Democrat Mark Martinez is the projected winner of the Douglas County sheriff's race over incumbent Aaron Hanson. Hanson posted on social media late Tuesday that he congratulated Martinez on his victory. The victory comes after the Douglas County Republican Party previously questioned whether he was qualified to run, with the party's chairman adding he didn't hold an "active" peace officer certificate since his expired in 2009.Martinez appealed, with a justice ruling that the law requires only that a candidate "possess" a certificate, not that it has to be active. Once the results are official, he will begin his term in January.
A Democratic candidate who stopped campaigning months ago because of health issues has still won his Iowa House race. Eric Armstrong, who was running to replace now-U.S. Senator-elect Josh Turek in Pottawattamie County's House District 20, suspended his campaign in September. In a Facebook post, Armstrong said the district deserved a candidate who could give the race their full attention, and he felt he could not do that while dealing with health concerns. Armstrong's name remained on the ballot, and he defeated Republican Keith Jones by over 800 votes.
Governor-elect Rob Sand is giving more information about his transition into the new role. The current State Auditor defeated Republican gubernatorial candidate Zach Lahn in the midterm election Tuesday, with unofficial results showing Sand with more than 55-percent of the vote. On Thursday, Sand announced Elisabeth Buck and Morgan Miller will be co-directors of the Sand Transition Committee. Buck has served on transition teams for two prior Iowa governors, and Miller has served as the political director of the Iowa State Education Association since 2020.Sand also launched a website, IowaForAll-dot-com, where Iowans can find more information.
The Nebraska Secretary of State's office is reporting voter turnout from Tuesday's midterm election. Officials say just under 60 percent of registered voters in Nebraska cast ballots on Tuesday. Voter turnout in Iowa on Tuesday was 63-point-seven percent.
The Nebraska State Patrol is launching a new initiative. Under the program, the patrol will notify parents if explicit content of their children is being shared online. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has a Cyber Tipline where child sexual exploitation cases can be reported, and Nebraska-based tips are reported to the patrol's Technical Crimes Unit.
Flags will fly at half-staff across Iowa on Saturday in honor of a fallen World War Two soldier. Cherokee County native U.S. Navy Fireman First Class Robert Shove enlisted in the U.S. Navy in Des Moines in 1922.He served on the USS Canopus in the Pacific Theater during World War Two and later died as a prisoner of war in the Philippine Islands at 21 years old. Shove's remains were identified in 2025.He will be laid to rest on November 7 in Sioux City.