GOP Selects West Des Moines Councilman Charles Schneider as Senate Nominee

West Des Moines City Councilman Charles Schneider has been named the new candidate for Senate District 22.

Schneider was chosen from a pool of six candidates nominated at a special convention held Thursday night at the Republican Party of Iowa headquarters.

Members of both the Polk and Dallas County GOP commitees were tasked with choosing a candidate to replace the late Sen. Pat Ward after she passed away Oct. 15 from a years-long battle with breast cancer.

Among those nominated Thursday: Clive Mayor Scott Cirksena; West Des Moines Valley teacher Greg Hudson; former Waukee city councilman Isaiah McGee; Republican activist Connie Schmett; and John Ward, husband of the late Sen. Pat Ward.

Schneider, counsel for the Principal Financial Group since 2007, was also elected to the West Des Moines city council in 2007. He was re-elected in 2011 and is the Chair of the City Council’s Finance & Administration Subcommittee and serves on the Council’s Public Safety Subcommittee. He is also the Council’s liaison to the West Des Moines Water Works Board of Trustees and is a member of the Wastewater Reclamation Authority Board of Directors, according to the city's website. 

When asked whether he expected to nab the nomination, Schneider said it wasn't a total surprise.

"I was hopeful," he said. "I had a good sense that I was in the top tier so I was somewhat prepared."

Schneider said should he get elected, economic development and growth will be his top priorities in the new district that includes Waukee, Clive, Windsor Heights and part of West Des Moines.

Prior to the convention, only one person had publicly declared an interest in replacing Ward in Senate District 22, the late senator's husband, John Ward.

If Tuesday's general election was any indication, a majority of voters favor a Republican in that seat. The votes were counted but the results are void.

Speculation as to who the replacement candidate will be has been flying since Ward's death last month. Early rumors pointed to Point of Grace pastor Jeff Mullen, who lost to Ward in the primary election in June. Mullen released a statement last week saying he would not seek the nomination; he attended tonight's convention but did not ask to be considered.

Schneider will face Desmund Adams, a Democrat from West Des Moines in the special election Dec. 11.