Unofficial results have been released for Tuesday's primary in Harrison County.
The only two contested primary races in the county saw Megan Pauley Reffett (R – Woodbine) win the county auditor race with 798 votes (63.59%) to Lynn Goodrich's (R - Logan) 448 (35.7%), while the Board of Supervisors race failed to convey a nomination and will go to a special convention of GOP delegates.
Danny Cohrs (R – Logan) tallied the most votes in the Board of Supervisors race, receiving 422 votes (32.39%) while Rebecca Wilkerson (R – Mondamin) was right behind with 393 (30.16%).
The remaining candidates, all Republicans, were Lary Clark (286 votes, 21.95%), Alex Meyer (176 votes, 13.51%) and Bill Nelsen (23 votes, 1.77%). Nelsen appeared on the ballot despite dropping out of the race several weeks ago due to personal reasons. Since no candidate received 35% of the vote, a convention convened by the Harrison County GOP chairperson will be attended by delegates who represent the county's 11 precincts.
If certain requirements for eligible electors and representation of precincts are not met in the matter of attendance, the nomination made at the convention cannot be included on the ballot in November. The Reporter will have additional reporting on the convention as it becomes available.
The only contested congressional race saw incumbent U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra (R – Hull) hold off Kevin Virgil (R- Sutherland), who entered into the fray earlier this year seeking to provide an alternative to Feenstra, albeit from the same party. Feenstra, who defeated longtime U.S Rep. Steve King back in 2020, received 792 votes (64.18%) from Harrison County voters to Virgil's 435 (35.25%). In the Fourth Congressional District overall, the Associated Press called the race for Feenstra, who held endorsements from Gov. Kim Reynolds and U.S. Sens. Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst, at around 9:10 p.m. Virgil had received endorsements from former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and Feenstra's past opponent in King.
“Tonight, Iowans sent a clear message that they want a conservative voice in Congress who delivers for our families, farmers, businesses, and our rural communties” Feenstra said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. “I'm humbled by the strong support for our campaign and will continue to deliver for Iowa and our communities.”
Feenstra will face Ryan Melton (D - Nevada), who received 118 votes in Harrison County, in November.
Additional races in Harrison County, which were unopposed, saw Sheriff Brandon Doiel (R – Mondamin) receive 1,207 votes (98.45%) in his quest for reelection and Ashley N. West-Joons (R – Missouri Valley) receive 1,076 votes (96.94%) for county attorney, a position she is looking to be officially elected to after serving in the capacity since late last year.
In unopposed congressional races, incumbent Rep. Matt Windschitl (R- Missouri Valley) received 1,103 votes (96.5%) on the Republican side of the State Representative – District 15 race while Benjamin Schauer (D – Dunlap) received 119 votes (100%) on the left side of the aisle.
In the State Senator – District 8 race, incumbent Sen. Mark Costello (R – Imogene) tallied 1,011 votes (97.87%) while his future opponent in Ryan Lee Roenfeld (D – Glenwood) received 115 votes (99.14%).
In total, 1,462 ballots were cast in Harrison County, which accounts for 16.15% of the county's 9,055 registered voters. Of those ballots, 1,322 were cast by Republicans, 127 were cast by Democrats and 13 were cast by Libertarians.
A full, comprehensive list of unofficial results can be found on the Harrison County Iowa Elections Facebook page.
