Jon Jacobsen will serve as the representative in Iowa House District 22.
Jacobsen, 56, won the House seat in a special election Tuesday night. The longtime Republican activist received 43.9 percent of the vote, with 1,069 residents casting their ballot for Jacobsen, according to unofficial results from the Pottawattamie County Auditor’s Office.
"I’m just very grateful for the faith and confidence the voters placed in me," Jacobsen said after the final results came in at the Pottawattamie County Courthouse. "I look forward to representing them strong and well in Des Moines."
District 22 encompasses the majority of Pottawattamie County, including a portion of eastern Council Bluffs. The election was held to replace the late Rep. Greg Forristall of Macedonia, who died after a battle with cancer on May 10.
Jacobsen was followed by independent Carol Forristall, Greg’s wife, at 32.9 percent, receiving 803 votes. Libertarian Bryan Holder received 98 votes (4 percent). Democrat Ray Stevens ran as a write-in candidate after he missed the filing deadline with the Iowa Secretary of State’s Office. There were 465 write in votes, good for 19.1 percent. The county Auditor’s Office said the write-in results would be available Wednesday.
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A total of 2,441 of 23,723 eligible voters, 10.2 percent, went to the polls Tuesday. The Pottawattamie County Board of Supervisors will canvas the results on Thursday.
Jacobsen is a longtime member of the Pottawattamie County Republican Central Committee, has served as moderator for senate and congressional debates and been a chairman, delegate and parliamentarian for county GOP conventions. He also hosted a town hall meeting held by President Donald Trump in Marshalltown during the campaign season.
Jacobsen co-hosted a political radio program on KMA for three years before the show ended this spring.
He said he plans to "hit the ground running," being sworn in immediately and starting work on legislation and reaching out to constituents.
Jacobsen will serve the remainder of the term and will be up for reelection in November of 2018. Stevens said he plans to run again.
"I’ll be back," he said.
