenger: None.

District 56

• Incumbent: Paul Wilderdyke (R) - Lost primary.
• Challengers:
  • Matt W. Windschitl (R) Winner.
  • Nancy Bleth (D)
• Outlook: This was a rare seat with primaries on both sides. Wilderdyke lost a primary challenge from far-right candidate Windschitl, who advertised heavily on the Omaha television stations. Windschitl received big donations from Iowans for Tax Relief. Earlier reports that Janice Creasman beat Bleth by 9 votes were wrong; Creasman lost, and Bleth won, 410-350. The district is heavily Republican, who turned out more than 1500 strong; the Democrats managed barely more than half that. This will be an interesting race in that Windschitl is extremely right wing, anti-everything.

Missouri Valley Times, Daily Nonpareil

District 57

• Incumbent: Jack Drake (R)
• Challenger: None.

District 58

• Incumbent: Clel Baudler (R)
• Challenger: None.

District 59

• Incumbent: O. Gene Maddox (R) - retiring, Open Seat
• Challengers:
  • Dan Clute (R) - Clive city councilor. Winner.
  • Jim Sammler (D) website

District 60

• Incumbent: Libby Jacobs (R)
• Challenger: None.

Districts 61-70

District 61

• Incumbent: Jo Oldson (D) Winner.
• Challenger: David Payer (R)
• Outlook: Payer is a frequent candidate who has ties to the Moonies.

District 62

• Incumbent: Bruce Hunter (D)
• Challenger: None.

District 63

• Incumbent: Scott Raecker (R)
• Challenger: None.

District 64

• Incumbent: Janet Petersen (D)
• Challenger: None.

District 65

• Incumbent: Wayne W. Ford (D)
• Challenger: None.

District 66

• Incumbent: Ed Fallon (D) - ran for Governor, Open Seat
• Challengers:
  • Ako Abdul-Samad (D) (website) Winner.
  • Brett Blanchfield (Lib)
  • Jeff Johannsen (I)
  • Jack Whitver(R)
• Outlook: Ako Abdul-Samad won the primary in this heavily Democratic district, but he was on the edge of the CIETC scandal, and drew some last minute opponents. Whitver took a TV crew to Ako's house, even though he knew that one of Ako's relatives was on his death bed. (Source: KCCI.com)

District 67

• Incumbent: Kevin McCarthy (D) Winner.
• Challengers:
  • Steven Inman (R)
  • Brian McLain (I)

District 68

• Incumbent: Rick L. Olson (D)
• Challenger: None.

District 69

• Incumbent: Walt Tomenga (R) Winner.
• Challenger: John Calhoun (D)

District 70

• Incumbent: Carmine Boal (R)
• Challenger: None.

Districts 71-80

District 71

• Incumbent: Jim Van Engelenhoven (R) Winner.
• Challengers:
  • Catherine Haustein (D) website
  • Steve Woody Fisher (I)

District 72

• Incumbent: Richard D. Arnold (R) Winner.
• Challenger: Buzz Malone (D)

District 73

• Incumbent: Jodi Tymeson (R) Winner.
• Challenger: Maxine R. Bussanmas (D)
• Outlook: Bussanmas beat Ramsey in the primary.

District 74

• Incumbent: Mark Davitt (D) Winner.
• Challenger: Doug Shull (R)
• Outlook: Davitt won this seat unopposed in 2002. Shull currently represents this same territory in the State Senate, but is moving to the State House for family reasons.

District 75

• Incumbent: Danny C. Carroll (R)
• Challenger: Eric J. Palmer (D) website Winner.
• Outlook: This is a rematch from 2004, when Carroll won 51-49. Carroll is running scared, and he has already started push polling the district.
• External Articles:
  • Iowa House Candidate Profile - Eric Palmer
  • Carroll Scammed Old Lady Out of $50,000 from Iowa Progress blog. Carroll and disbarred lawyer Brian Bisbee cheated an elderly widow.

