Republicans Dominate Locally, Statewide, and Nationally

KEOKUK COUNTY – The 2024 Election was, put simply, a massive victory for the Republican party. Former President Donald Trump earned 75,120,924 votes to Vice President Kamala Harris’s 71,824,171. More importantly, he earned 312 Electoral College votes, after winning all seven states believed to be swing states. Republicans have also taken control of the Senate and may take control of the House of Representatives, once the final House elections are called.

In Iowa, Trump won with 55.9% of the vote, 924,143 votes to Harris’s 705,310. The Republican party also expanded supermajorities in both the Iowa House and Iowa Senate, The party now holds 67/100 House seats and 35/50 Senate seats, the highest majorities it has held since 1970. At the federal level, three of the four U.S. House seats from Iowa were clearly taken by Republicans. The final seat, Southeast Iowa’s District 1, was a nailbitingly close race between Incumbent Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Democratic challenger Christina Bohannan, with current reports showing Miller-Meeks winning by only a few hundred votes, 206,669 to 205,870. A recount will likely occur.

This rightward shift was apparent in Keokuk County, according to the unofficial results released by the County Auditor’s Office. Already a Republican stronghold, voting 71.6% for Trump in 2020, Keokuk County became even more devoted to Trump this year, with the former president gaining a staggering 75.13% of the vote, beating Harris 3,869 votes to 1,219. In Keokuk County, there were also 42 votes for Robert F. Kennedy Jr., 11 for Libertarian Chase Oliver, and a single vote for Socialist William Stodden.

Other Republicans received similar victories in Keokuk County. Miller-Meeks won the county with 68.95% of the vote, 3,419 votes to Bohannan’s 1,533. Iowa Representative Helena Hayes, whose district covers Keokuk County, ran unopposed and received 3,898 votes in Keokuk County, effortlessly winning her district. Incumbent State Senator for Keokuk County’s district Adrian Dickey beat independent challenger Lisa Ossian in Keokuk County with 73.42% of the vote, 3,389 votes to 1,221, in addition to winning the entire district by 68.5%, 19,112 to 8,781. Republicans were also victorious at the local level, with secondary roads employee and Republican nominee Kevin Webber obtaining 67.24% of the vote, 3,184 to Democrat Dennis Boone’s 556 and independent Rob Wonderlich’s 975. Incumbent Republican Sheriff Casey Hinnah was reelected with 63.82% of the vote, his 3,134 votes more than defeating the 1,771 cast for Deputy Adam Clark, who switched to the Libertarian Party after losing the Republican Primary.

Rounding out the county, current County Auditor Christy Bates won an uncontested race with 4,378 votes. Township Trustees Derek Hall, Donald Millikin, Christopher Berg, Carol Trier, Justin Render, Scott Swanson, Allen Dobbins, Carla Dumont, Richard Wilkening, Bob Klett, Gary Bates, Brett Slaubaugh, Donald Brain, Leo Wehr, Justin Boender and Raymond Adams won their uncontested races. In the election for Keokuk County Hospital Trustee, which had two open spots and two candidates, Cheryl Monroe received first with 3,099 votes and Jerlyn Bowers came in second with 2,885 votes. For the County Soil and Water Conservation District Commissioner race, which had three seats and three candidates, David Klein received 2,857 votes, Andrew Neff received 2,564 votes, and Clinton Mikesell received 2,789 votes. For the County Agricultural Extension Council, which had four seats and four candidates, Justin Abell received 2,756 votes, Steven Menke received 2,835, Brian Kitzman received 2,504, and Shirley Holm received 2,560 votes.

Iowa Supreme Court Justice David May was chosen to remain on the bench by Keokuk County and by Iowa as a whole, as were Court of Appeals Judges Mary Chicchelly, Samuel Langholz, Mary Tabor and Tyler Buller. Shawn Showers, Michael Carpenter, Crystal Cronk, Myron Gookin, Daniel Kitchen, Richelle Mahaffey and Patrick McAvan, all judges for District 8A, were voted to remain.

The constitutional amendment rewording the right to vote in Iowa was well supported in Keokuk County with 80.84% of the votes, 3,705 to 878. The other constitutional amendment which rewords vague language about circumstances when the Lieutenant Governor takes over, earned 87.3% of the vote in Keokuk County, 3,926 to 571. Both amendments were passed statewide.

On the day of the election, the News-Review spoke to several voters outside of the Keokuk County Expo in Sigourney about who they voted for.

Voter 1

“I voted for Kamala...(for) personal reasons mostly,” said one voter. “I’m not a huge Trump fan. I mean, to me, it just seems better in the long run. I’ve never been a political person, it’s just, Trump’s not my favorite person in the world...I really don’t know (who I voted for locally) because I don’t pay attention to politics very well, so I just kind of filled in bubbles.”

Voters 2 and 3

“I thought (Trump) did a good job last time he was in office,” said one woman.

“We’re poor farmers and he was sure helping us out,” added her husband. “But I thought he did a good job too, the last time…(Casey Hinnah’s) been a good sheriff, I think. He’s done it for a while and I just thought he’d be the better choice.”

“I’ve worked with (Hinnah) before and I’ve always thought he’s done a good job for the county,” said the wife. “I voted for Rob Wonderlich. I think he’s got some experience, and I heard his speeches before, and so I’ve been impressed with what he had to offer.”

“I thought (Trump) did a good job,” her husband added. “Some people say he’s too radical, but he holds his ground, you know, with like Chinese and stuff, and we’ve got to protect America too, and keep stuff going, keep the jobs here.”

Voters 4 and 5

“(I voted) pretty much straight Republican, because I feel like the current party is pushing us into a social-communist situation,” said one woman. “We’re just putting our feet into waters like a frog in a hot pot.”

“A lot of lies,” added her friend.

“Lotta stuff that’s happening,” said the first woman. “Our economy’s not good, not that it will ever be great, but our economy is not good. Our rights are being taken away by the counterculture people. Free speech means that people get to speak without being canceled necessarily by the government. The government shouldn’t tell people what to do.”

“We both kinda agree on the same stuff,” said the other woman. “They’re not being constitutional on a lot of things right now.”

Voter 6

“(I voted for) Harris. I’m probably the only one in Sigourney who voted for her,” said one woman. “Why did I do it? To get rid of the hate in the world…(On the other races) I just wanted everybody new in there, so I put ‘No No No No No’ on every one of them. I didn’t know so I probably shouldn’t have done that.”