Cynthia Paschen and Jesse Green will go head to head for State Senate
Cynthia Paschen, representative of the League of Women Voters of Ames and Story County, moderated the forum held on March 30, 2019, at Ames City Hall. The forum allowed an opportunity for community members, local leaders and the public to engage with the elected officials in the 2019 legislative session.
June 3, 2020
Editor’s note: A previous version of this article included the wrong name and vote of the Republican nominee. The article has since been corrected. The Daily regrets this error.
There are six candidates running for State Senator for District 24, the primary on June 2 will determine who is the Democratic candidate and who is the Republican candidate running for election in November.
The Democratic candidates are Cynthia Paschen and Keith Puntenney. The Republican candidates are Todd Rasmussen, Joshua Dyer, Jesse Green and Chad Behn.
Paschen won the Democratic nominee with a total of 3,071 votes.
District 24 includes Boone, Greene, Hamilton, Story and Webster counties.
Green won the Republican nominee with a total of 2,275 votes.
Green is a fifth-generation Iowan. Green is a member of the Webster County Farm Bureau board and was elected Dayton Rodeo and Celebration Committee and became the youngest chairman of Dayton Rodeo.
The State Senator for District 24 is currently held by Republican Sen. Jerry Behn, who is serving his sixth term. Behn announced his plans earlier this year to retire from the Iowa Senate.
Paschen has volunteered with Mary Greeley Hospice since 1998. Important issues for Paschen are health care, education and bringing new jobs to Iowa.
Puntenney first ran for State Senator in 2016 against Jerry Behn and lost. Key issues for Puntenny were the protection of farming, education and jobs, according to Ballotpedia, along with advocating for business tax credit reform.
Rasmussen is the co-chair of the Boone County GOP Central Committee.
“I will lead and stand firm on my strong Conservative-Christian beliefs,” Rasmussen said on the Boone County Republicans website.
Key issues Dyer said he believes in are defending Iowan’s gun rights, supporting pro-life, education and health care.
“The reason I am running is the same reason I went into education, I want to make a difference, and serving in the legislature puts me in a position to do so,” Dyer said on Boone County Republicans website.
Behn was elected in 2016 as the Boone County Supervisor. An important issue for Behn is the tax structure.
“I am running to keep improving the tax structure as a whole at the State level,” Behn said on the Boone County Republicans website.
