Matt Blake beats Brad Zaun in big-money race for Iowa Senate

Blake, 36, won 52% of the vote in the Nov. 5 election, compared to Zaun's 47%.

Senate District 22 represents Urbandale and Johnston, a district composed of 15,543 registered Republicans, 16,007 Democrats and 14,641 Independents as of Nov. 1.

Zaun, 62, a sales manager at Ankeny-based Master Dowel, was seeking his sixth term in the Senate. He voted in favor of the current six-week abortion ban that went into effect this year, and he strongly advocated banning all literature describing or depicting sexual acts from public schools.

Blake, an attorney and Iowa Army National Guard major who serves as a judge advocate, said he would repeal vouchers for private and charter schools and the state's book ban. “The recent education policies passed by the governor and Legislature are bad for our children, our teachers and Iowa,” Blake said in a Des Moines Register poll.