DES MOINES, Iowa – Gov. Kim Reynolds announced that the special election in Iowa House District 29 following the resignation of State Rep. Wes Breckenridge, D-Newton, will be held on Tuesday, October 12, 2021.
Breckenridge, a retired police officer, announced his resignation last week after starting a job at the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy this summer.
He was first elected to the Iowa House of Representatives in 2016, defeating Republican Patrick Payton by 13.5 percent. He won re-election in 2018, defeating his Republican challenger, Ann Howell, by a 17.5 percent margin. However, Republicans decreased the margin of victory in 2020 when Breckenridge defeated his Republican challenger, Jon Dunwell, by 3.1 percent.
Iowa House District 29 is located in Jasper County and includes Newton, Baxter, Colfax, Mingo, Kellogg, Oakland Acres, and Ira.
Democrats currently hold a slim voter registration edge in the district, with just 267 more registered voters than Republicans, down from 1394 in 2018. So this race represents an opportunity for Republicans to expand their majority in the Iowa House.
Update: Dunwell on Facebook announced that he plans to run again. He needs to be nominated by Republicans in a special nominating convention. Dunwell is a Newton businessman and a leadership coach. He pastored Westwood Church in Orlando, Fla. for 21 years. During that time, he served as the senior chaplain for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. His wife is from Newton, and they moved back in 2011.
