With the 2018 primary election now unofficially in the books, the Dallas County Auditor’s Office has been able to take a breath and review the numbers from the polls.

Auditor Julia Helm reported very high voter turnout compared to normal non-presidential year primary elections, particularly on the Democrat side of the ballot. Nearly 5,000 votes were cast in the various races for the Democratic primary, at the county, state, and federal levels. On the Republican side, however, the turnout was much lower, reaching around 2,000 votes. Helm felt that was largely due to there being more high profile contested races on the Democrat side, such as governor and U.S. Congress, as opposed to being an indication of a shift in party demographics in the County. The total voter turnout for this year was 12.28%, much higher than the 2014 mark of 10.9%, especially when you factor in the County’s rapid growth.

One aspect of the primary election that may have come as a surprise to some was just how uncontested most of the contested races turned out to be. For the Democratic nomination for District One Supervisor, Dawson Mayor Breanna Morman received (73% of the votes) 2,972 votes, compared to (27%) 1,065 for fellow candidate Ryan Morrison of Urbandale, a difference of 73% to 27% of votes cast. Similarly, incumbent District Three Supervisor Kim Chapman received 56% of votes in a three-person Republican race, earning 1,123 votes. Challengers Gene Krumm and Robert Greenway received 26% and 18%, or 514 and 349 votes, respectively. The only other local contested race was for the Republican nomination for Iowa Representative, District 20, as Ray “Bubba” Sorenson took 68% of the votes in Dallas County over opponent Dodge Michael Perrigo, and won the other counties in the District with similar ease.

The general election should prove to be more competitive than the primary, with many contested races in Dallas County, including District One Supervisor, Iowa House District 19 and 20 Representatives, and County Attorney, as well as the gubernatorial and congressional races. As a reminder, the primary election results won’t be official until they are canvassed next week. See below for a full list of candidates who will be on the November ballot for Dallas County.

Office: Party — Candidate (incumbent)
U.S. Representative, District 3: R – David Young (I), D – Cindy Axne, L – Bryan Jack Holder
Governor: R – Kim Reynolds (I), D – Fred Hubbell, L – Jake Porter
Secretary of State: R – Paul D. Pate (I), D – Deidre DeJear
State Auditor: R – Mary Mosiman (I), D – Rob Sand
State Treasurer: D – Michael L. Fitzgerald (I)
Secretary of Agriculture: No Republican reached 35%, D – Tim Gannon
Attorney General: D – Tom Miller (I)
State Representative, District 19: R – Chris Hagenow, D – Gregg Gustafson
State Representative, District 20: R – Ray Bubba Sorensen, D – Warren Varley
Dallas County Supervisor, District 1: R — Brad Golightly (I), D — Breanna Morman
Dallas County Supervisor, District 3: R — Kim Chapman (I)
Dallas County Attorney: R — Chuck Sinnard, D — Wayne Reisetter (I)
Dallas County Treasurer: R — Mitch Hambleton (I)
Dallas County Recorder: R — Chad Airhart (I)