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Incumbent Republican Brett Barker has held onto his District 51 seat in the Iowa House of Representatives.
In Tuesday's election, Barker earned 8,617 votes, or 55 percent, of 15,549 total ballots and Democrat Teresa Perin drew 6,901 votes, or 44 percent. There were 31 write-ins.
District 51 covers the northwest, southwest and northeast quadrants of Marshall County -- including communities of Green Mountain, Albion, Liscomb, St. Anthony, Clemons, Rhodes, Melbourne and State Center -- along with a large swath of Story County outside of Ames. Within Marshall County, Barker earned 2,334, or 62 percent and Perin received 1,413, or 38 percent, of 3,751 total ballots.
Barker, the former Nevada mayor, won his first term in 2024. He was very happy with his second victory.
"I feel blessed that Story and Marshall county voters chose me to go back and work on their behalf," Barker said.
When he first ran for the legislature in 2024, he swore he would not be outworked in the race nor in the legislative chamber. That is something Barker feels he has lived up to and voters see that. For this campaign, he focused on getting to know the voters.
When the Iowa Legislature session begins Jan. 11, 2026, Barker has several things he plans to work on, such as water quality and affordability.
"I will be listening to people in the district," he said. "I am looking forward to working for them in the next session."
Perin, a Rhodes farmer and an English teacher at Marshalltown High School, really wished she had won the District 51 seat, since Barker had “flaws” such as the NuCara scandal.
"I am disappointed I did not win, but considering I ran in a district with 22 percent Democrat voters, and I got 14 points better than the Democrat candidate two years ago – that sends a message to people that they need to pay attention and should have candidates who actually listen to their constituents," she said. .
A political newcomer, Perin was surprised by how people are loyal to the major political parties – Democrat or Republican – regardless of the quality of the candidate. However, she was thankful for the help she received.
"I had amazing people who supported me," Perin said. "I could not have done as well as I did without their support."
Contact Lana Bradstream at 641-753-6611 ext. 210 or lbradstream@timesrepublican.com.