Iowa judicial elections, 2012

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Judicial Elections
Judicial elections, 2012
Judicial election dates

The Iowa judicial elections consisted of a general election on November 6th. The candidate filing period was from July 30th to August 17th for state offices and August 6th to 29th for county offices.

Iowa judicial elections summary, 2012

Supreme Appellate Trial Total candidates 4 3 67 Unopposed candidates 0 Judges facing retention 4 3 67 Judges retained 4 3 67 Judges re-elected Judges not re-elected New judges elected Partisan or Nonpartisan   Retention

Supreme Court

Justices Mansfield, Waterman and Zager stood for their first retention in office following appointment in 2011, while Justice Wiggins stood for retention for the second time.

Candidate	Incumbent	Retention vote:	Retention Vote %
ZagerBruce B. Zager   A	Yes		74.1%A
WigginsDavid Wiggins   A	Yes		54.5%A
MansfieldEdward Mansfield   A	Yes		74.3%A
WatermanThomas Waterman   A	Yes		74.8%A

Court of Appeals

Candidate	Incumbent	Retention vote:	Retention Vote %
VaitheswaranAnuradha Vaitheswaran   A	Yes	724,621	69.86%A
TaborMary Tabor   A	Yes	809,274	76.95%A
MullinsMichael R. Mullins   A	Yes	800,302	76.65%A

District Courts

District 1A

Candidate	Incumbent	Retention vote:	Retention Vote %
BauercamperJohn J. Bauercamper   A	Yes	42,508	77.5%A
LingreenMargaret L. Lingreen   A	Yes	42,815	77.75%A
AckleyMonica Ackley   A	Yes	43,694	76.01%A
NiggRandall J. Nigg   A	Yes	43,560	77.34%A
RichterRobert Richter   A	Yes	42,969	79.18%A
BitterThomas Bitter   A	Yes	43,892	76.57%A

District 1B

Candidate	Incumbent	Retention vote:	Retention Vote %
DryerAndrea Dryer   A	Yes	55,003	79.56%A
StaudtDavid Staudt   A	Yes	53,460	78.06%A
HarrisJeffrey L. Harris   A	Yes	54,271	78.6%A
MoothartJoseph Moothart   A	Yes	54,402	78.59%A
LekarKellyann M. Lekar   A	Yes	53,697	77.89%A
CallahanNathan A. Callahan   A	Yes	55,008	79.87%A

District 2A

Candidate	Incumbent	Retention vote:	Retention Vote %
DrewJames M. Drew   A	Yes	43,789	79.76%A
DavenportRustin Davenport   A	Yes	41,843	77.47%A

District 2B

Candidate	Incumbent	Retention vote:	Retention Vote %
DoyleAngela L. Doyle   A	Yes	76,236	78.78%A
RuighDale E. Ruigh   A	Yes	74,108	76.77%A
RileyKim Riley   A	Yes	76,159	78.87%A
StoebeKurt J. Stoebe   A	Yes	76,432	77.96%A
WilkeKurt L. Wilke   A	Yes	77,370	78.5%A
JahnLawrence E. Jahn   A	Yes	73,708	76.82%A
AhlersPaul B. Ahlers   A	Yes	74,514	77.51%A
OethSteven J. Oeth   A	Yes	74,349	77.2%A

District 3A

Candidate	Incumbent	Retention vote:	Retention Vote %
LesterDavid A. Lester   A	Yes	36,038	78.47%A
BormannDonald J. Bormann   A	Yes	37,424	79.85%A
WhittenburgNancy L. Whittenburg   A	Yes	36,697	77.79%A

District 3B

Candidate	Incumbent	Retention vote:	Retention Vote %
PoulsonJeff Poulson   A	Yes	47,439	80.33%A
DullRobert J. Dull   A	Yes	45,773	77.25%A
JarmanTimothy T. Jarman   A	Yes	45,769	78.54%A
HensleyTodd Hensley   A	Yes	46,019	79.14%A

District 4

Candidate	Incumbent	Retention vote:	Retention Vote %
DreismeierCraig M. Dreismeier   A	Yes	42,814	69.33%A
SteenslandGreg W. Steensland   A	Yes	40,866	66.34%A
RichardsonJames Richardson   A	Yes	43,353	69.15%A
EveloffMark J. Eveloff   A	Yes	42,434	68.47%A

District 5A

Candidate	Incumbent	Retention vote:	Retention Vote %
McCallBrad McCall   A	Yes	61,670	75.13%A
ParkerKevin A. Parker (Iowa)   A	Yes	51,472	75.92%A
HefnerRandy Hefner   A	Yes	60,457	74.09%A
RickersTerry Rickers   A	Yes	60,779	74.36%A
CobbVirginia Cobb   A	Yes	60,952	74.28%A

District 5C

Candidate	Incumbent	Retention vote:	Retention Vote %
CoppolaCarol L. Coppola   A	Yes	120,305	78.08%A
EglyCarol S. Egly   A	Yes	118,275	77.44%A
OvromEliza Ovrom   A	Yes	116,839	77.08%A
BrandtGregory D. Brandt   A	Yes	118,470	77.71%A
JacobsLouise Jacobs   A	Yes	119,635	78.26%A
GundersonMary Pat Gunderson   A	Yes	122,946	79.40%A
SeymourRachael E. Seymour   A	Yes	119,170	78.05%A
Belcher-FordRomonda Belcher-Ford   A	Yes	117,236	76.53%A
PriceWilliam A. Price   A	Yes	118,521	77.66%A

