By Kendrew Panyanouvong
The general election for Iowa House District 77 is set after Amy Nielsen and Royce Phillips claimed victories on June 7.
With all 19 precincts reporting, Nielsen finished with 63 percent, and opponent Amy Weipert took 36 percent. Phillips won the majority in the Republican primary with 72 percent, and Paula Dreezsen received 28 percent. These numbers are unofficial until the pending canvass, slated for next week.
With preliminary results in for District 77, current North Liberty Mayor Nielsen and former Tiffin Mayor Phillips will face each other for the vacant seat in the Iowa House of Representatives this fall.
“I felt good about where we were, but you never know until the votes are counted,” Phillips said. “I feel a great sense of relief and satisfaction at this point. I also feel a great deal of gratitude for the supporters and want to thank all of them.”
Both are seeking to replace current Rep. Sally Stutsman, who announced her retirement in February.
“It’s great to be done with the primaries, but we’re going to wake up tomorrow morning and get back to work on winning the general election in November,” said Nielsen.
As Nielsen begins to prepare for the general election, she offered kind words for Weipert after the June 7 primary election.
“I really think that it came down to what the voters were looking for,” she said. “I think she did a great job running her first campaign.”
Nielsen plans to continue making education her top priority heading into the election.
“It’s something I’m very passionate about and I feel like a majority of the House is really ignoring,” she said.
Other issues that Nielsen wants to convey over the coming months is advocacy for better access to mental-health services, local government funding, and public infrastructure.
Phillips, a former two-term Tiffin mayor and current Coralville Tabernacle Baptist Church pastor, believes that his background helped propel him to clinch the Republican nomination.
“One of my strengths is being visionary of seeing ahead and being able to plan,” he said. “I’ve been around the block for a while.”
Getting ready for the general election, Phillips plans to hit his biggest issues, education, health and human services funding, infrastructure, and economic development across the state.
“My plan is to savor this evening,” he said. “Tomorrow, we’ll get up in the morning and start the next chapter and start planning for the next part.”
Nielsen and Phillips will go head to head in the general election on Nov. 8.
