And now there are seven. Another person has entered the race for U-S Senator-Elect Joni Ernst’s vacant Iowa Senate seat. The Daily NonPareil reports David Sieck, a Mills County area farmer, announced on Monday, he’s running for the District 12 senate seat. Sieck decided to run in hopes of giving a stronger voice and representation to the district.

Sieck is a lifelong resident of Iowa and a founding member of Responsible River Management, which works to find solutions to river management issues on the Missouri River, among other duties. He was vice chair of the Missouri River Recovery Implementation Committee and a recipient of the Grassroots Award in 2014 with the Iowa and National Corn Growers Association.

His Mills County family farm is a fourth-generation operation. Sieck says he’s concerned the district could lose out on its potential if not represented properly. Fostered correctly, he said, the district’s businesses and families could prosper greatly.

In addition to Sieck, the other six candidates are Redding-area cattle rancher Tracee Knapp, former Montgomery County Supervisor Margaret Stoldorf of Red Oak, farmer Seth Watkins of Clarinda, Charla Schmid of Red Oak, Fremont County Supervisor Cara Marker-Morgan and State Rep. Mark Costello.

The Republican convention for the special election will be held in Clarinda on Thursday night. The special election itself will take place on Dec. 30th.