Kistler wins Republican County Attorney primary

Allamakee County voters stayed the course in the Allamakee County Attorney's office, as current Allamakee County Attorney Jill Kistler won the Republican bid for that office in the Tuesday, June 3 Primary Election over challenger Julian West of Cedar Rapids. According to initial results not officially canvassed as of press time, Kistler received 485 (63.56%) of the votes cast, while West received 278 votes (36.44%).
That race was the lone contested race within Allamakee's county level of government, with the Democratic ballot not having any candidates listed in any county level office. Along with the lone contested race for County Attorney, the Republican primary ballot also had incumbent candidates for three other offices, including Allamakee County Treasurer Lori Hesse, who received 697 votes (99.86%); County Recorder Debbie O'Hare Winke, who received 665 votes (100%); and Board of Supervisors incumbents Larry Schellhammer, who received 624 votes, and Sherry Strub, who received 535 votes in a race where two candidates were to be voted for.

OTHER CONTESTED RACES
The only contested race on the Democratic primary ballot was the race for U.S. Representative District 1, where Pat Murphy was given the Democratic nod with a district-wide total of 10,171 votes (36.7%). Monica Vernon (6,543 votes, 23.6%), Swati Dandekar (5,070 votes, 18.3%), Anesa Kajtazovic (4,062 votes, 14.7%) and Dave O'Brien (1,844 votes, 6.7%) rounded out that Democratic ballot. Allamakee County voters were even more approving of Murphy, as he won 52.78% of the votes (133) cast locally.
Within that same primary race on the Republican ballot, Rod Blum emerged victorious with 16,879 votes district-wide (54.9%), with Steve Rathje (11,403, 37.1%) and Gail Boliver (2,409, 7.8%) also on the ballot. Blum also won greater favor with Allamakee County voters, receiving 66.89% of the votes (495 total) in comparison to Rathje's 186 votes and Boliver's 58 votes.
A full Republican battle for Iowa's U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Tom Harkin saw Joni Ernst earn that bid with 88,692 votes statewide (56.1%), with Sam Clovis being her nearest competitor at 28,434 votes (18.0%). Mark Jacobs (26,582 votes, 16.8%), Matt Whitaker (11,909 votes, 7.5%) and Scott Schaben (2,270 votes, 1.4%) rounded out those primary candidates. Ernst was an even greater favorite among Allamakee County voters, winning 64.07% of their votes (501 total), with Jacobs (137 votes, 17.52%) switching places with Clovis (75 votes, 9.59%) among Allamakee County voters in comparison to their statewide order of finish.
Ernst will now square off against Democrat Bruce Braley in this fall's General Election to fill Harkin's vacated seat. Braley was uncontested in this primary election and received similar voter approval both statewide (99.2%) and among Allamakee County voters (98.79%).
The only contested race in which Allamakee County voters were less approving than the broader result was in the Republican challenge for Governor, where incumbent Terry Branstad received 129,712 votes (83.0%) statewide in comparison to challenger Tom Hoefling's 26,284 votes (16.8%). Branstad's approval percentage fell to just 74.68% (584 votes) among Allamakee County voters, who also gave Hoefling 25.32% of the local votes cast (198 total).