Voting reflects negativity

(GTNS) ? Four first-term Democratic Iowa senators were up for election Tuesday ? all four were unseated by Republican candidates.

Republican Sandy Greiner defeated incumbent Democrat Becky Schmitz for the Iowa Senate District 45 seat. Greiner captured 51 percent of the vote while Schmitz got 44 percent. Douglas Philips of the Iowa Party got 5 percent.

Outside the Washington County Republican campaign headquarters Tuesday evening, Greiner said she was proud of her election as state senator, but was glad the campaign was over.

?It was so negative,? she said of the campaign. ?From day one it was negative. The first thing she did was run negative ads and send negative mail. I think the people in this district have sent a message that they don?t approve of negative ads in those extremes in southeastern Iowa.?

?I think the negativity was probably a wash between the two campaigns,? said Schmitz.

In a press release issued late Tuesday night, Schmitz attributed her loss to ?the sweeping, anti-incumbent tidal wave this year [that] was too much to overcome.?

She referenced the rarity of four first-term Democratic senators all getting defeated.

?It?s very unusual for that to happen,? she said.

Greiner defeated Schmitz in three of the five counties either fully or partially included in Senate District 45.

Greiner swept Washington County with 59 percent of the vote ? 5,033 votes to 3,195. She also took Van Buren County with 51 percent of the vote ? 1,465 to 1,070; and Wapello County with 50 percent of the vote ? 1,159 to 1,008.

Schmitz led the race in Johnson County ? 1,246 to 1,186, capturing 49 percent of the vote. She also came out ahead in Jefferson County with 55 percent of the vote, defeating Greiner 3,637 to 2,794.

?I really appreciate the tremendous support of Jefferson County in the elections,? Schmitz said, pointing out her home county represented her strongest base of support. She faired the worst in Greiner?s home territory of Washington County.

Greiner doesn?t yet have specific plans for her upcoming term in office, but she said she has her work cut out for her.

?We have a tremendous job ahead of us,? she said. ?That is everyone who was elected tonight. The state?s finances are in a great mess. It?s going to take great fiscal restraint to make corrections and turn Iowa around.?

Republican Jarad Klein defeated incumbent Democrat Larry Marek for the Iowa House District 89 seat. Klein won 54 percent of the vote to Marek?s 43 percent ? 6,318 votes to 5,092. Green Party candidate David Smithers garnered 3 percent.

Klein attributed his win to the feeling that people want to see an across-the board change in government.

For the complete article, see the Thursday, Nov. 4, 2010, printed edition of The Fairfield Ledger.