Republican newcomer Mike Pike holds 43-vote edge over incumbent Nate Boulton in Senate race

Only 43 votes separated Republican newcomer Mike Pike and Democratic incumbent Nate Boulton in an Iowa Senate District 20 race that was too close to call as of early Wednesday afternoon.

Pike, 48, of Des Moines, captured 49.96% of the vote, just a 0.13% advantage over Boulton’s 49.83% in a race that also included 66 write-in votes out of a total of 31,303 ballots cast, according to unofficial results.

Iowa Senate District 20 includes east Des Moines, Berwick, Altoona, Pleasant Hill and southwest Ankeny.

Pike acknowledged early Wednesday morning that the race was a seesaw battle throughout the night, with early returns showing Boulton in the lead.

Pike said when it looked as if he had lost based on early election results, "I'd resigned myself to that." Then he found out it looked like he would win the race.

"So right now I'm cautiously optimistic still," he said just after midnight Wednesday morning. "So that's where I'm at."

"I’ll fully admit today was full of nerves," Pike said. "I felt like I did everything that I could do. I felt like I ran a race that I worked as hard as I possibly could while still working a full-time job."

If the results hold up in favor of Pike, Boulton, a Des Moines attorney, said he would ask for a recount.

"We must be absolutely sure the final count truly reflects the will and intent of our voters," Boulton said in a statement to the Register.

"We owe it to the people of the district to ensure that every vote is counted properly and fairly, especially in a close election. We saw changes in the reported totals tonight that tipped the balance of this race," he said.

Boulton, 44, had run unopposed for the seat in 2020 but when district lines were redrawn in 2021, the new district added Altoona and Pleasant Hill, bringing more Republicans into the formerly heavily dominated Democratic district. Democrats still hold a 2,000-voter registration edge over the GOP, but there are almost as many no-party registrations as Democrats. The race drew 72% of the district’s registered voters to the polls.

As the current results stand, Pike won three precincts and tied Boulton in the fourth in Pleasant Hill and also won handily in Saylor Township and Delaware Township.

Boulton carried all eight of the Des Moines precincts in the district, four of the six precincts in Altoona and the two precincts in Ankeny.

Pike has been the longtime owner of Pike Mechanical Inc., a plumbing business in Des Moines.

Pike said one issue he'd like to work on in the Iowa Senate is property taxes.

"I think we really need to look at that," he said. "Even a couple thousand extra bucks in people’s pocket means a lot to groceries or fuel or anything like that."

In a candidate survey by the Register, Boulton said his top priority is “creating a better quality of life for the next generation of Iowans” that includes making Iowa one of the leading states in the nation on paid family leave, refocusing on improving public schools, and investing in public safety, accessible quality health care and mental health care, and revitalizing our communities’ infrastructure.

Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Statehouse for the Register.

Kevin Baskins covers jobs and the economy for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at [email protected].

(This story was updated to add new information.)

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Mike Pike has slight lead over Nate Boulton in Iowa Senate race