(Radio Iowa) – There will be no Democrats holding elected office in Woodbury County in January after Auditor Pat Gill was beaten by his Republican challenger and deputy auditor Michelle Scaff by about eight points. The political landscape has changed since Gill first took over as auditor, recorder, and commissioner of elections 28 years ago when Democrats controlled county offices. “It went from a blue county to a purple county to a bright red one. I suffered the consequences of that. And that’s just the way it is,” Gill says. Gill says the state shortening the window for early voting and outlawing the mailing of pre-filled absentee request forms hurt voters.

“The legislature over a period of time made it very difficult for people to participate in the election by mail,” he says. He also says the integrity of the election process has been under attack. “It was unbelievable that I would get some of the phone calls and people accusing you of different things,” Gill says. “It really did do a lot of damage to the way that people look at elections.”

Gill says he wishes Scaff the best of luck as he looks forward to spending more time with family before figuring out what’s next.