Iowa 2022 primary election race results from June 7
Here are the results from key races from the June 7 Iowa primary elections.
Elisabeth Smith, Wochit
Todd Halbur, a political outsider who is suing the state over his 2018 firing from the Iowa Alcoholic Beverage Division, defeated Mary Ann Hanusa in the Republican primary for state auditor.
Halbur led Hanusa by a narrow margin, according to unofficial results Tuesday night. The Associated Press declared he was the winner.
Halbur will face incumbent Rob Sand in November. Sand, one of the few Iowa Democrats holding statewide office, became auditor in 2019. He is a former assistant attorney general who made national headlines when he successfully prosecuted a high-profile lottery scam
Halbur, 55, of Clive, campaigned on his financial experience and his status as a newcomer on the political scene. In addition to working as a Realtor, Halbur with his wife own the distribution company Custom School Supply.
Halbur previously worked as a banker and served as comptroller for the Iowa Alcoholic Beverage Division, the state’s exclusive liquor wholesaler. Halbur started working for the agency in 2015 but said his boss fired him in 2018 when he refused to sign off on a no-bid contract.
Election results: See Iowa primary election results across the state
Halbur filed a whistleblower lawsuit against the division in December 2019, alleging that Alcoholic Beverage Division officials illegally marked up the cost of liquor that they sell to retailers. The case is still pending, with the Iowa Attorney General’s Office scheduled to depose Halbur on June 14.
Halbur, who did not immediately return a call seeking comment, said his experience with financial oversight would make him a good fit in the auditor role.
Hanusa, 59, of Council Bluffs, campaigned on her political experience. A state representative from 2011 to 2021, she said her time as chair of the House Government Oversight Committee prepared her for the job of auditor, whose office reviews state agency spending.
Election results: See Iowa primary election results across the state
Prior to her time in the Legislature, she served in the White House as director of the office of personal presidential correspondence for President George W. Bush. She served in a similar role for President George H.W. Bush before running U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley’s Council Bluffs constituent services office.
Grassley, U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst and Gov. Kim Reynolds endorsed Hanusa when she announced her campaign for state auditor in January.
Despite the close tally, Hanusa conceded Tuesday night. She said she was thankful for voters’ support in her campaign of “restoring credibility to the auditor’s office.”
“It just came up a little short tonight,” she said. “Tomorrow’s another day, and you move on to another opportunity.”
Tyler Jett covers jobs and the economy for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at [email protected], 515-284-8215, or on Twitter at @LetsJett.
