Merlin Bartz concedes to Mary Jo Wilhelm

State Senator Merlin Bartz of Grafton has conceded defeat Wednesday to State Senator Mary Jo Wilhelm in State Senate District 26.  The race was decided by 120 votes with nearly 31,000 votes cast.

Bartz originally had described the election outcome as "undetermined," but changed his mind Wednesday and issued a news release congratulating Wilhelm.

District 26 was the only State Senate district in Iowa with two incumbent State Senators running.  The reapportionment of state legislative districts due to the 2010 U.S. Census created the head-to-head contest.

Meanwhile, in State Senate District 28, the Iowa Secretary of State's Office says Republican Mike Breitbach beat Democrat John Beard by 43 votes out of 29,000 votes case.  In State Representative District 56, Democrat Roger Thomas is the winner, beating Republican Mike Klimesh by 180 votes out of 15,000 votes cast.

In all three cases, official election returns will not be announced until Tuesday, when county boards throughout Iowa meet too certify election results.  That's when any remaining absentee ballots will also be added to the vote totals.