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State House Minority Leader Rep. Mark Smith has won his 10th two-year term as representative of Iowa House District 71.

Unofficially securing 58 percent of the vote, he beat out political newcomer James Perez, who unofficially earned 42 percent of the vote.

“Just like every other term (I’ve served), I am very honored to be able to serve the good, hard-working people of Marshall County,” Smith told the Times-Republican. “I look forward to continuing to fight for quality health care for everyone, for good quality education and job creation.”

A licensed independent social worker, he holds a Master of Social Work degree from the University of Iowa. He has resided in Iowa all of his life.

“This has been a state that has always had a strong sense of justice, fairness and equality, and I believe we’ve had some erosion of those things over the last legislative session and I think it’s time for us to get back to the basics,” he said in a previous interview with the T-R.

Smith also campaigned on being a strong advocate for the Iowa Veterans Home, equal pay for women, keeping abortion legal and helping to reverse the privatization of Medicaid.

His opponent James Perez is a former U.S. Marine who works as a business manager. He ran on a staunch conservative platform, including wanting to strengthen Iowa’s Second Amendment rights, continuing to work toward outlawing abortion in the state, and keeping government small. He said he would also like to improve mental health care resources in the state. The son of a Cuban refugee, Perez grew up in west Texas and has lived in Marshalltown the last eight years. He spent six years in the U.S. Marines followed by eight years working in anti-terrorism crime tracking in Guam, Hawaii, Japan and Iraq.

“We’re glad to have 42 percent of people agree with us, and I appreciate all the support,” Perez told the Times-Republican. “I wish all the luck to Mr. Smith.”

There were a total of eight write-in votes.