The Iowa State Capitol and grounds in Des Moines. Photo: Dirk DBQ, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Wright County stayed with Republicans in the federal races on the Nov. 3 ballot, even as Democrat Josh Turek won the U.S. Senate seat statewide.
Unofficial county totals compiled from the state’s count and posted on Electoral Meridian’s Wright County page gave Republican Ashley Hinson 2,502 votes, or 57.0%, in the Senate race, to Turek’s 1,704 votes, or 38.8%. Libertarian Thomas Laehn received 184 votes, or 4.2%. The same unofficial statewide count had already been called for Turek.
In the 4th Congressional District, Republican Chris McGowan won the seat, and he won Wright County comfortably. The unofficial county tally was 2,658 votes, or 62.2%, for McGowan and 1,615 votes, or 37.8%, for Democrat Dave Dawson.
Those results fit the county’s recent voting history more closely than the governor’s race did. Wright County has not given a Democrat a presidential majority in the last several cycles, and the 4th District, which covers a wide stretch of northern and western Iowa, has long been Republican territory. The Senate race was the one that split: Hinson carried the county, Turek carried the state.
The figures are unofficial until Iowa completes its state canvass. Wright County supervisors already canvassed the local vote on Nov. 10. Official statewide totals will be posted by the secretary of state. For Wright County, the practical result is familiar representation in the House and a new senator who did not win this county but will still have to answer its farm, wind and Main Street questions.
Tate Koster writes for Clarion News Online.