–Three local races brought voters in Kossuth County to the polls at more than two times the statewide average on Tuesday , with Howard Haas, Amber Garman and Roger Fisher winning their primary elections.
The three contested races in Kossuth County were all on the Republican side, for 2 seats on the Board of Supervisors and for County Sheriff.
In the District #2 Supervisor race, Howard Haas garnered 64% of the vote to defeat Will Struecker 140-78. Haas does not currently have an opponent, as no candidate filed the paperwork to seek the Democratic Party nomination. There were six write-in votes, so a general election opponent for Haas could come from that pool of votes. Current District #2 Supervisor Jack Plathe decided not to seek reelection this fall.
In the District #5 Supervisor race, former County Auditor Amber Garman won a 3-way race for the Republican Party nomination, taking in 44% of the vote to top Dennis Higgins and Christian Schlaefer. Garman finished with 173 votes, with Higgins finishing 2nd (98) and Schlaefer 3rd (62). Garman will go up against Bruce Meinders in November, as Meinders was unopposed for the Democratic Party nomination. Current 5th District Supervisor Roger Tjarks also decided not to seek another term in office.
In the race for Kossuth County Sheriff, incumbent Roger Fisher easily outdistanced challenger Brian Runneberg, grabbing 72% of the vote. Fisher ended with 1,172 votes to Runneberg’s 463. There were no names on the ballot seeking the Democratic Party nomination for Sheriff, however there were 59 write-in votes, which could provide a November opponent for Fisher.
County Auditor Tammy Eden was unopposed in the Republican Party primary, and there are currently no Democrats seeking the seat.
A contested Republican Primary for the US House District #4 seat saw incumbent Randy Feenstra edge Kevin Virgil in Kossuth County 794-716, however the two-term Congressman from Hull had an easier time across the rest of the 4th District, grabbing nearly 60% of the votes cast and defeating Virgil by almost 10,000 votes.
Over 1,800 ballots were cast in Kossuth County, putting voter turnout at over16%, compared to around 8% statewide.
