Steckman, Brown win re-election to Iowa legislature

MASON CITY — Sharon Steckman has won re-election to the Iowa House. The Mason City Democrat beat Mason City Republican challenger Doug Campbell with 54% of the vote (6326-5586) to win an eighth consecutive term, this time in the new House District 59, which includes Mason City, Plymouth, Rock Falls, Rockwell, Swaledale and Dougherty and their immediate rural areas in Cerro Gordo County and the far northwestern part of Floyd County including Nora Springs and Rockford. 

“I’m thrilled that the people of this area of north Iowa decided that I could represent them again. I’m very proud and honored to have that positive vote for me, and I will represent all people, not just the ones that voted for me, but everyone in north Iowa as best I can,” Steckman told KGLO News. 

Steckman has served as the ranking member on the House Education Committee and says one of her main focuses in the upcoming session will be to continue to fight against the Republican push to use public money to provide school vouchers for students to attend private schools.   “My focus will be on holding back the vouchers, which I’ve talked about and been quite open about the fact that there are several rural Republican legislators that were also against the vouchers, and I’m hoping to find support for that again with rural Republican legislators that know it would damage their public schools in their communities.”

 

Listen to our full interview with Steckman

 

 

In the other local House races:

 

== Republican Jane Bloomingdale of Northwood was uncontested in her bid for re-election to the new House District 60 seat that includes the western third of Cerro Gordo, all of Worth and Mitchell, and the northwestern part of Floyd counties. 

 

== Republican Shannon Latham of Sheffield was unopposed in her re-election bid to the new House District 55 which includes all of Franklin, southeastern Wright, and all of Hamilton counties. 

 

== In House District 9 which includes all of Winnebago and most of Kossuth counties, incumbent Republican Henry Stone of Forest City beat Democratic challenger Joseph Tillman with 68% of the vote (8695-4115)

 

== In House District 56 which includes all of Hancock and the northwestern part of Wright counties, Republican Mark Thompson beat Libertarian Charles Aldrich with 82% of the vote (9309-1986)

 

== In House District 58 which includes most of Floyd and Bremer counties as well as all of Chickasaw County, Republican Charley Thomson beat Democrat Dene Lundberg with 59% of the vote (7365-5086)

 

== In House District 57 which includes all of Butler and the western part of Bremer counties, House Speaker Pat Grassley beat Democratic challenger Carissa Froyum with 64% of the vote (8889-4885)

 

OSAGE —  Waylon Brown has won a third term in the Iowa Senate. The small business owner and farmer from the Osage area. Brown carried all four counties of the new Senate District 30 which includes all of Cerro Gordo, Worth and Mitchell counties and the far northwestern part of Floyd County. He beat Whitney Mixdorf of Clear Lake with 60% of the vote (15,283-10,080).   

 

== Republicans captured the other two Senate seats that covered portions of our listening area. Dave Rowley of Spirit Lake was unopposed for the Senate District 5 seat that includes Winnebago County. In Senate District 29 which includes all of Butler and most of Floyd counties, Republican Sandy Salmon of Janesville beat Democrat Jenn Wolff of Waverly with 65% of the vote (17,217-9089)