As we march ever closer to this Tuesday and Election Day, many of the races in the Raccoon Valley Radio listening area pit two individuals vying to replace an incumbent not seeking re-election.
One such race is for the District 19 seat in the Iowa House of Representatives. The office was vacated by the retiring Ralph Watts, and now Democrat Gregg Gustafson and Republican Chris Hagenow seek to fill it. Gustafson is the owner of several small businesses in the Des Moines area, though he has never held a public office. If elected, he says he would work to return the state’s K-12 education to the days when it was ranked as one of the top public school systems in the nation. He feels he’s the best candidate for the 19th District because he was born and raised there and knows the needs of the constituents. “Our voters and the people in the district deserve to have somebody that’s going to work for them. That they’re not going to have somebody that’s just out there representing a political party, or representing a political organization.”
Hagenow is a lawyer and has spent the last five terms in the Iowa House representing the 43rd District, which includes parts of Clive and West Des Moines in Polk County. He is the current House Majority Leader. If elected to represent the 19th District, he would like to continue what he feels is a strong economic environment in Iowa, particularly in regards to low unemployment and taxes. He asks voters to choose him because he believes he’s listened to their wants and needs and delivered it through legislation. “I think that the issues that we continue to work on are the issues that are very important to the folks that live out here in Dallas County. And because of that record of accomplishment, I think they can trust us and trust me to continue to move the state in the right direction.”
To hear more from Gustafson and Hagenow, listen to our U.S. and Iowa House of Representatives Meet the Candidates Special Edition News Magazine on demand at RaccoonValleyRadio.com. It will be available through Election Day, which is Tuesday, November 6th.