2024 general election was another ‘red wave’ in Iowa and Clayton County
By Willis Patenaude | Times-Register
For the third straight election cycle, a “red wave” washed over Iowa, engulfing much of the Midwest and country, as former President Donald Trump made what many political commentators called a “historic” comeback, defeating Vice-President Kamala Harris to secure the presidency.
While a pre-election poll put out by the Des Moines Register reported Harris had pulled ahead of Trump, that poll has since been declared a “big miss,” after Trump easily carried the state, winning by over 13 percent. This was the largest margin of victory for Trump in Iowa, surpassing the near 10 percent victory over Hillary Clinton in 2016 and 8 percent win over President Joe Biden in 2020. Trump also won all but five counties throughout the state, receiving over 926,000 votes, while Harris reached just over 706,000, according to latest numbers from the Associated Press.
In Clayton County, Trump increased his vote totals compared to the previous two election cycles, receiving 6,245 total votes this time around, defeating Harris by over 3,200 votes. This also marked his largest margin of victory in the county. Harris received 3,015, the lowest total for a Democratic candidate over that same time period.
For contrast, in 2020, Trump received 6,106 votes, while then Senator Biden received 3,340. In 2016, Trump netted just 5,317 votes and Clinton received 3,237.
In Clayton County, approximately 76 percent of registered voters turned out, on par with recent presidential elections. That number equates to 9,449 votes being cast, which was slightly down from 2020, which had 9,638, but was higher than 2016, when 9,217 voters went to the polls.
The number of votes wasn’t the only difference this year, as Clayton County Auditor Jennifer Garms also indicated the make-up of the type of vote was different. In 2020, there was a larger number of absentee ballots, accounting for over 50 percent of the general election vote. This year, that number returned to the more typical, which hovers around 30 percent.
In other races on the ballot, Republican Ashley Hinson won her re-election bid for United States Representative for District 2 over Democratic challenger Sarah Corkery. Hinson received 6,400 votes in Clayton County, while Corkery garnered 2,645. Hinson has increased her share of the vote since 2020 by over 500 votes.
Republican Mike Klimesh was also re-elected as District 32 State Senator, defeating local business owner and head of the Clayton County Democrats, Brian Bruening, by over 2,000 votes. Klimesh received 22,089 votes (6,112 in Clayton County) compared to 12,076 (2,920 in Clayton County) for Bruening. Like Hinson, Klimesh’s vote total increased by almost 200 votes since 2020.
While Klimesh did not respond to requests for comment on the victory, Bruening did, offering congratulations to Klimesh.
“I look forward to seeing him bring forward his stated goal on improving energy policy for Iowans, especially given the 15 percent increase that folks have seen this past month from Alliant Energy,” Bruening said. “As with most elections, the results weren’t unanimous, and I urge the state senator to continue to reach out to all voters in District 32, including the 35 percent who did not vote for him.”
Another local race was for District 64 State Representative, with Republican Jason Gearhart squaring off against Independent Ian Zahren. Although Zahren ran a spirited campaign, looking to make history as an independently elected representative, it was Gearhart who emerged victorious, receiving 10,816 votes (5,895 in Clayton County), while Zahren got 5,113 (2,779 in Clayton County).
In defeat, Zahren extended his “respect and acknowledgment” of Gearhart’s victory, but remained committed to “advocating for the values” that inspired his campaign. He vowed “this moment is not the end, but a new beginning” to a future that is “fairer, more inclusive and full of possibility.”
Looking back on the election, Zahren reflected, “While the results may not have been what we hoped for, I remain incredibly proud of the movement we built together and the courageous work we accomplished. It’s a testament to all those who believe in a future of hope, justice and opportunity for everyone, and I’m deeply grateful to all who joined this journey.”
The Gearhart camp used the opportunity to thank a number of people, namely family, friends, supporters and the people who “believed” in the campaign.
“Thank you all! I am deeply honored by the trust you’ve placed in me. I want to thank my family, friends and every supporter who believed in this campaign. You made this victory possible,” Gearhart said.
He also acknowledged his opponent, Zahren, and his “commitment to public education and his community,” as well as to those who didn’t vote for him, stating, “I am here to serve you, too. Our work begins now. Together, we’ll strengthen our economy, protect our freedoms and support every community in the district…The future is bright when we work side by side.”
There were also three county elections of note, although all were uncontested. Ray Peterson was re-elected to the board of supervisors and Garms as county auditor. Brent Ostrander will become Clayton County Sheriff.
Voters in Elkader encountered some delays while voting, and according to Garms, it was due to a variety of factors. Among them was a printer issue, which revolved around the printer spooler that manages the printing jobs sent to the printer.
“When there is a high volume of print jobs of complex documents that are processed, the spooler can experience a delay and requires a restart of services,” Garms explained.
This high volume was likely the result of the election including numerous “voters that were new or had not made necessary updates to their existing voter record prior to the pre-registration deadline, resulting in forms with a greater amount of information needing to print,” Garms said.
Despite the delay, Garms assured “all voters were processed and allowed to vote,” and the issue was being addressed with the vendor associated with the software to “mitigate future problems.”
“I want to thank the voters for their patience and encourage them to exercise their right to vote in all future elections they are eligible for,” Garms said.
A related subject is election security and integrity, which has been a hot button topic in recent years. In Clayton County at least, Garms reported that, this year, “additional measures” were taken to address those concerns, though she could not disclose them due to “security reasons.”
However, she stated there are “multiple checks and balances in place that last both before and after the election,” while detailing meetings her staff had with cyber security, law enforcement, emergency management and post office officials, as well as conducting joint tabletop exercises with partners from the FBI, CISA and Homeland Security in efforts to uphold the “integrity of the democratic process.”
“All precinct election officials help to ensure that Clayton County has safe and secure elections by putting in long hours before, on and after Election Day,” Garms said. “Election administration is not just one day, but a long period of time involving planning, execution and audit procedures and I am thankful to have individuals in my office that make it successful.”
