Johnston's 2012 Election Guide

As we look ahead to November’s elections, Johnston Patch is devoted to bringing you the information you need about every race in town. Here are five that locals are already talking about:

President Barack Obama: Prognosticators call Iowa a battleground state in the presidential race, and two recent visits by President Obama to the Hawkeye State seem to bear that out. In April, to talk about the need to keep student loan interest rates down, then in May he stumped in Des Moines on the economy, abortion rights, gays in the military and his desire to lead the country forward.

GOP Presidential Nominee Mitt Romney: The former Massachusetts governor has visited the state three times in the past month, usually focusing his comments on the economy. In a May Des Moines appearance, . On June 18 Romney campaigned in Dubuque and Davenport, criticizing President Obama’s policies with dragging down the economy, according to the Dubuque Telegraph-Herald.

Congressman Leonard Boswell: The Democratic incumbent was thrown into a new Third District by re-districting and faces what the Des Moines Register is calling an uphill battle for re-election against incumbent Republican Tom Latham, who currently represents Iowa's Fourth District. Both have an agriculture background and a long tenure in Congress — Boswell has served for 15 years and Latham has been in the House of Representatives for 17 years.

Jake Highfill: , 22, and a recent University of Iowa graduate, defeated two-term incumbent Erik Helland for the GOP nomination to the Iowa House District 39 seat. The race included an accusation of bribery; Highfill alleged that Helland had tried to bribe him with a job offer so Highfill would not run for the legislative seat. The GOP newcomer faces Democrat Kelsey Clark of Grimes in November.

Iowa Supreme Court retention: Two years ago Iowans ousted three members of the Supreme Court for their support of a unanimous ruling that allowed same-sex marriage in the state. This November, another justice who took part in that ruling, David S. Wiggins, is up for retention. Also up for retention are the three newest justices on the court, who replaced those who lost their seats. The three new justices on the ballot are Thomas D. Waterman, Edward Mansfield and Bruce Zager.