Three candidates are seeking the Democratic nomination for the vacant Iowa House District 46 seat.

Jamet Colton, an Ames Community School District Board director, said at first she didn’t think anything of the vacancy, until a group of friends approached her.

“I talked myself into [seeking the nomination]; I talked myself out of it,” Colton said of her initial thoughts on running.

Colton said she made the decision to run after deciding she had enough experience and would be able to do the job well.

Colton has been on the school board for two years. She said there needs to be more education funding.

“It doesn’t take very long to see how constrained we are by the state,” Colton said of Ames schools.

When it comes to student loan debt, Colton said “we are looking the other way.” She said students cannot graduate college with “huge” amounts of debt, adding education funding is being “nickel and dimed.”

Gov. Kim Reynolds scheduled a special election to fill the vacancy for Aug. 6, when most students will not be in Ames. District 46 covers the Iowa State campus and Campustown and has a high student population.

Colton said the date the election is scheduled for is “terrible.”

“It feels like a smack in the face to the students,” Colton said. “Ames is a destination for people because of Iowa State.”

Colton said if her candidacy does not work out, she believes it is not that she is a bad candidate, it’s just that the party is looking for someone else.

“There are three great candidates,” Colton said. “I’m just going to offer people what I can.”

The Story County Democrats will hold their nominating convention to decide who their nominee will be for the August election Saturday. City Council At-Large Representative Amber Corrieri and Ross Wilburn, diversity officer and associate program director for community and economic development for Iowa State University Extension and Outreach are also seeking the nomination.