Two candidates seek first term to represent House District 92

Two candidates are seeking their first term to represent Iowa House District 92, which covers all of Washington County and parts of Johnson County.

Democrat Eileen Beran of Kalona is running against Republican Heather Hora of Washington for the two-year term. Hora won the Republican primary in June. Beran was nominated by the Democratic Party during a special convention in August.

Rep. Jarad Klein, a Republican from Keota, has served the area for 12 years and did not seek re-election.

The election is Nov. 8.

Eileen Beran

Beran, 68, is running for elected office for the first time.

Now retired, she had a more than 40-year career as a writer, editor and graphic artist. She and her family moved to Iowa in 2000. Beran has been married to her husband, Bill, for 42 years.

After seeing there would be no Democratic candidate on the ballot for the seat, Beran made the decision to run and “be the representative I wanted for my district.”

She said she has usually voted Democrat, but also has been registered as no-party and Republican in the past. When talking with voters, she said, this is something they have related to and it has spurred conversation.

Beran said education is a “top-of-mind issue” for almost everyone she has spoken to and important to her as well. Among her main priorities is keeping public funds in public schools.

“Voting down vouchers, fully funding schools, giving teachers a seat at the table — all of those are really important to me and to the people that I talked to,” Beran said.

Other main priorities, she said, include supporting firearm safety measures and defending a patient’s right to make health care decisions with their doctor. She also said she’d oppose any attempts to erase lawful votes or restrict voter access.

“We need to have people's voices represented, and voting access has been restricted,” Beran said, bringing up issues including a reduction in hours polls are open for general elections.

Heather Hora

Hora, 52, won the Republican primary against opponent Jaron Rosien with 64 percent of the vote. She previously ran in 2018 to represent Senate District 39, but lost to Sen. Kevin Kinney.

Hora and her husband of 18 years, Kurt, are both fifth-generation farmers. They have three children, who help them raise corn, soybeans and pigs.

Hora earned an endorsement from Gov. Kim Reynolds ahead of the primary for her support of the governor’s proposed legislation creating taxpayer-funded scholarships to pay for private school tuition — also known as the school voucher bill. This bill failed to pass the Iowa House before the end of the previous legislative session.

“I believe (Reynolds) is one of the greatest leaders of all time and I am humbled by her endorsement,” Hora previously told The Gazette. “I look forward to working with her to enact a pro-taxpayer, pro-family, and a pro-parent agenda in 2023.”

Among Hora’s priorities if elected will be property tax relief and strengthening programs intended to grow the state’s workforce, like Future Ready Iowa.

Hora said she opposes abortion rights and that elected officials have a duty to ensure all children can “grow up in a permanent, loving home.”

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