Kayla Koether
Recounts have been completed in two, very close legislative races. The outcome in both races remains the same as Election Night results, with Republicans ahead in both contests.
The hand-recount of ballots in two northeast Iowa counties shows Republican Representative Michael Bergen of Dorchester finished ahead of Democrat Kayla Koether of Decorah by nine votes. Koether is not conceding, though.
“At this point, I don’t know,” Koether said. “We’ll still be considering options.”
Koether cited the 32 absentee ballots in Winneshiek County that were not counted because they lacked a postmark.
“We know that people voted legally and in good faith and it’s still my position that their votes should be counted,” Koether said.
The other recount was in southeast Iowa, for a House seat in the Fairfield area. Republican challenger Jeff Shipley finished ahead of Democratic State Representative Phil Miller by 37 votes.
The official statewide canvass of the 2018 election results is scheduled for Monday, December 3rd.
(By Darin Svenson, KDEC, Decorah; additional reporting by Radio Iowa’s O. Kay Henderson)