Rozenboom gets another term in statehouse at SD19 seat

Ken Rozenboom is extending his 10-year tenure at the statehouse. According to the preliminary results released by auditor’s offices across three counties, the Republican legislator running for Iowa Senate District 19 has garnered about 69 percent of the votes among Jasper, Marion and Mahaska Counties.

In Jasper County, Rozenboom walked away with 9,267 votes out of a total 14,760 votes, or 62.78 percent. Meanwhile, Democratic candidate Tyler Stewart had 5,486 votes, or 37.17 percent. Rozenboom feels good about the amount of votes he received in Jasper County, saying he is honored to serve.

“It’s a great honor, it’s a great responsibility,” Rozenboom said. “At one level it’s very humbling because we all have our opinions, but when you do this job your opinions impact thousands of Iowans. And you can’t take it lightly. You have to be a good listener, and you must be thoughtful. And that’s who I hope I am.”

Looking at the next two years, Rozenboom is focused on having serious discussions about taxes, education and school choice, as well as addressing issues with animal rights activists “and their attempts to destroy livestock agriculture.”

Rozenboom added, “We need to keep working on this to help grow Iowa.”

Stewart was shocked by the some of the results, saying many of the Democrats on the ballot were good candidates with strong connections to the community. But in the end they did not come close, he said. It is frustrating, Stewart added, and it is indicative of people’s habits to vote for one party.

“We don’t hold voting to the high standard that we should, but it seems that they’re looking at the letter before their name,” Stewart said. “They’re going ‘I’m going to vote straight Republican’ or ‘I’m going to vote straight Democrat,’ and that’s not healthy and has maybe led to our country being so divided.”

However, Stewart was quick to acknowledge he was a long shot. But some races should have been closer or even flipped, he said.