Republican's Upset Win First GOP Victory in Liberal Johnson County in Decades

With an electorate that swings more than two-to-one for Democrats, Johnson County, also known as the People's Republic of Johnson County, is known across Iowa for its liberal leanings.

A group of University of Iowa college students hold a "conservative coming out week" each year with a wink towards how hard it is to be a Republican here.

That is why last night's victory by Republican candidate John Etheredge over Democratic candidate Terry Dahms 3,102 to 2,974 in a low turnout special election for a Johnson County Supervisor seat is an historic moment.

There hasn't been a Republican to win a seat on the Johnson County Board of Supervisors since rock and roll and Kennedy-Nixon and free love were dominating the national consciousness. Ronald Reagan was president the last time a Republican held any elected post (sheriff) in Johnson County.

In his comments reacting to the win, Etheredge said he would provide a voice for the long-neglected parts in the county, particularly rural voters that he campaigned to provide a voice for.

From the Iowa City Press-Citizen

The race was extremely tight as precinct results trickled in Tuesday night, culminating in a 128-vote margin.

“I’m looking forward to doing what I said: Be a voice for people who haven’t had that voice in the county for 50 years,” Etheredge said shortly after final results were posted. “ ... It’s an historic election, and I’m proud to be a part of it.”

You can see the final voting results by precinct here.

Etheredge pulled out the win despite Dahms holding an almost 400 vote lead in early voting and winning most Iowa City precincts. Etheredge won the vast majority of precincts outside of Iowa City, losing only four precincts by narrow margins.

to replace departing supervisor Sally Stutsman. The total countywide turnout came to 6.65 percent according to auditor statistics.

Still, with history working against him, Etheredge's win came as a shock to many.

Via KCRG: Republican Elected Johnson Co. Supervisor for First Time Since 1962

To put Etheredge’s victory into perspective, consider that Republicans did not even have a nominee for a Board of Supervisors general or special election after the 1986 election until 2000. The last Republican on the board was in 1962. The last Republican elected official in any county-level office was Sheriff Gary Hughes in 1988 (he chose not to seek re-election).

Etheredge also is four decades younger than Dahms and much less experienced in politics. Both previously ran for supervisor and lost, but Dahms is currently chairman of the Johnson County Democrats and serves on county commissions.

Dahms was at a loss to explain Tuesday’s outcome, saying voter apathy and the weather didn’t help.

“I don’t know how you do explain it,” said Dahms, 67, who lives north of Iowa City. “We had a candidate who was an independent in November, now he’s the star of the Republican Party, and we lose. … I think the Republican Party did a good job of getting out the vote, and in contrast, the Johnson County Democrats did not do as good a job.”

A big part of Etheredge's win appears to be the interest in the election from the rural Johnson County perspective versus the Iowa City proper area. One precinct, Newport, outside of Iowa City, sent 265 people to vote, with 70 percent voting for Etheredge. In contract, the entire City of North Liberty only had 225 people vote.

A local politics watcher, John Deeth, blogged in the Des Moines Register that he thought the Democrats lost the election due to complacency that won't be repeated in higher profile election years:

Asleep At The Switch: How the Democrats lost Johnson County

Iowa City has a lot of Democratic voters focused on national and state issues who don’t even know what a supervisor is, who don’t get county government’s critical role in human services and mental health and conservation, and aren’t racing out to vote if the name Obama isn’t on the ballot.

I think or at least hope that this means Tuesday’s result won’t be repeated next year. I can’t think of anything that’ll boost People’s Republic turnout more than Steve King at the top of the Republican ticket, and bonus! a chance to vote against Terry Branstad. A Republican down-ballot candidate, even as an incumbent, will have a tough time fighting that tide.

But for now, Johnson County has a lot of lefties who will call their legislators about an amendment to a bill that won’t even get out of the funnel, rather than calling their neighbors to get out and vote in a local election. We have a lot of ivory tower types who are above gauche townie things like a zoning fight, which is why Iowa City’s city council had been business conservative dominated all my 20+ years here.

How do you think Etheredge will do on the Johnson County Board of Supervisors? Tell us in comments.