Contested supervisors' races abound locally

Local primary election ballots will feature some interesting matchups on June 4.

In O'Brien County, all three supervisors seats up for election are contested on the GOP ballot. In District 1, incumbent Tim Overmire, of Hartley, will square off against Jim Thomas, also of Hartley. In District 2, incumbent John Steensma, of Sanborn, will face current county Auditor Barb Rohwer, of Primghar. Finally in District 3, incumbent Nancy McDowell, of Sheldon, is being challenged by Shanelle Matus, also of Sheldon.

Two other uncontested seats dot the Republican Party ballot. Rhea Schmalen is running for auditor, while incumbent Bruce Devereaux is running for sheriff. No Democrats filed for any position in O'Brien County.

Clay County's GOP ballot also features contested races for two at-large supervisors seats. Incumbents Art Hamrick and Randy Swanson filed, as did newcomer Sharon Johannsen. All three candidates are from Spencer.

Elsewhere on the Republican Party ballot, incumbent Auditor Ann Baschke, of Spencer, is running again, as is incumbent Sheriff Chris Raveling, of Peterson. No Democrats filed for any position in Clay County.

Local primary ballots for state and federal offices are looking comparatively sparse. There will be no contested races for either the Republican or Democrat primary election in Iowa House Districts 5, 6 and 10. All incumbents filed for re-election and aren't being challenged.

• Iowa House District 5 will have one candidate on the ballot in June – incumbent Rep. Zach Dieken (R-Granville). Mike Schnoes, of Sutherland, announced this winter he planned to challenge Dieken for the GOP's nomination; however, the Iowa Secretary of State's Office confirmed last week that Schnoes did not file paperwork to get his name on the ballot.

No Democrats filed to run in District 5, which encompasses all of Osceola and O'Brien counties as well as parts of Cherokee and Buena Vista counties.

• Iowa House District 6 will see incumbent Rep. Megan Jones (R-Sioux Rapids) on the GOP's ballot and nobody else. No Democrats filed to run in District 6, which encompasses parts of Clay and Buena Vista counties, including the cities of Spencer and Royal.

• Iowa House District 10's GOP ballot will solely feature incumbent Rep. John Wills (R-Spirit Lake). No Democrats filed to run in District 10, which encompasses all of Dickinson and Palo Alto counties, as well as parts of Clay and Kossuth counties, including the city of Everly.

At the federal level, Kevin Virgil, of Sutherland, will face off against incumbent Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-Hull) on the Republican Party's ballot for the Fourth Congressional District. Feenstra has held the seat since 2021.

Ryan Melton, of Nevada, is the only candidate on the Democratic Party's ticket. He ran unsuccessfully against Feenstra in the 2022 general election.