By Russ Mitchell

Daily Reporter Staff

The Nov. 4 general election ballot began to take shape Tuesday night, when Joe Skow and incumbent Del Brockshus, both of Spencer, received Republican Party nominations for spots on the Clay County Board of Supervisors.

County Democrats advanced the two candidates on their ballot -- Tim Kehoe and H Schar -- in what was essentially an uncontested race for two nominations.

With the choices, Republicans went with the candidates who have previous experience in elected office. Skow, a former Spencer City Council member, collected the highest amount of votes, with 571.

"I'm very, very happy with the results," Skow said. "I hope that I have the support in the fall that is showing up now. I certainly appreciated meeting as many people as I did when I was out campaigning."

Skow was on the Spencer City Council for two years, then temporarily relocated for a position with the Iowa State Patrol. He said he feels the city office helped him with name recognition.

"I plan on being active, getting out and I want to hear what people have to say," Skow said.

Brockshus was nominated by his party for his chance at a fifth term. With 405 votes, he finished 18 votes ahead of Jim Umscheid Jr. to earn the second nomination. Bob Schlaeger finished fourth, with 173 votes.

"I"m very pleased the people would have enough confidence in me to vote for me once again," Brockshus said. "I hope that I'm able to serve -- I'll look forward to the general election in the fall and we'll see where it goes from there."

The incumbent also expects a spirited race in the fall.

"This board of supervisors has never been about Republicans and Democrats," he said. "It's about people who are willing and anxious to serve the public. It will just go for those who do the best job of selling themselves to the people in Clay County. I'm most thankful for the people in Clay County who voted for me."

While the Republicans had some sorting out to do, county Democrats knew who their likely nominees were going into the night. The party fielded two candidates for the two positions.

Kehoe and Schar turned in different results in the precinct-by-precinct breakdown, but ended up with the same total at 155.

"I'm committed to this campaign," Schar said. "I think I have a lot to offer, so I'll continue as I have been. I'll probably accelerate campaigning a bit. I don't have a lot of money for campaigning but I do plan to move about the county a lot and meet a lot of people."

Like Brockshus, Schar doesn't see the county office as partisan in nature, but he thinks a different dynamic would be healthy for the board.

"It is important to have balance -- especially on the county supervisors since it is the main legislative and lawmaking body of the county," he said.

The board's lone Democrat, Sylvia Schoer, will retire after five terms in office. Kehoe would like to see a member of the party fill her seat on the county board.

"Hopefully we have a Democratic candidate who is going to be able to win a seat on the board," Kehoe said. "Sylvia has done a wonderful job over the years and there should be some consistency, with someone from the Democratic Party on the board."

Kehoe also was appreciative of the support he received from county Democrats.

"I just want to thank the people who got out and voted today," he said. "I look forward to their continued support in the general election."

Three Republicans were after the nomination to oppose U.S. Sen. Harkin, who is seeking his fifth Senate term.

Clay County voters preferred George Eichhorn, a lawyer from Stratford and former legislator who collected 274 votes. Christopher Reed, a Marion resident who operates a telephone answering business, finished second in Clay County with 240 votes. Steve Rathje, a Cedar Rapids resident who runs a manufacturing supplies business had 134 votes.

The Clay County results revealed only a scattering of write-ins. County Republicans gave an uncontested nod to Steve King for another two-year term in Congress.

State Reps. Royd Chambers and Mike May also were uncontested and had no surprises Tuesday night.

County Auditor Marjorie Pitts and Sheriff Randy Krukow will also represent the GOP after uncontested races Tuesday.

Harkin sailed through to the Nov. 4 election after an uncontested Democratic primary. Rob Hubler, a retired Presbyterian pastor from Council Bluffs, won a nod from Democrats to challenge King in Iowa's Fifth District race.

ELECTION RESULTS

REPUBLICANS

Clay County Board

of Supervisors

(top two advance to Nov. 4 general election ballot)

U.S. Senate -

Clay County results

U.S. Senate - State results

1,855 of 1,873

precincts reporting

(winner is GOP nominee to face U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin

on Nov. 4 ballot)

Uncontested races -

Clay County results only

Clay County Auditor

Marjorie Pitts 685 votes

Clay County Sheriff

Randy Krukow 797 votes

State Rep. -- District 5

Mike May 470 votes

State Rep. -- District 6

Royd Chambers 142 votes

U.S. Rep. -- Iowa Fifth District

Steve King 680 votes

DEMOCRATS

Uncontested races -

Clay County results only

Clay County Board of Supervisors

Tim Kehoe 155 votes

H Schar 155 votes

(Both advance to

general election ballot)

U.S. Rep. -- Iowa Fifth District

Rob Hubler 157 votes

U.S. Senate - Iowa

Tom Harkin 176 votes