Berleen Wobeter.

TAMA COUNTY – After stepping away from the race earlier this spring, Berleen Wobeter of rural Toledo is once again seeking a seat in the Iowa legislature.

Wobeter was recently nominated by Democratic delegates to run in House District 53, setting up a general election contest with longtime incumbent Republican Rep. Dean Fisher of Montour. Fisher currently represents District 53 and has served since 2013. The district covers all of Poweshiek County and most of Tama County excluding the northeast corner which became part of House District 76 following the most recent round of redistricting.

For Wobeter, the decision to jump back into the race came down to whether she would regret sitting this election out.

“Will I regret not running? Will I regret going into the voting booth in November and seeing just one choice on the ballot?” Wobeter told the newspaper. “And since no one else stepped up, I just felt like, yeah, I think I’ll regret not. Be the change you want to see in the world. If someone else isn’t going to do it, then maybe you just need to do it yourself.”

Wobeter originally filed for the Democratic nomination on March 6 before withdrawing later that month, citing the short amount of time she had to prepare for the demands of a campaign. At the time, she said she planned to remain involved in local organizing and advocacy while Democrats continued to seek a District 53 candidate.

With the Democratic spot still open following the June primary election, Wobeter said delegates from the district recently met both in person and virtually. After receiving a nomination and the necessary votes, she completed the required paperwork and delivered it to the Iowa Secretary of State’s office in Des Moines. The Secretary of State provides for political parties to nominate general election candidates through convention.

This will be Wobeter’s second general election campaign in recent memory. In 2024, she ran for the Tama County Board of Supervisors in District 4, losing to Republican Mark Doland by just 43 votes, 773-730.

A longtime educator who lives on a farm north of Toledo, Wobeter has worked in several area school districts and spent 15 years with Iowa Valley Community College’s Career Development Center for Adults with Disabilities. She has also remained involved in agricultural and public policy advocacy through the Iowa Farmers Union and Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement (Iowa CCI). Wobeter said those experiences helped shape what she wants to emphasize during the campaign – in particular, listening to people who would be affected by decisions made at the statehouse.

“We need a representative who will literally listen to all of the people,” Wobeter said. “You learn when you listen to people and hear their stories, you know where they’re coming from.”

She said the next several months will include door knocking, attending community events, and local government meetings along with talking with voters across the district.

“It’s just showing up and talking to people and being present,” she said.

Wobeter said her campaign message will center around being a “choice for change,” while promising to “listen, work harder and vote smarter.”

“I’m a very curious person. I want to learn and know what I’m voting on,” she said. “Reaching out to the people those votes will impact and asking them, ‘How will this play out in your life?'”

“We need to respect our teachers, our judicial system,” she continued. “They know what they’re doing, and so we need to talk to them before we start making decisions for them.”

The 2026 general election will be held Tuesday, Nov. 3.