Local elections see newcomers replace longtime incumbents

New faces were chosen last Tuesday to take over positions long held by incumbents.

Voters in Franklin, Cerro Gordo and Butler Counties in last Tuesday’s General Election elected Republican Shannon Latham to the Iowa House District 54 seat. Latham beat out Independent candidate Bennett Smith and Democratic candidate Karen Koenig to fill the seat currently held by Republican Linda Upmeyer. First elected to the seat in 2002, Upmeyer earlier this year announced she would not seek reelection.

As of the latest count on Monday, November 9, Latham amassed 10,213 votes in the three county region to Koenig’s 3,601 and Smith’s 1,900. In Franklin County, Latham received 3,480 votes, nearly 70 percent of ballots cast. Koenig tallied 1,308 while Smith collected 213.

“I am really humbled that people have elected me to serve as State Representative and I am so honored,” Latham said. “I’m really looking forward to this opportunity.”

Latham said she’s excited about the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of Upmeyer, who both endorsed Latham and assisted with her campaign. Upmeyer, Latham said, served as a role model during her tenure in the Iowa House and helped lay the groundwork that Latham will take over.

“She’s made history for becoming Speaker of the House, she’s so well respected and she’s done a great job of representing North Iowa values in the statehouse,” Latham said. “She’s a great role model.”

Latham said she spent election night with her family, first having dinner then a bible study with her mother and aunt. When the Bible study ended, she turned her focus to the election, but not specifically her race. She said she enjoyed following the election of fellow Republicans such as Randy Feenstra to Congressional District 4 and the reelection of Sen. Joni Ernst.

“It was just a great night,” she said. Chris Vanness, who was elected to the Franklin County Supervisors District 3 seat, said his election night festivities differed slightly.

“I was in bed at 8:30,” he said. “I got up at 1 and checked my phone and saw I had some complimentary tests, so I researched the election and found out.”

Vanness beat out District 3 incumbent Corey Eberling with 1,178 votes to 644. Vanness previously defeated Eberling for the Republican spot in the June primary, however, Eberling returned to last Tuesday’s General Election ballot as an Independent candidate.

Vanness said he’s ready to get started as a Supervisor and is confident he can move the position, and therefore, the county, forward to focus on bringing more people and jobs to the communities.

“I’d like to see our county continue to grow somehow and I really think we need to focus on bringing more people into our county,” he said. “If you do that, you’ll help with main streets in towns and communities where people spend their money.”

While the race for Franklin County Auditor was uncontested, it too meant the changing of the guard for another long-held position. Republican candidate Katy Flint, currently serving as the Sheffield City Clerk, ran unopposed and earned 4,216 votes. Flint will take over for Michelle Giddings, who was first elected Auditor in 2000.

“I’m very honored to serve as the next Auditor of Franklin County,” said Flint. “Michelle Giddings has set a standard of integrity, dignity, and class over the last 20 years and I hope to maintain that in the office and build upon it as we move forward in the future.”

Elsewhere in the county, Franklin County Sheriff Aaron Dodd ran unopposed for Sheriff and received 4,370 votes on his way to reelection.

At the national level, Franklin County supported Republican candidates over Democrats by a roughly 2-1 ratio. J.D. Scholten, who received 1,717 Franklin County votes in 2018 during his bid to unseat incumbent Representative Steve King, saw his support wane this year when facing a new Republican challenger. Randy Feenstra, who defeated King in a primary earlier this year, received 3,249 votes to Scholten's 1,634.

For the Senate race, incumbent Senator Joni Ernst, who won re-election across the state, received 3,270 Franklin County votes over Democratic challenger Theresa Greenfield, who received 1,639 votes. Libertarian Candidate Rick Stewart received 100 votes while independent candidate Suzanne Herzog received 50.

In the Presidential race, President Donald Trump, who lost his re-election bid nationwide, received 3,422 votes in Franklin County over President-Elect Joe Biden, who received 1,626 votes.

Outside of the two major parties, 82 votes in Franklin County went to third party or write-in candidates, including three voters throwing their support behind Kanye West's independent bid for the Presidency.

Editor’s note: All vote counts listed in the story are unofficial until certification on Nov. 30.