Meet the candidates: Levin running for re-election, Republicans vying to fill open NE Iowa seat

Iowa Rep. Elinor Levin, a Democrat from Iowa City, is running for a second, two-year term representing a Johnson County district in the Iowa House.

Levin is completing her first term serving Iowa House District 89, which covers some of southern Iowa City, University Heights, and a portion of rural southern Johnson County.

There is another Democrat on the ballot in House District 89: Ty Bopp, an assistant store manager at Hy-Vee in Iowa City.

Bopp also announced his candidacy for the Iowa House in 2022 in House District 92, which covers southern Johnson County and all of Washington County.

Bopp dropped out of that campaign just before the primary election, but his name still appeared on the ballot uncontested, so he won that primary. Democrats then nominated a different candidate for that year’s general election.

This year, Bopp has not filed any campaign fundraising reports with the state, and does not have any active campaign materials online or on social media.

The Johnson County Auditor’s office said Bopp did not officially withdraw from this year’s election, so his name appears on the primary election ballot.

Bopp did not return multiple emails and phone calls from The Gazette.

Earlier this year, Levin told The Gazette she is running to put people over politics — a phrase often used by Iowa House Democrats — and to advance legislation that will lower costs, raise wages and improve the lives of everyday Iowans struggling to afford health care, food, child care, and utility bills.

In the House, Levin has been a vocal advocate for LGBTQ+ Iowans and a staunch opponent to a failed bill that would have removed gender identity as a protected class under the Iowa Civil Rights code and a new law that changed the funding and services that Area Education Agencies are able to provide to local students and families.

“I ran in the first place because most of the people I know, most of my friends, don’t feel like Iowa is a safe and welcoming place for them,” Levin said. “I don’t feel like I’m done yet. There’s still a lot of work to do.”

House District 64

A retirement has spawned a two-candidate Republican Party primary election in a northeast Iowa House District.

Rep. Anne Osmundson, a Republican from Volga, has decided against running for another term, leaving an open seat in Iowa House District 64, which includes all of Allamakee and Clayton counties, and a small portion of northern Dubuque County.

Two Republicans are running in the primary: Jason Gearhart of Strawberry Point and Douglas Wolfe of Elkader.

Neither candidate returned messages from The Gazette.

Ahead of the primary deadline, no Democrat filed to run in the district, which Osmundson won in 2022 by 37 percentage points.

According to his campaign website, Gearhart spent five years as a military police officer and investigator in the U.S. Army, and has served on the Strawberry Point Chamber of Commerce and City Council, and the Starmont Community School Board.

Wolfe told the Waukon Standard newspaper that he is a native of Cedar Rapids, a real estate broker and founder of Marriage Minded Ministries. Wolfe also told the Standard he has worked on Congressional campaigns in Arizona.

Comments: (515) 355-1300, erin.murphy@thegazette.com