A reel of "I Voted Today" stickers rests on a ballot scanner during a recent special election. Voters in Iowa will head to the polls Tuesday, Nov. 3, as part of the 2026 General Election. TAMA-GRUNDY PUBLISHING FILE PHOTO

AREA – With early voting already underway and Election Day approaching on Nov. 3, the Iowa House race in District 53 will pit longtime Republican incumbent Dean Fisher of Montour, who was first elected in 2012, against Democratic challenger Berleen Wobeter of Toledo. Fisher spent 26 years in the electronics industry as an engineer before running a cow-calf operation for 10 years, and Wobeter is a farmer and former educator who narrowly lost her bid for a seat on the Tama County Board of Supervisors in 2024. 

Ahead of the General Election, the newspaper sent questionnaires to both Fisher and Wobeter.

Fisher’s responses can be viewed in full here.

Wobeter’s responses can be viewed in full here.