By Audrey Posten

Iowa saw the highest turnout for a midterm election in over three decades, according to Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate.

At a press conference at the Iowa State Capitol on Nov. 4, Pate noted more than 63% of registered Iowa voters participated in the 2026 midterm election, casting 1,380,528 ballots. That turnout was only slightly bested by the 63.47% percent who voted in the 1990 midterms.

“I want to congratulate Iowans on a high-turnout election,” said Pate. “I thank each and every Iowan who participated in the 2026 midterm election and exercised their fundamental right to vote. Voter participation is an extension of election integrity. The two values fuel each other, and we were proud to deliver a safe and secure election that Iowans can be confident in.”

Pate also thanked his election team for their year-round work to ensure Iowa’s election integrity.

“From our state and federal partners and the staff in my office to Iowa’s 99 county auditors and thousands of poll workers, this team worked tirelessly to ensure Iowans could cast their ballot safely. I thank the entire team for their hard work, and I look forward to continuing the work we started in keeping Iowa’s elections secure,” Pate said.

Of the over 1.38 million ballots cast in Iowa, 7,421 came from Clayton County, according to unofficial results from the Clayton County Auditor’s Office. As of Oct. 19, there were 11,884 registered voters in the county, representing a 62.4% turnout. Of the votes, 5,345 were cast on Election Day and 2,076 by absentee ballot.

Clayton County’s total trailed the 9,449 from the 2024 general election—a presidential election year—but was just ahead of the 7,406 votes cast in the last midterm election in 2022.

Iowa was swept up in the nation-wide “Blue Wave,” in which Democrats captured control of both the House of Representatives and Senate. Democrat Josh Turek won the U.S. Senate seat held by retiring Republican Joni Ernst. Unofficial results have him at 686,486 votes compared to 630,615 for Republican challenger Ashley Hinson. Libertarian candidate Thomas Laehn received 42,052 votes.

Three of Iowa’s four seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, which were all Republican-controlled, flipped blue. That included District 2, where Democrat Lindsay James garnered 171,484 votes to Republican Joe Mitchell’s 157,722. Libertarian Rick Stewart picked up 9,500 votes and Independent Dave Bushaw received 7,469.

Clayton County did not follow the state-wide trend. In the senate race, Hinson picked up 4,262 votes in the county, compared to 2,874 for Turek. Laehn received 219 votes.

Mitchell also outpaced James in the congressional race, securing 4,145 votes versus 2,638. Bushaw earned 327 votes and Stewart 183.

The “Blue Wave” was also seen at the state level, where Democrat Rob Sand was elected governor and his running mate Dave Muhlbauer lieutenant governor. The two received 757,326 votes statewide, while Republican duo Zach Lahn and Derek Wulf earned 607,415 in their bid to retain GOP control.

Several Republican incumbents holding statewide office were able to stave off Democrats, with Paul D. Pate defeating Ryan Peterman for Secretary of State, Roby Smith ahead of John Norwood for Treasurer of State and Mike Naig besting Chris Jones for Secretary of Agriculture. However, incumbent Republican Brenna Bird was defeated by Democrat Nate Willems for Attorney General, and Democrat Taylor Wettach edged current Lt. Gov. Chris Cournoyer, a Republican, for Auditor of State—a position Sand held.

Clayton County voters continued to favor Republicans in the state races. Governor/lieutenant governor was closest, with Lahn/Wulf receiving 4,025 votes and Sand/Muhlbauer 3,326.

In the state legislature, Republicans retained control of the Iowa Senate and House, but Democratic gains broke the Republican supermajority in the Iowa House.

Locally, incumbent Republican Jason Gearhart defeated Democratic challenger Brian Bruening in Iowa House District 64, which includes Clayton County. Gearhart collected 8,335 votes and Bruening 5,014. Clayton County voters cast 4,491 ballots for Gearhart and 2,764 in favor of Bruening.

Republicans also performed well in county races, according to unofficial results. For Clayton County Board of Supervisors, Republican Doug Reimer was re-elected with 4,455 votes. Republican Brian Harbaugh will fill the second open seat, after receiving 4,009 votes. Current supervisor Steve Doeppke did not seek re-election.

Democrats Eric Grau and Randall Laughead earned 2,714 and 2,060 votes, respectively.

Three incumbent Republicans—County Treasurer Linda Zuercher, County Recorder Josie Fettkether and County Attorney Zach Herrmann—were all running unopposed. Zuercher received 6,440 votes, Fettkether 6,209 and Herrmann 6,115.

Several township races were on the ballot as well. In Cass Township, Rande Moeller and Ben Putz picked up a respective 159 and 137 votes for two open seats. Terri E. Gould received 161 votes for township clerk. In Mallory Township, 26 write-in votes were cast for trustee and 12 for clerk, but who the votes were cast for was not released at press time.

In the non-partisan race for Clayton County Soil and Water Conservation District Commissioner, Scott Hilgerson and Travis Anderson were running for two seats. Hilgerson netted 5,222 votes and Anderson 4,878.

For Clayton County Agricultural Extension Council, five individuals were seeking five available spots. Cindy Schoulte Petsche led the field with 4,489 votes, followed by Jeremy Schultz with 4,411, Steve J. Ruzicka 4,251, Beth Lincoln 4,224 and Kaitlin Landon 4,192.

In the judicial contests, Clayton County voters joined others in the state favoring retention of Sharon Soorholtz Greer, John M. Sandy and Julie A. Schumacher as court of appeals judges.

County voters also joined others in Iowa District Court 1A in supporting retention of Alan Heavens as judge, Mark T. Hostager and Stephanie C. Rattenborg as associate judges and Thomas J. Straka as associate juvenile judge.

Additionally, Iowans passed a constitutional amendment that will makes it more difficult for lawmakers to raise personal income or corporate tax rates. Unofficial results showed 686,939 “yes” votes—or 56%—and 534,258 against. As a result, any personal income or corporate tax increases must now be approved by a two-thirds supermajority of state lawmakers. Previously, just a simple majority was needed to pass tax increases.

In Clayton County, 3,981 voters supported passage of the amendment, while 2,676 voted “no.”

All results remain unofficial until canvassing is completed.