The two Democratic candidates fighting for the State Senate District 23 seat left open after State Sen. Johnnie Hammond D-Ames, announced her retirement last December have both spent plenty of time at Iowa State, and will square off in Tuesday’s primary.

Herman Quirmbach is an associate professor of economics and has been at Iowa State for 12 years.

“I know the most important element of the university well, which is the student body. I know the students, and I have a commitment to education,” he said.

His opponent, Karen Bolluyt, also has ties to Iowa State. Bolluyt was communications director for the College of Agriculture during her 20 years at the university.

Bolluyt said she helped work with a department that researched many of the issues the Iowa Legislature has worked on, and has earned experience communicating with the Legislature and community groups as well as federal agencies.

“It was 20 years of learning how to get solutions from place to place,” she said.

Quirmbach said the main difference between himself and Bolluyt is “experience, commitment to the community and accomplishments.”

“I have been serving on the Ames City Council for six years and I am currently pro temp mayor – that has taught me a lot about how to get things done in government,” he said.

Bolluyt sees other differences between the two candidates.

“Our life experience is the main difference – we have grown up in different places, had different schooling and different work experience,” she said.

Quirmbach said he has been an active Democrat for the last 30 years and has vast knowledge in campaigning.

“This is my fourth campaign in my own right – that experience is going to be very important this fall because the Republican opponent is a tough campaigner who will be very well financed,” he said.

Bolluyt said Iowa needs to get “back on track” with several issues that have been pushed aside in the past.

“The areas Iowa has been sidetracked on are adequate support for programs and that includes education, protection of the environment, protection of our health and safety [and] compassion for people who need it,” she said.

Bolluyt also stressed the need for a “stronger economic development program.”

Both candidates agreed that with their ties to the ISU community, students could have an effect on the outcome of the election.

Quirmbach said he didn’t know what effect the student vote could have on the primary election.

“I would love to see more students turn out to vote and get more involved at the local level in elections,” he said.

Bolluyt said the ISU students’ summer vacation had an effect on how the candidates campaigned.

“If this was a general election, Herman and I would have been talking to students a lot, but we did not have that opportunity because the students had finals and than left town,” she said.

Bolluyt said it is “absolutely important” for students to get involved in government.

“The quality of government depends on the extent to which citizens are informed and involved – it is fundamental to good government,” she said.

The winner of the primary will go on to face State Rep. Barbara Finch (R-Ames), who is running unopposed in the Republican primary.