Cownie elected to 5th term as Des Moines mayor by 281 votes

Voters have elected Des Moines Mayor Frank Cownie to a fifth term as the businessman narrowly defeated developer and former legislator Jack Hatch.

Cownie beat Hatch by less than 300 votes out of more than 20,000 cast in Tuesday's election. The two candidates had gone to a runoff after topping other candidates in the Nov. 5 general election.

Cownie received 10,318 votes or 50.6 percent of the vote. Hatch received 10,037 votes or 49.2 percent of the vote. There were 54 write-in votes cast.

The election followed an expensive campaign in which the two candidates raised more than $500,000, with both contributing personal loans.