Republicans sweep most statewide offices in Iowa

Republicans swept most of Iowa's statewide offices Tuesday to add to their full control of the governor's office and Iowa Legislature, unseating the longest-serving state attorney general and state treasurer in U.S. history.

That’s according to unofficial election results from 97 of 99 Iowa counties. The only possible exception was the race for State Auditor, where Democratic incumbent Rob Sand was narrowly leading Wednesday morning — but with recounts ordered for all races in Warren and Des Moines counties.

Brenna Bird — who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump and more than 70 Iowa sheriffs — bested Democratic incumbent Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller, who was hoping for his 11th term as Iowa’s attorney general.

Similarly, Democratic incumbent Mike Fitzgerald lost his title as state treasurer to Republican challenger and Davenport lawmaker Roby Smith.

Attorney General

The Attorney General is Iowa’s chief legal officer who supervises and directs the state’s legal business.

Miller, 78, had been the Iowa Attorney General since 1979, aside from a four-year break when he ran unsuccessfully for governor in 1990. He was the longest serving state attorney general in U.S. history.

Bird, 46, has served as the county attorney for Fremont, Guthrie and Audubon counties. She worked as former Republican U.S. Rep. Steve King’s counsel and chief of staff until 2010. After that, she worked as Gov. Terry Branstad’s legal counsel until 2015.

Last month, a Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll found Miller led Bird by 16 percentage points among likely voters.

“I am looking forward to the next four years because we are going to back the blue. We are going to help crime get down. We are going to enforce the Constitution on the federal government,” Bird said at a Republican watch party in Des Moines.

“Despite this and the results, I’m very thankful to the voters that have given me the chance 10 times in 40 years to be the attorney general,” Miller said Tuesday. “I’m deeply indebted.”

On their respective campaign trails, the candidates touted contrasting takes for what they’d do if elected.

Bird’s pitch to voters focused on two major planks: supporting law enforcement and suing the Biden administration for what she sees as federal overreach. Miller said he’d spend the term focusing on antitrust action against large technology companies, like Google, and continue his focus on consumer protection measures.

At a rally for former President Donald Trump in November, Gov. Kim Reynolds said “help me get my own attorney general in Brenna Bird.” A similar line in May drew criticism from Democrats, who said the attorney general should represent the interests of the state, not be the governor’s personal attorney.

Bird, in an appearance on Iowa Press in September, defended Reynolds’ statement but said she would represent all Iowans as attorney general.

“I will call things like I see them, the balls and the strikes, not according to politics, just like I do as a prosecutor, as a county attorney,” she said.

Treasurer of State

The treasurer serves as the state’s banker. The office manages taxes paid to the state, invests the state’s money and administrates savings programs.

Fitzgerald, 70, was first elected in 1982 and most recently reelected in 2018. He said if he was reelected again, he would continue promoting the state treasurer’s programs and would want to start a 401(k) program for people without access to a work retirement savings plan.

Smith, 44, worked for 10 years as a banker before running for the Iowa Legislature, where he has been a senator for 12 years. He is a part-owner of the Quad Cities River Bandits, a minor league baseball team, and an unpaid member of the Quad Cities area U.S. Bank Board.

If elected, Smith said he would advocate for tax cuts, promote financial literacy and increase the state's investment rating on its 529 College Savings program — a tax-advantaged savings plan to save for future education.

Smith has repeatedly pressed Fitzgerald on Morning Star, a financial rating agency, downgrading the state's 529 College Savings Iowa plan from a bronze to a “neutral” rating. Fitzgerald has said that was because of a miscommunication and expected Morning Star to raise its rating — which it did last week.

“We took out the longest serving state treasurer in American history tonight,” Smith said at a Republican watch party in Des Moines. “We're gonna protect taxpayers, we're going to advocate for tax cuts and we'll get the best return for the people's money.”

Secretary of State

In a race between two candidates with Linn County ties, Republican incumbent Paul Pate won his third consecutive term as Iowa’s secretary of state over Democratic contender Joel Miller.

The secretary of state oversees Iowa’s elections, supervises county auditors and handles the state’s business filings.

Pate, 64, is a former mayor of Cedar Rapids and state legislator. He held the secretary of state position once in the 1990s.

Miller, 67, has been Linn County’s auditor since 2007 and is a former mayor of Robins.

In 2018, Pate’s office implemented the Fast Track filing system for businesses with the goal of making the registration process faster as well as reducing filing fees. He also presented the ID bill to the Legislature, which required voters to present an approved form of identification at the polls.

Both Pate and Miller told The Gazette it’s important for Iowa’s secretary of state to put voters first and be consistent with messaging about elections being safe, secure and not stolen.

As Iowans went to cast their ballots Tuesday, Pate said threats to Iowa’s election security appeared to be minimal.

“We're looking at the second highest (in) state history midterm turnout this election because you all came out and voted,” Pate told a gathering of supporters in Des Moines. “I look forward to serving you the next four years.”

Auditor of State

Sand was leading early Wednesday with barely over 50 percent of the vote in his bid to win a second term as “Iowa’s taxpayer watchdog” over Republican challenger Todd Halbur, who served as chief financial officer of a state agency and has banking and finance experience.

Sand, 40, a lawyer, was criticized when running for the office in 2018 for not being a licensed certified public accountant, although a state licensing board determined there are no legal requirements to possess a CPA license to hold the office. Halbur is not a CPA, either.

Halbur, 55, owns a school supply distribution company and is a licensed real estate agent. He also served as chief financial officer at the Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division, which dismissed him in 2018. However, he was recently awarded $1 million by a Polk County jury as the result of a whistleblower lawsuit against the division and its administrator for wrongful termination.

Halbur told The Gazette he wanted to increase the frequency of state audits of smaller local governmental agencies. He also said he would work to maintain the independence of the office and ensure all state agencies, including the governor’s office, are fiscally responsible with tax dollars.

The Iowa Secretary of State Office said it had ordered an administrative recount in Warren and Des Moines counties, due to “technical problems.” Those missing results are enough to determine the outcome of the close race.

Secretary of Agriculture

Republican incumbent Mike Naig defeated his Democratic challenger, John Norwood, to secure another four-year term as Iowa’s secretary of agriculture.

Naig, 44, had been working as deputy secretary of the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship when, in 2018, he was promoted to the post after former Secretary Bill Northey accepted a position in the federal ag department. Later that year, Naig won election to a full, four-year term as ag secretary.

Norwood, 58, a business owner and Polk County Soil and Water commissioner, said if he won his race, he would’ve wanted to expedite Iowa’s work on improving water quality and foster an agricultural system that would be built to last.

During an interview, Naig praised his department’s responses to historic flooding, droughts, a derecho, return of the bird flu and a pandemic.

“I'm grateful for the opportunity to get up and go to work every day on behalf of the greatest agriculture state in the nation,” Naig said at a Republican watch party in Des Moines. “God made Iowa for agriculture, and it's our responsibility to protect that.”

Caleb McCullough and Erin Murphy of The Gazette-Lee Des Moines Bureau contributed to this report.

Comments: (319) 398-8370; brittney.miller@thegazette.com