Winner Finally Declared in Close House Race

Northeast Iowa election officials have finally declared a winner in an extremely tight Election Day contest, after a recount was held Tuesday for the Iowa House District 55 seat.

After the initial count of the votes in the November 6th general election, incumbent Republican Representative Michael Bergan had a 7 vote advantage over his challenger, Democrat Kayla Koether. The district includes portions of Winneshiek, Clayton and Fayette Counties.

Koether called for a recount, which was held Tuesday at the Winneshiek County Courthouse in Decorah. The ballots were counted by hand and machine. Two people, each representing a candidate, plus a third person selected by both, tallied up the votes, and found a few more for both candidates.

However, the recount found five more votes for Bergan in Winneshiek County, while Koether picked up only three: two in Winneshiek County and one in Clayton County.

Bergan's total was 6,924; Koether's was 6,915, a difference of only 9 votes, to put Bergan back in the Iowa House for another term.