State Sen. Herman Quirmbach defeated Republican challenger Tim Gartin and will continue representing District 23, which includes parts of Ames and the ISU campus.

Gartin and Quirmbach, also an ISU associate professor of economics, disagreed on whether the state budget should be balanced using federal stimulus funds. Gartin said the budget is not actually balanced because the state is spending more than it is taking in. Quirmbach said the state’s revenues are slowly increasing, but the state must return funding to important institutions such as the Board of Regents.

“I’m gratified,” Quirmbach said. “I know that the results are leaning toward the Republicans statewide, but in Ames at least, legislators have been retained.”

He said he was grateful for the voters’ renewal of confidence and said he will continue to represent Ames and work for the betterment of the community.

Although Quirmbach has been campaigning every day since April, he said he will be busy in the weeks before he returns to Des Moines. He plans to meet with a variety of constituent groups in order to hear their concerns and make plans for the upcoming legislature.

“I think in our district, the number one priority has to be education,” Quirmbach said. “We have tried real hard to restore funds to Iowa State after we were forced to make cuts. I don’t see the need, looking at the revenues we’re bringing in and the surpluses we’ve reported, for further cuts.”

He said he will also focus on economic development and working to maintain the Iowa Department of Economic Development, which he said Gov. Terry Branstad has threatened to cut.