A few of Tuesday’s municipal races are undecided and will require run-off elections as some Iowa cities require winners to get a clear majority — or 50 percent plus one — of the vote.
In Iowa’s largest city, Des Moines Mayor Frank Cownie is seeking a fifth term and got 43.5 percent of the vote — just seven-tenths of a percent ahead of Jack Hatch, a former state legislator who unsuccessfully ran for governor in 2014. They face-off in a run-off in December.
A 20-year-old Iowa State University student came within a percentage point of a majority win in her race for a seat on the Ames City Council. Rachel Junck, who grew up in Ames, will face a run-off in December, too. If she wins, reports indicate she would be the youngest woman elected to political office in Iowa.
In other large-city races, Davenport Alderman Mike Matson defeated another city council member in his race to be the next mayor of Davenport. Cedar Falls City Councilman Rob Green defeated the incumbent mayor by a wide margin. Sioux City Mayor Bob Scott was reelected with 68 percent of the vote.
In Indianola, 58 percent of voters approved spending another $3.5 million on the county’s Justice Center, but that’s two percent short of the super majority needed to approve the bond issue.