Tracy Runkel, D-Story City, captured the Democratic nomination in the race for Iowa House District 10 Tuesday with 71.69 percent of unofficial vote.

Runkel faced Erik J. Christian, D-Story City, and will go on to challenge Rep. Jim Kurtenbach, R-Nevada, the incumbent in District 10.

Christian, senior in agronomy, has spent time on the Government of the Student Body as agriculture senator. His platform was to keep young professionals in the state.

Runkel, a nurse at Mary Greeley Medical Center, has no political experience, and her platform is to make health care available for all Iowans.

Christian received only a third as many votes as Runkel.

“I’m delighted for Tracy; I think she’s going to give Jim Kurtenbach a run for his money,” said Tara van Brederode, D-Ames, a candidate in Iowa House District 45 who lost her bid for the fall ballot to Beth Wessel-Kroeschell, D-Ames.

Voting got off to a slow start on Tuesday throughout Story County.

Polls were open at 7 a.m. Polls reporting before 8 p.m. reported a 3.01 percent turnout of voters overall.

Liz Keys, election official at University Baptist Church, 2400 Mortensen Parkway, which handled 11 percent of the total voters in Story County, said that it was mostly Democrats coming in to vote.

“People in this precinct are very conscious,” said Keys. “They have very strong civic roots.”

Election officials also said that a number of Republicans had come in and changed their party to Democratic. Only 30 of the 200 voters at the church voted as Republicans.