Candidate accessibility will be one of the keys to winning in the general election in November, said the chairperson of the Story County Democrats.
Last week’s Iowa primaries gave Iowa and Story County residents the answers to who would be on the 2026 election ballot.
No one from the Story County GOP responded to multiple requests for comment in the days since the primary.
The general election will take place on Nov 3.
Federal offices
Iowa will face an important election this year, with Republican Joni Ernst retiring from her Senate seat. Democratic winner Josh Turek will face Republican Rep. Ashley Hinson.
After the presidential election and Donald Trump’s return to office, Democrats have led in numbers on flipped seats in special elections. Story County Democrats Chair Madalyn Anderson believes it may offer insight into where the Iowa Senate election may end up.
“I think it’s a very good sign for Democrats. I think that people have seen what has happened to our country and state under Republican control and are looking for a change.” Anderson said.
Anderson said a Democratic seat in the Senate would shift things.
“I would hope that if we have enough control in the Senate, that we can, for one thing, if there were to be a Supreme Court seat come open, that we can stop (President Trump) being able to nominate another right-wing ideologue,” she said. “We’re really looking for there to be some of the checks and balances that are supposed to be part of our government.”
Governor race
Iowa Auditor Rob Sand ran uncontested in the primary, securing his spot as the Democratic nominee for governor.
“I’m really hopeful. I’ve been to a lot of his events — it was very well attended,” Anderson said. “There were Independents there, there were Republicans there, that were tired of the things their party was doing.”
Sand, while a Democratic candidate, views himself as a moderate, a choice that Anderson believes may help him attract voters.
“The majority of people registered to vote in Iowa are registered as no party. The margins of wins really rely on energizing those no-party voters, and so I think that’s something that’s going to be helpful.” she said
A week following the primary, Sand announced his running mate, Crawford County Supervisor Dave Muhlbauer.
“I like Dave. I think that’s a good choice,” Anderson said. “I think someone from western Iowa, a more rural area, I think that’s a real good choice that will bring strength to the ticket as well.”
To continue his campaign, she said Sand should continue to utilize his accessibility.
“He’s always been very open, very visible, accessible. Those things are really important,” she said. “We saw what happened with Randy Fenstra (Republican primary candidate for governor) when he refused to be accessible; he lost the nomination for governor. That’s not what Rob is doing.”
County supervisors and election turnout
Linda Murken and Latifah Faisal, chair and vice chair of the Story County Board of Supervisors, will be running again against Jeff Staton and Kirk W. Nesset for supervisors in districts 1 and 3.
“I think that we have a real good chance of hanging onto those seats, but I’m not gonna say it’s a given. I’m really hopeful we can hang onto our seats.” Anderson said.
Turnout: Primary elections often see lower turnout than general elections. This year’s primary election saw a jump in state participation.
In the 2026 Iowa primary, there was a 19% turnout compared to the 16% in the midterm primary of 2022.
“There was a lot of promotion for people to get out and vote for this primary, because we wanted to have the strongest candidate possible going into the general election, and we really wanted everyone to make their voice heard. … That drove a lot of people to the polls.” Anderson said.
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