Republican incumbent Sen. Annette Sweeney (right) of Buckeye will face a challenge from Democrat Sam Cox (left) of Grinnell in the race for Senate District 27. The new district including Tama County, Poweshiek County, Grundy County, Hardin County and a small portion of Black Hawk County. -- Photos courtesy of Secretary of State Office and Iowa Legislature

The state legislative election picture became clearer last week following the Friday filing deadline for Republican and Democrat candidates to appear on the ballot for the June primary election.

The current midterm election cycle marks the first foray into the new legislative districts that were drawn and approved by the state legislature last fall using the 2020 census statistics.

Within the three legislative districts that will be encompassed within the News Chronicle coverage area, the biggest change geographically came with new Senate District 27.

During the previous 10-year district cycle Tama County was attached with Marshall County in a tidy, two-county footprint.

Senate District 27 will now include both Tama and Grundy counties as well Hardin County, Poweshiek County and a small portion of Black Hawk County. This makes it one of largest Senate districts east of Interstate 35, akin to the sprawling districts seen in much of western Iowa.

Fellow Republican incumbents Dean Fisher (left) of Montour and Dave Maxwell (right) of Gibson will face off in the June primary for the Republican nomination for the general election in November. The new House District 53 will cover Poweshiek County and all but the northeastern corner of Tama County. -- Photos courtesy of Iowa Legislature

Republican incumbent senator Annette Sweeney of Buckeye is the lone candidate vying for the Republican nomination while first-time challenger Sam Cox of Grinnell was the only candidate to file for the Democratic nomination.

Current state senator Jeff Edler, a Republican from State Center, is now outside of Tama County’s state senate district and after this year will no longer serve Tama County. Edler’s seat will next be up for election in 2024 as he was just reelected to his second term in 2020.

Sweeney, meanwhile, will be seeking her second full term in the senate after being elected twice in 2018. In April of 2018 Sweeney won a special election to fill a senate seat vacancy left by the unexpected departure of Sen. Bill Dix of Shell Rock. Later that year the same seat was up in the November general election. Both the special election and general election were won by Sweeney over Democrat Tracy Frese of Dike.

Sweeney works on a family cattle operation in rural Hardin County and is a former teacher, state representative and business owner.

The presumptive Democratic nominee for the District 27 comes from the opposite end of the district in Poweshiek County.

Sarah Smith of Grinnell was the lone candidate to file for the Democratic nomination in the Iowa House District 53 race. Smith will face either Rep. Dave Maxwell or Rep. Dean Fisher in the November general election. -- Photo provided

Sam Cox is a small-business owner from Grinnell, operating the Saints Rest coffee house in the downtown Grinnell area since 2013.

House District 53

In Tama County, a pair of incumbent representatives will be facing off in the upcoming June Republican primary.

Republican incumbent representative Dave Maxwell of Gibson and fellow GOP incumbent representative Dean Fisher of Montour both filed for election to seek the party’s nomination in the newly constructed House District 53.

The new district includes Poweshiek County and all but the northeastern corner of Tama County.

Maxwell and Fisher entered the legislature at the same time following the 2012 election, Maxwell serving Poweshiek County and part of Iowa County and Fisher serving Tama County and part of Marshall County over the past 10 years.

On the Democrat side of the primary, challenger Sarah Smith of Grinnell has filed to run a second time after a 2020 bid to defeat Maxwell for the Iowa House 76 seat fell short.

Smith, who is running unopposed in the June primary, currently works as the Director of Program Outreach & Events for Grinnell College.

Voters will head to the polls on June 7 to cast their ballot for the party nominations to the November general election.

To vote in the primary election voters must be registered as a member of one of the two political parties. Those seeking absentee ballots for the June primary have until May 23 to turn in an absentee ballot request form.

For voting or voter registration questions, contact the county auditor’s office.