With unofficial primary results reported just after 9 p.m. on Tuesday evening, two incumbent Republican Marshall County supervisors have secured their party’s nominations for the general election in November, and a surging GOP gubernatorial candidate received more votes than the presumptive favorite in what could turn out to be a shocking upset — though that race had not been called as this issue went to press.

Republican Supervisors Jarret Heil (1,398 votes) and Carol Hibbs (1,257 votes), both of whom are currently finishing up their first terms in office, bested challengers Bill Schendel (1,028 votes) and Tony Reed (465 votes) in that race.

“I’m happy and I’m honored to make it past the first hurdle within the Republican party, and I’m happy to see my colleague continue along with (me), Carol Hibbs. It just shows that our leadership is working in the county thus far, that the conservative wing of the county believes that, and that’s the important thing that we continue to do is serve the people, serving with a steady hand, good responsible government, and that starts with smart budgetary actions and protecting the taxpayers while looking for ways to grow,” Heil said. “And I think we’ve done that in our first four years, and I think that’s what the voters saw this time around as well.”

He added that with the political climate shifting in Iowa and Democrats fielding formidable candidates around the state, working hard to win the general election remains his top priority.

Fellow Republican incumbent Christian Goodman, who was appointed to fill his late father Kevin’s seat earlier this year, ran uncontested in his primary to serve out the remainder of the term until the end of 2028. Goodman will face independent Kyle Hall in the general election, while Hibbs and Heil will take on former Marshall County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) deputy DeMorris Dean, a Democrat, in the general election in the race for two available seats. Dean received 1,478 votes in an uncontested primary.

Hibbs issued a statement after her primary victory on Tuesday.

“Thank you to Marshall County Republican voters for their vote of confidence in the primary election. I will continue to work on behalf of Marshall County residents to earn their support as we approach the general election,” she said. “Congratulations to Jarret Heil on being the top vote recipient in the Republican Primary for the two 4-year terms on the Marshall County Board of Supervisors.”

Incumbent State Rep. Brett Barker (R-Nevada) handily defeated fellow Republican Shane Heintz, also of Nevada, in the Marshall County House District 51 primary, receiving 583 votes (74.17 percent) to Heintz’s 203 (25.83 percent). In all, Barker received 2,089 of the 3,126 votes cast (66.8) percent, and he will now face Democrat Teresa Perin of Rhodes, who won an uncontested primary, in the general election.

“I’m grateful for the overwhelming support of the voters of Marshall County. I don’t take their trust for granted and am ready to continue to work hard for Marshall County in Des Moines,” Barker said.

In House District 52, which includes the city of Marshalltown and southeast Marshall County, incumbent Rep. David Blom (R-Marshalltown) and Democrat Mike Tupper, the former Marshalltown police chief, both advanced out of uncontested primaries and will face each other in the November general election. Republican County Attorney Jordan Gaffney and County Treasurer Deann Tomlinson both won uncontested primaries as well, and neither is currently slated to face a general election challenger.

At the state level, the story of the night was the emergence of Republican gubernatorial candidate Zach Lahn, a businessman and farmer whose campaign is largely self-funded, in a tight race against presumptive favorite Randy Feenstra, a U.S. Representative who had recently received the endorsement of President Donald Trump. While the race had not yet been called as this issue went to press, Lahn received 949 votes (40.08 percent) in Marshall County to Feenstra’s 903 votes (38.13 percent). Adam Steen received 352 votes (14.86 percent) to Brad Sherman’s 86 (3.63 percent) and Eddie Andrews’ 78 (3.29 percent). Current State Auditor Rob Sand ran uncontested in the Democratic primary and will now advance to the general election against the winner.

In another highly watched race for U.S. Senate to replace the retiring Joni Ernst, U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa) easily prevailed over former State Senator Jim Carlin of Sioux City in the GOP primary and received over 80 percent of the votes cast in Marshall County. Conversely, State Rep. Josh Turek (D-Council Bluffs) handily defeated State Sen. Zach Wahls (D-Coralville), receiving over 64 percent of votes cast in Marshall County, and Hinson and Turek will now face off in the general election.

The three-way race for the Democratic nomination in U.S. House District 4 between Dave Dawson, Stephanie Steiner and Ashley WolfTornabane was too close to call at presstime, and Dawson received the highest vote total in Marshall County with 536 (35.01 percent) to Steiner’s 513 (33.51 percent) and WolfTornabane’s 482 (31.48 percent). The winner will take on Republican Chris McGowan, who won an uncontested primary, in the general election race to replace Feenstra.

The only other statewide race with a contested primary was the GOP state auditor nomination, and in Marshall County, current Lt. Gov. Chris Cournoyer received 1,224 votes (58.23 percent) to 878 for Iowa County Supervisor Abigail Maas (41.77 percent). Cournoyer was leading the race as this issue went to press, but it had not yet been called.

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

maharry@timesrepublican.com.