Van De Krol abruptly withdraws in Iowa Senate race, citing 'personal reasons'

Less than two weeks after being nominated by Democrats to run for the Iowa Senate, Taylor Van De Krol of Lynnville abruptly announced Wednesday he is withdrawing from the District 15 campaign.

Van De Krol, 26, a former Jasper County Democratic Party chair, cited "personal reasons" in a statement for his decision, but he offered no other explanation. District 15 covers most of Jasper County, including Newton, and parts of eastern Polk County.

Van De Krol was seeking to succeed state Sen. Chaz Allen, a Democrat and former Newton mayor who suddenly pulled out of his re-election campaign in July. Allen had already won his party's primary in June and was considered a heavy favorite to win a second term when he quit, citing a desire to focus on local economic development projects.

Van De Krol had worked the past three years as a legislative assistant to state Sen. Matt McCoy, D-Des Moines. He had also managed McCoy's successful campaign to win the Democratic Party nomination in June for a seat on the Polk County Board of Supervisors. He was nominated by Democrats to run for the Iowa Senate on Aug. 2, defeating two challengers.

Van De Krol's withdrawal means Senate District 15 Democrats must meet again soon to nominate another candidate in what has become one of the most unusual political races in Iowa this year.

Newton Republican Tim Shay won his party's primary in June to oppose Allen, but Shay dropped out after Allen withdrew, saying he wanted to allow a Republican with more resources to compete for the open seat. Since then, Republican state Rep. Zach Nunn of Bondurant has been nominated by Republicans as the GOP's state Senate candidate.