District 6

Candidate	Incumbent	Retention vote:	Retention Vote %
MinotDeborah Farmer Minot   A	Yes	125,908	79.55%A
RussellDouglas S. Russell   A	Yes	123,259	79.39%A
SpandeJane F. Spande   A	Yes	126,234	79.86%A
BeckelmanMarsha Beckelman   A	Yes	125,307	79.36%A
TurnerMitchell E. Turner   A	Yes	124,994	79.71%A
MillerPaul Miller (Iowa)   A	Yes	125,555	80.03%A
Jackson, Jr.Stephen B. Jackson, Jr.   A	Yes	123,679	78.73%A

District 7

Candidate	Incumbent	Retention vote:	Retention Vote %
AlpersBobbi M. Alpers   A	Yes	80,200	75.68%A
StrausserGary P. Strausser   A	Yes	81,162	76.88%A
TelleenJohn D. Telleen   A	Yes	78,686	75.45%A
CleveMark D. Cleve   A	Yes	78,667	75.65%A
TaborNancy S. Tabor   A	Yes	81,466	76.49%A
ReidelTom Reidel   A	Yes	79,136	75.98%A

District 8A

Candidate	Incumbent	Retention vote:	Retention Vote %
CronkCrystal Cronk   A	Yes	41,387	74.79%A
GamonLucy J. Gamon   A	Yes	40,617	73.79%A
GookinMyron L. Gookin   A	Yes	40,095	73.23%A

District 8B

Candidate	Incumbent	Retention vote:	Retention Vote %
DanielsonCynthia Danielson   A	Yes	29,078	76.48%A
WrightJohn M. Wright   A	Yes	28,993	77.25%A
KruseMark Kruse   A	Yes	28,469	76.31%A
DieterichMichael G. Dieterich   A	Yes	29,213	77.06%A

In the news

Iowa Supreme Court retentions

As featured in JP Election Brief: The Supreme Court Special on October 18, 2012.

There are seven justices on the Iowa Supreme Court. In 2012, four justices are standing for retention, all except for Wiggins were appointed by Governor Terry Branstad. Wiggins was appointed by Governor Tom Vilsack.

This retention election may show a shift in public sentiment, if votes follow polling. A recent survey found 600 registered Iowa voters were in favor of retaining the justices standing for retention. However, just two years ago, three justices became the first to ever be defeated for retention in the state's history after a gay marriage decision.

Iowa Supreme Court election reminiscent of 2010

As featured in JP Election Brief: Retentions, retirements and ratings on September 20, 2012.

Iowa: A campaign to unseat Supreme Court justice David Wiggins is underway.

Groups both for and against Wiggins are actively campaigning. Wiggins is the final remaining judge on the Supreme Court who voted in favor of legalizing same sex marriage. The other three justices who did so, David Baker, Marsha Ternus, and Michael Streit, were removed in the 2010 elections.

This year, activists have enlisted the help of Senator and former presidential candidate, Rick Santorum, as well as Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal. The two men will be part of a "NO Wiggins" bus tour, sponsored by various conservative groups, which will make stops in 17 Iowa communities next week.

Iowa Supreme Court retention ratings

As featured in JP Election Brief: Judges seeking retention are judged on September 13, 2012.

A new poll of 600 likely voters shows that the four Iowa Supreme Court justices up for retention in the November election are likely to be retained. The judges up for retention are: Bruce B. Zager, Thomas Waterman, and Edward Mansfield, who are facing their first retentions, and David Wiggins, the only remaining judge on the court involved in the 2009 ruling legalizing gay marriage.

In 2010, three Supreme Court justices, David Baker, Marsha Ternus and Michael Streit, were voted out of office following the gay marriage decision. These justices were the first to be defeated at retention since the state instituted its system of appointment and retention in 1962.

Iowa 2012 retention elections

As featured in JP Election Brief: 2012 Retention Elections on July 5, 2012.

Following a judge's appointment, he or she face retention elections after either six years, for the Court of Appeals and District Courts, or eight years, for the Supreme Court.

This November, four Iowa Supreme Court justices will face retention votes. Three of the justices, Edward Mansfield, Bruce B. Zager, and Thomas Waterman, are new to the court, having been appointed to the court following the removal of three of the justices involved in the legalization of gay marriage in Iowa. The fourth justice up for retention, David Wiggins, has served on the court since 2006.

External links

• Iowa Secretary of State, "Election Results and Statistics"

Footnotes

• Iowa Secretary of State, Election Calendar

Iowa courts

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Federal courts:

Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Northern District of Iowa, Southern District of Iowa • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Northern District of Iowa, Southern District of Iowa

State courts:

Iowa Supreme Court • Iowa Court of Appeals • Iowa district courts

State resources:

Courts in Iowa • Iowa judicial elections • Judicial selection in Iowa