More than a month after Election Day an Iowa state legislative race has finally concluded.
After multiple recounts, Republican legislative candidate Luana Stoltenberg won Iowa House District 81 by just 11 votes.
According to The Daily Wire, the prolonged process came to an end when a three-member board determined Stoltenberg was the winner in House District 81 with 5,073 votes, beating out Democrat Craig Cooper, who had 5,062. Stoltenberg’s triumph adds to the Republican majority in the Iowa House, giving the GOP 64 seats compared to the Democrats’ 36.
Both Stoltenberg and Cooper were reported in the lead at different points since Election Night when the Republican appeared to have won by only 29 votes.
“Thank you so much to everyone in District 81 for the honor of representing you in the Iowa House!” Stoltenberg said in a post to Facebook on Thursday. “I want to hear what is important to you and how I can serve you these next couple years.”
In a Facebook post of his own, Cooper accepted defeat but raised “grave concerns” after the number of ballots counted across multiple tallies kept arriving at different numbers.
“While I’m disappointed we came up just a few votes short, I’m proud of our work and I enjoyed meeting so many people in our community. It’s clear voters are tired of politics and want lawmakers to work together to put people over politics,” he added.
Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate blamed the error on the tabulation of absentee ballots in Scott County, which led to an administrative recount.
“At this time, it is still unclear if the original discrepancy was due to the machines or human error,” Tompkins wrote in a report to the Iowa Secretary of State’s Office. “Videos have been reviewed and nothing stands out via our process from Election Day. However, we will review our processes with ES&S [the machine vendor] and other stakeholders for additional clarity. We will modify our internal practices as necessary. In addition, we have been coordinating our efforts with the Iowa SOS office and appreciate their support and guidance. Our goal is to ensure accuracy.”
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