Only one Iowa legislative race was recount-close this year: House district 19, covering part of Council Bluffs. Unofficial results put Republican State Representative Brent Siegrist 39 votes ahead of Democratic challenger Ben Larson: 5,157 votes to 5,118 (50.1 percent to 49.8 percent). Larson requested a recount.
Pottawattamie County Auditor Mary Ann Hanusa confirmed by telephone on November 10 that the recount will begin on Monday morning, November 16. Since there are only eleven precincts to count, she expects to announce results the same day.
House district 19 will be Iowa’s first state legislative race recounted under a new procedure Republicans enacted in 2025. Under that law, staff from the Pottawattamie County auditor’s office will conduct the recount. Previous state law entrusted recounts to a three-member board consisting of each candidate’s designee and one person chosen by the other two members…