T-R PHOTO BY SUSANNA MEYER A voter prepares to vote in the primary election on Tuesday afternoon and receives a ballot at the polling center set up at Miller Middle School.

A pair of newcomers sailed to victory in the Republican primary for the Marshall County Board of Supervisors and unseated three-term incumbent Dave Thompson, according to unofficial results released Tuesday night.

Current Marshall County Treasurer Jarret Heil was the top vote getter in the GOP primary with a total of 1,821 out of the 4,977 ballots cast, and Hibbs, the CEO of the Marshalltown YMCA/YWCA, received 1,657. Voters could choose two candidates as incumbent Bill Patten chose not to seek re-election.

Heil, who celebrated with Hibbs and county treasurer hopeful Deann Tomlinson at Wayward Social Club, said he believed that his focus on issues, positive message and willingness to work with other agencies carried the campaign over the top.

“You never know until all the votes are counted. That’s why you run the race all the way through the line, and we worked hard getting a hold of as many of the voters as possible in this primary,” Heil said. “I think our message of a positive change and working on improving infrastructure and working on fiscal management resonated with the voters.”

Hibbs echoed the theme of positivity and stressed the importance of collaboration with other entities in the county.

“I think this is really a statement that says we’re ready to move forward and create a positive culture for Marshall County,” she said. “For me, it’s listening to all viewpoints on an issue. It means bringing partners together around the table to solve problems, and it means working together to move forward.”

Thompson received 1,060 votes, and Laurel Mayor Evan Folk came in a distant fourth place with 436 votes. Thompson, who was first elected during the 2010 cycle, thanked voters for the opportunity to serve Marshall County for three terms and wished his potential successors well.

“I’ve had the distinct honor and pleasure of serving the people of Marshall County for 12 years. I’ve given it my best,” Thompson said. “I respect the opinions and wishes of the voters, and I wish everybody else the best of luck.”

Democrat Linda Von Holten of Haverhill won her primary in an uncontested race with 1,198 of the 1,241 votes cast, and she will now face the Republican winners and independent Mark Giannetto in the general election with two seats on the line. Both Heil and Hibbs said they would be “hitting the parade circuit” and putting in more work to reach voters between now and November.

Because Heil will be vacating his current seat, a two-way race to replace him emerged between Tomlinson, who works in the treasurer’s office, and local businessman and engineer Mark Eaton. Tomlinson received 1,642 of the 2,578 votes cast in that race (64 percent), and Eaton received 934.

“I think that it definitely says the residents of Marshall County voted on wanting experience, and they want service. That’s what I intend to bring to the office,” Tomlinson said. “It really came down to just them wanting good management, wanting good services and wanting to find those efficiencies in our office.”

In other county races, incumbent Republican County Attorney Jordan Gaffney and Democratic challenger Sarah Tupper both ran uncontested in their primaries and will face each other in the November general election. Current Republican Sheriff Joel Phillips, who was appointed in 2021, also ran unopposed in his primary, and no Democrats have filed to run against him in the general election so far.

The two state representatives who are vying to serve separate areas of Marshall County after the 2022 election, Democrat Sue Cahill of Marshalltown and Republican Dave Deyoe of Nevada, both won their primaries in uncontested races. The incumbents, who are not in the same district, are not currently facing any general election challengers.

According to the unofficial results, a total of 4,155 out of 24,464 eligible voters cast ballots for a turnout rate of 16.98 percent.

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Contact Robert Maharry at 641-753-6611 ext. 255

or rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.