District 76

• Incumbent: Betty R. De Boef (R) Winner.
• Challenger: Christopher L. Montross (D)

District 77

• Incumbent: Mary Mascher (D)
• Challenger: None.

District 78

• Incumbent: Vicki Lensing (D)
• Challenger: None.

District 79

• Incumbent: Jeff Kaufmann (R) Winner.
• Challenger: Clara Oleson (D) website - retired labor organizer.

District 80

• Incumbent: Nathan K. Reichert (D) Winner.
• Challenger: R. Greg Orr (R)

Districts 81-90

District 81

• Incumbent: Jamie Van Fossen (R) Winner.
• Challenger: Lauren M. Phelps (D)

District 82

• Incumbent: Joe Hutter (I) - Lost primary, running as an Indepedent.
• Challenger: Linda J. Miller (R) Winner.
  • External Link: Linda Miller for Iowa House
• Outlook: Miller defeated Hutter in the Republican primary, thanks to generous donations from Iowans for Tax Relief. Hutter has filed as an independent for the general election.

District 83

• Incumbent: Steven Olson (R) Winner.
• Challenger: Reg. Kauffman (D)

District 84

• Incumbent: Jim Van Fossen (R)
• Challenger: Elesha Gayman (D) - Winner. Elesha is a 27 year old graduate of the University of Iowa, whose family has lived in Scott county for generations. She is lead facilitator for the youth empowerment program at the Safer Foundation. Gayman has been endorsed by the Iowa DFA.
  • External Link: Elesha Gayman for Iowa House

District 85

• Incumbent: Jim Lykam (D) Winner.
• Challenger: Roby Smith (R)

District 86

• Incumbent: Cindy L. Winckler (D) Winner.
• Challenger: Susie Bell (R)

District 87

• Incumbent: Thomas R. Sands (R) Winner.
• Challenger: Andrew Hoth (D)
• Outlook: Hoth beat Comiskey in the primary.

District 88

• Incumbent: Dennis M. Cohoon (D)
• Challenger: None.

District 89

• Incumbent: Sandra H. Greiner (R) Winner.
• Challenger: Mark Nolte (D)
  • External Link: Nolte for Iowa

District 90

• Incumbent: John Whitaker (D)
• Challenger: None.

Districts 91-100

District 91

• Incumbent: Dave Heaton (R)
• Challenger: None.

District 92

• Incumbent: Phillip L. Wise (D)
• Challenger: None.

District 93

• Incumbent: Mary Gaskill (D)
• Challenger: None.

District 94

• Incumbent: Kurt Swaim (D) Winner.
• Challenger: Kevin Wiskus ( R I )
• Outlook: Wiskus disavowed his affiliation with the Republican party, after the state party mailed a flyer accusing the incumbent, a public defender, of being soft on pedophiles. (See Republican Disgusted With State Party Ad Quits GOP )

District 95

• Incumbent: Michael J. Reasoner (D) Winner.
• Challenger: George Barber (R)

District 96

• Incumbent: Cecil Dolecheck (R)
• Challenger: None.

District 97

• Incumbent: Richard Anderson (R)
• Challenger: None.

District 98

• Incumbent: Gerald Jones (R) - retiring, Open Seat
• Challengers:
  • Sally Vitamvas (D) (website)
  • Greg Forristall (R) Winner.
• Outlook: Forristall beat McNutt in the primary.

District 99

• Incumbent: Doug L Struyk (R) Winner.
• Challenger: Will Reger (D)

District 100

• Incumbent: Paul Shomshor (D) Winner.
• Challenger: Scott A. Belt (R)

Related Articles

• Iowa State Senate elections, 2006

External Links

• 50 State(House) Strategy: Iowa - good overview
• Election Results - Des Moines Register

View source | Discuss this page | Page history | What links here | Related changes Main Page | About dKosopedia | Recent changes |   This page was last modified 16:13, 8 December 2006 by dKosopedia user Corncam. Based on work by Isaac Headinger, David Winterton, Teeny and Jon and dKosopedia user(s) Blogesque, Allamakee Democrat and AirizBugs. Content is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.