Jennifer Chen
With the June 2 primaries just days away, time is winding down to cast your votes. Polls will open at 7 a.m. Tuesday and close at 8 p.m. The window for absentee voting at the Clarke County Auditor’s office closes at 4:30 p.m. Monday, June 1, with all mailed-in absentee ballots needing to be received by 8 p.m. Tuesday to be counted towards election totals. The auditor’s office will be open for extended in-person voting from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. As of May 22, 132 people have voted absentee.
Polling places for Clarke County residents are: Middle Precinct (Ward, Knox and Green Bay townships): Clarke County 4-H building
North Precinct (Washington, Fremont and Osceola townships): Osceola Eagles building Murray Precinct (city of Murray; Madison, Troy and Doyle townships): Murray Community Center Osceola 1st Ward: LifePoint Assembly of God Church Osceola 2nd Ward: United Methodist Church Osceola 3rd Ward: Osceola Country Club Woodburn Precinct (city of Woodburn; Liberty, Jackson and Franklin townships): Woodburn Legion Hall Voters physically unable to enter a polling place have a right to vote from their vehicle. For more information, call the auctions office at 641-342-3315 or email [email protected].
County seats
On the ballot are four county seats up for reelection with two contested, all with Republican candidates.
Incumbent Randy Dunbar is seeking a second term as Clarke County Supervisor for District 2. Dunbar was elected in 2022. Laurence L. Keller is also running; Keller previously served as supervisor from 2012-2022.
The second contested race is that of county treasurer. Incumbent Jessica Smith looks to retain her seat that she has held since 2021 while Samantha Horton looks to take the helm.
Incumbents Selena Dawn Humphrey and Johanna Olson are running for reelection as county recorder and attorney respectively. It will be Humphrey’s second term and Olson’s third.
State offices
Incumbent Sam Wengryn-R is seeking a second term as Dist. 24 State Representative. There are two Democrats running for Dist. 24 - Paul J. Davis and Sonya Hicks. District 24 excludes the Murray Precinct.
For State Representative Dist. 23 that is for the Murray Precinct only, incumbent Ray Bubba Sorensen is running unopposed on the Republican ticket while Karen Varley runs unopposed on the Democrat ticket.
Rob Sand, current state auditor, is the lone Democrat on the ticket for Iowa Governor while there are five Republicans seeking the win: Eddie Andrews, Randy Feenstra, Zach Lahn, Brad Sherman and Adam Steen. Andrews presently represents Iowa House Dist. 43 and Feenstra U.S. House in the 4th Congressional District. Sherman previously served in the Iowa House representing Dist. 91.
Iowa Secretary of State Paul D. Pate is running unopposed on the Republican ballot while Ryan Peterman runs unopposed on the Democratic ballot.
For state auditor, Taylor Wettach is the only name on the Democratic ballot with Chris Cournoyer - current Lt. Gov. of Iowa - and Abigail Maas on the Republican ballot.
Incumbent Roby Smith is alone on the Republican ballot for treasurer of state, with John Norwood running against him on the Democratic ballot.
Mike Naig is the only Republican running for secretary of agriculture, a position he has held since 2018, with Chris Jones running for the Democrats.
Incumbent Brenna Bird is running on the Republican ballot for another term as attorney general, while Nate Willems is on the Democratic ballot.
Federal offices
For United States Senator, both the Republicans and Democrats have two contenders, as Sen. Joni Ernst-R is not seeking reelection. On the Republican side there is Jim Carlin and Ashley Hinson, while the Democrats running are Josh Turek and Zach Wahls. Hinson currently represents Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District in the U.S. House, Turek District 20 in the Iowa House, Wahls District 43 of the Iowa Senate and Carlin previously represented District 20 in the Iowa House.
Republican Zach Nunn is running for his Dist. 3 United States Representative seat while Sarah Trone Garriott is the only name on the Democratic ballot. Trone Garriott currently represents Iowa Senate Dist. 14.
