SPIRIT LAKE, Iowa - Zach Whiting, a 30-year-old aide to Rep. Steve King, R-Kiron, handily took Tuesday’s Republican primary for the state’s Senate District 1 seat in northwest Iowa.
With King’s backing, the Spirit Lake resident captured 62 percent of the vote. He was followed by Brad Price of Spirit Lake (23 percent) and Jesse Wolfe or Emmetsburg (15 percent).
As there is no Democratic challenger for the seat, Whiting will likely replace outgoing Sen. David Johnson, I-Ocheyedan. Johnson was a lifelong Republican until 2016, when he quit the party over its nominating of Donald Trump for president. He decided against running for re-election last week.
The district, held by Johnson since 2002, includes Clay, Dickinson, Lyon, Osceola and Palo Alto counties. Whiting ran on providing “effective representation” for the district.
In the Republican primary for Iowa House of Representatives District 1 - which includes Lyon, Osceola and Dickinson counties - incumbent Rep. John Wills, R-Spirit Lake, ran uncontested and took home 3,176 votes.
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He will face Democratic challenger Karen Larson, of Spirit Lake, who ran uncontested and took home 651 votes.
