Three Iowa House incumbents lose primary elections

Three incumbents in the Iowa House lost in the June 2 primary election against challengers from within their party.

Several lawmakers currently serving in the state Legislature from both parties faced challengers in the Tuesday primary, but most were able to hold onto their party’s nomination. However, there were three state lawmakers who ran for reelection but will not appear on the Nov. 3 general election ballot.

Two of the incumbents who lost Tuesday were Republicans: Rep. Brian Lohse, R-Bondurant, and Rep. Jane Bloomingdale, R-Northwood. Lohse, who represents Iowa House District 45 which includes Bondurant, Polk City and Mitchellville, lost in the Republican primary to challenger Austin Stubbs, a Republican campaigning in opposition to “radical gender policies in schools, sports, and public spaces” while advocating “parental rights,” according to his campaign website.

Stubbs won the Republican nomination with 75% of the vote to Lohse’s 25%, according to results published by the Iowa Secretary of State’s website. Stubbs will face Democrat Kendra Haug, who was unopposed in the primary, in the November election.

Bloomingdale lost her primary to Dani Ollenburg of Clear Lake; the incumbent had 42% of the vote while Ollenburg won the GOP nomination with 58%. The two faced off for the House District 60 Republican primary, representing Worth and Mitchell counties in addition to portions of Cerro Gordo and Floyd counties in north-central Iowa. Ollenberg has said she is “pro-life,” supported “school choice,” and would oppose abuses of eminent domain if elected, according to her campaign website.

Ollenberg is set to face Democrat Alexander Schmidt in the general election.

One Democratic incumbent, Rep. Ken Croken, D-Davenport, also lost to a challenger. Adam Peters won the Democratic primary race in Iowa House District 97, representing eastern and central Davenport, with 63% of the vote. Peters is the director of operations at Clock, Inc., an LGBT+ community center in the Quad Cities, according to his campaign website, and has advocated for issues like improving water quality in Iowa, while opposing the state’s move to remove gender identity from the state’s civil rights code and restrict access to abortions.

No Republican has filed to run for the Davenport seat.