Pocahontas, IA (Northwestiowanow.com) — The Republican in the special election in Statehouse District number 7 marched easily to victory yesterday.

The election was triggered when Mike Sexton resigned to take the position of Director of the USDA Rural Development office for Iowa.

Republican Wendy Larson got 2,817 votes – 70-point zero two percent – to Democrat Rachel Burns’ 1,201. The results were similar in all four counties: Larson received 542 votes and Burns 223 in Pocahontas County – about 70.85 percent. Her margin of victory was 72 percent in Sac County, was 69.25 percent in Calhoun County, and 62.65 percent in Webster County.

Burns appealed to voters to elect a Democrat in the heavily Republican district to send a message of dissatisfaction. Larson took the opposite approach and had actually challenged the sitting Republican in the primary last June, saying that he wasn’t conservative ENOUGH.

 

The results become officials when the ballots are certified by the four individual county boards of supervisors. The first day of the 2026 legislative session is January 12th.