Buena Vista County voters weigh crowded primary races, key local contests

Buena Vista County voters helped settle two Republican primaries that will shape who speaks for the county in Des Moines, while Storm Lake’s Ashley WolfTornabane kept a local name in the race for Iowa’s 4th Congressional District.

The June 2 primary put all of Buena Vista County inside Iowa Senate District 3, where incumbent Republican Lynn Evans of Aurelia faced Shane Bellefy of Cherokee. The district also included O’Brien and Osceola counties and parts of Cherokee and Clay counties, making the result matter well beyond one county line. Buena Vista County’s share of the race was especially direct because the county’s voters were choosing between two Republicans who would represent the region in the next legislative session.

The House District 5 race carried a similar local weight because incumbent Republican Zach Dieken did not seek re-election. That left Keith Glienke of Aurelia and Michael Schnoes competing for an open seat in a district that covered O’Brien and Osceola counties, half of Cherokee County and four townships in Buena Vista County. Open seats are rare enough; in northwest Iowa this year, they were among the contests most likely to be decided in the primary rather than later in the general election.

The ballot also reached into federal politics. Ashley WolfTornabane of Storm Lake appeared on the Democratic side in Iowa’s 4th Congressional District, giving Buena Vista County a direct local link to a race that stretched far beyond the county. The Iowa Secretary of State’s candidate list showed WolfTornabane filed on March 2, 2026, while Evans filed Feb. 23, 2026, underscoring how early the field took shape.

Voting hours ran from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., and same-day registration was available for eligible voters who needed it. The filing window for state and federal candidates ran Feb. 23 through March 13, 2026, and county candidates filed from March 2 through March 20, 2026.

By the time Buena Vista County Elections posted unofficial results with all eight precincts counted, the primary had already done the work of narrowing the field. Evans defeated Bellefy in Senate District 3, Glienke defeated Schnoes in House District 5, and Democrat Dave Dawson advanced in the 4th Congressional District ahead of Stephanie Steiner and WolfTornabane. For Buena Vista County, the most consequential decisions in this cycle were made early, in races that will help determine who carries local concerns into the next round of county, state and federal politics.