POLK COUNTY, Iowa — Visit this link for complete election results or text RESULTS to 515-457-1026.
Polk County has elected a new chief law enforcement offer for the first time since 1991.
Voters elected Democrat Kimberly Graham as the new Polk County Attorney, according to preliminary results from the Polk County Auditor's Office.
Graham held 56.89% of the vote, easily defeating Republican candidate Allan M. Richards, who had 42.81%.
The current Polk County Attorney, Democrat John Sarcone, was first elected in 1990. In total, Sarcone served eight terms as county attorney before announcing his retirement in June 2021.
Graham's campaign focused on prioritizing the prosecution of violent crimes over lower-level nonviolent offenses, as well as treating drug addiction and mental health problems as a public health issue.
Graham wrote in a celebratory post following the results:
"The challenging and worthy work ahead is that of bringing meaningful positive change to Polk County. I've had months of conversations, some of them lasting many hours, with many stakeholders: from immigrant groups to activists to victim advocates to folks in law enforcement, to other elected officials and with folks we met knocking thousands of doors, meeting people where they are. And I believe it's possible to create improvements to our justice system that we all want to see."
Graham has also said she will refuse to charge people with low-level marijuana possession and will stop requesting cash bail for nonviolent, low-level offenses.
She previously ran for Iowa's U.S. Senate race in 2020.
Earlier this year, Graham won the Democratic nomination for Polk County Attorney with 43% of the vote, beating out Laura Roan and Kevin McCarthy.
JUNE 2022 PRIMARY: Kimberly Graham reacts to winning Democratic nomination for Polk County Attorney race
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