Democrats could be fighting an uphill battle to gain votes, said the publicity chair for the Story County Republican Party.

Iowa Primaries took place on June 2, providing insight into who will be on the ballot for the general election on Nov 3.

Federal offices

Republican Candidate Ashley Hinson prevailed over Jim Carlin, putting her on the ballot for U.S. Senate against Democrat Josh Turek. Story County GOP Publicity Chair Mike Dubiel said he believes Ashley was the correct choice.

“She has by far the best name recognition of anyone who was in the primary,” Dubiel said. “She has a strong conservative record. She had widespread support from the party side. … I’m very excited that she’s the candidate. I think she’ll be difficult to beat in the general.”

Dubiel explained what a Hinson win would mean for the Republican Party.

“If Ashley Hinson wins the Senate seat, it could make it very difficult for the Democrats to achieve the option where they would have both the House and the Senate,” he said. “So it’s important for us because we’d like to hold the Senate.”

Governor race

Republicans faced a packed five-person primary ballot this year with current Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, a Republican, retiring.

The two frontrunners, Zach Lahn and Randy Feenstra, were within a point of each other in the final tally. Feenstra conceded to Lahn, leaving him as the Republican candidate. The result was surprising to Dubiel.

“It’s very unusual for a candidate to go from not having held elected office to be nominated for a top office,” Dubiel said. “One of the reasons that has happened is because there is some genuine excitement for Zach.”

Feenstra’s loss also marked a notable development for Dubiel. President Trump endorsed Feenstra two days before the primary.

“The fact that the president’s endorsement has helped so many other candidates so much,” Dubiel said, “there was reason to infer that Randy Fenstra would win. I was very surprised.”

Story County Board of Supervisors

Republican Jeff Staton will face incumbent Democrat Linda Murken for the newly drawn districts for Story County supervisors. Murken has served on the board of supervisors since 2018. She is currently in her second term.

​Dubiel sees the opportunity for Staton to be elected bringing a wider range of voices to Story County.

“I think Jeff has an excellent chance to win that election,” he said. “I think it’s important to have district supervisor elections because I really believe that the three supervisors we have now tend to overwhelmingly listen to Ames voices. There are a lot of other people in Story County.”

Turnout on both sides

Looking to the future, Dubiel said a general election win for Republicans requires getting their voters to the polls.

“I would say that the most important thing that Lahn and Hinson need to do is to get registered Republican voters to come to the polls,” he said. “I would assert that the evidence is there that if we as Republicans show up, if we come and vote, we are going to win.”

He said he believes the Democratic Party still has a challenge of gaining votes.

“I think that the Democrats have a lot more heavy lifting to do than the Republicans do, just because their brand has really been tarnished these last few years in the state, and it’s reflected by the registered voter advantage the Republicans have,” Dubiel said. “They not only have to run a great campaign, but they have to overcome a lot of baggage that has made them lag so badly behind Republicans and non-party-affiliated voters.”