Three candidates enter state senate race before special election

Confirming what many had suspected, former Republican State Representative Annette Sweeney of rural Alden officially announced her intention to run for a state senate seat vacated after the sudden resignation of Majority Leader Bill Dix last Wednesday morning, setting up a prospective District 25 special election clash with Democrat Tracy Freese of Dike—if she can get past another GOP challenger first.

Sweeney, a cattle and grain farmer by trade, had been serving as the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Director of Rural Development in Iowa for the last four months after President Donald Trump appointed her in November, and she resigned from that position last Tuesday afternoon. Since losing a 2012 primary to current State Representative Pat Grassley (R-New Hartford) as a result of redistricting, she felt an itch to return to office someday.

“My heart and soul is here in central Iowa,” she said. “So I said, let’s do this.”

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