Three Republicans compete for GOP nomination in Iowa District 42

Three GOP candidates are on the primary ballot for the Iowa Senate in District 42, which covers much of rural Linn and Benton counties. There is no incumbent senator in the district due to redistricting in 2021.

The winner of the primary election on June 7 will run in November against Democrat Jessica Wiskus, the only Democrat who is running in the district.

The three candidates, Colman Silbernagel, Justin Wasson and Charlie McClintock, share similar views on some issues, like abortion, but differ in other areas. All three are against abortion and said they would support legislation that limits abortion rights.

Silbernagel and Wasson had similar views on recent issues surrounding education, including Gov. Kim Reynolds’ bill that didn’t pass this year that would have allowed some Iowa students to attend private schools using public funds through a voucher program. Both candidates stated they would support similar bills in the future that provide parents with the right to decide how their children are educated.

“Parents are the primary educators of their children, and so they should be the ones to decide how to best educate their kids,” Silbernagel said.

Wasson agreed, stating that supporting Reynolds’ legislative agenda, including the voucher bill, would be one of his highest priorities if he were elected.

“Parents know their children better than the government, and it should be up to them how their dollars are spent to best serve their educational needs. I fully support parents' money following their children, whether that be in a public, private or home-school setting,” Wasson said.

McClintock, who is currently serving as the House representative in Iowa District 95, said he voted against the voucher bill this year, but emphasized that his future positions would be determined by the desires of his constituents.

“My constituents communicated to me very clearly that they did not support taking public dollars and giving it to private entities without any oversight,” McClintock said. “As a conservative, I believe that tax dollars should come with oversight and I don’t believe that private schools want or need additional interference from the government. As far as my future stance on the issue, I will continue to make sure that my position reflects the views of my constituents.”

McClintock was elected as House representative in District 95 in 2020. Some of the other issues he said he’d like to focus on include keeping inflation low and incentivizing and increasing housing and child care infrastructure in the state.

McClintock, 52, was born in Iowa and currently works as the public safety dispatch manager for the Cedar Rapids Police Department. He’s been married for almost 30 years and has two adult children.

Silbernagel, 34, is the father of two boys and said that many of the changes that he wants to see are because he wants to improve the state that his kids are growing up in.

“I take my responsibility as a father very seriously,” he said. “It was one of the reasons that I ran and one of the reasons that I considered not running, because anybody can be a state senator, only I can be their father.”

Silbernagel said abortion is his top issue, but along with supporting legislation that bans abortion, he would also push for legislation that supports families and encourages fathers to be in the home as much as possible.

Silbernagel served in the military for four years and now works as a data analyst.

Wasson, 34, also said part of the reason he’s running is because he’s concerned about the world his three children are growing up in. Besides abortion and private school funding, Wasson is concerned about critical race theory being taught in schools, CO2 pipeline and solar proposals in Eastern Iowa, making Iowa a Second Amendment sanctuary state and providing more protection for law enforcement officers.

Wasson is the owner of Linn County-based Affordable Pressure Washing.

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