Republican incumbents elected to four more years as Jasper County supervisors

Both Republican incumbents running for the Jasper County Board of Supervisors have been re-elected to their respective seats. According to preliminary results released by the auditor’s office, Brandon Talsma and Denny Carpenter have the most votes, besting Democratic challengers Bev Price and Pam Olson.

Leading the pack was Talsma with 8,805 votes out of a total 25,891 votes, or 34.01 percent. Carpenter earned 6,873 votes, or 26.55 percent. Bev Price had 5,626 votes, or 21.73 percent, while Pam Olson received 4,560 votes, or 17.61 percent. This year saw a 56.42 percent voter turnout in Jasper County.

By the time results were posted, Talsma was feeling relieved. Like he could finally take a momentary, deep breath of air. With both incumbents retaining their seats, Talsma said it hopefully means the board can keep moving forward and focusing on progress and priorities such as law enforcement and infrastructure.

Talsma won his first election for the county board of supervisors in 2018. Back then he also received more than 8,000 votes, more than any other candidate at the time. With the campaigning now over, Talsma thanked his wife, Holly, for playing an integral part of his re-election.

“Second of all, everyone else who voted for me and supported us along the way and helped, whether it was (with a) parade handing out candy or door knocking or calling individuals and trying to hold political functions,” Talsma said. “You can’t do it by yourself. It takes everybody. I’m deeply appreciative of it.”

Carpenter’s win comes at a time when the supervisor has not been able to physically attend meetings after an injury from a fall in his home forced him to seek recovery treatment at Newton Village. He still participates in the board meetings remotely with the help of Rep. Jon Dunwell every Tuesday morning.

In an interview with Newton News earlier on Election Day, Carpenter said he did not think his recovery at Newton Village would affect his chances in the election. To him, the decision was ultimately left up to God, and he has frequently stated it was God’s will he run again for county supervisor.

Olson extended her congratulations to Carpenter and Talsma, and she thanked all those who voted for her and supported her throughout the race. Olson ran for the county supervisor seat in 2018. Price told Newton News she wanted to thank everyone that cast a vote for her.

“I had a lot of hardworking volunteers that gave it their all,” Price said. “We ran a respectful, honest campaign.”