State Senator Herman Quirmbach, the Democrat incumbent, will be on the ballot in November after defeating Cynthia Oppedal Paschen in Iowa’s primaries.

“It is a privilege to serve the people of Ames and Kelly and Grant, Milford and Washington Townships,” Quirmbach said. “I am honored by your continued confidence.”

Quirmbach took the lead over Paschen with 72.5 percent of the votes.

Paschen said she is unsure if she will run again but found the experience throughout the race to be very worthwhile.

“I was happy with the way I was able to bring up some issues that I thought needed discussion,” Paschen said.

Paschen said it is important for women to run for public office and she wants to encourage more women to run in the future.

Quirmbach said he will continue to vote for increases in minimum wage and support legislation “to guarantee civil rights for all Iowans because every Iowan deserves fair treatment and a decent shot at success.”

Quirmbach thanked voters in District 23 for his “solid and convincing” win in the June 3 primary.

Quirmbach said that his experience and involvement helped him with his victory in the primary and hopes that it will continue to help him in the months leading up to November when he will run against Republican Jeremy Davis.

Davis said he is looking forward to the election in November now that the primaries are over. He said he is excited to get out and have a lot of positive discussions with the voters.

“I think it’s really about communicating my methods out to the folks that are going to be voting in November and really sharing with them who I am, my goals and my visions to make Iowa the best state in the country,” Davis said.

He said he is looking forward to having a “really good and enjoyable campaign all the way up through November.”