Voters in one Iowa county have rejected a GOP-appointed auditor who had previously made social media posts that questioned the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election, among other conspiracy theories
about how elections are run. But in Warren County, the way Whipple was appointed drew just as much — if not more — ire from voters as some of his online posts. The auditor's position in Warren County opened up in May, when Democrat Traci VanderLinden retired after 25 years in the post.
VanderLinden was the only Democrat to hold office in the county's government, having been most recently reelected in 2020. Sheets, her deputy since 2019, was recommended to take her place. But in a June 6 public meeting, the three-member, all Republican, Board of Supervisors voted to appoint Whipple to the post — despite his lack of experience in government and his prior posts that seemed to support former President Donald Trump's unfounded claims of election fraud in 2020. In his support for Whipple, County Supervisor Darren Heater said during the June meeting that the board isn't afraid to drive change, even if it is hard. “We all love Kim Sheets. I mean, anybody that’s worked with her for more than 10 minutes will love her,” Heater said. “But this is kind of a defining moment for Warren County,” he went on. “Are we going to continue on the path that’s got us where we’re at or are we gonna do something big and change?” At least one member of the board suggested he was aware of Whipple's social media posts at the time of his appointment, according to the Des Moines Register, including posts made after the 2020 election in which Whipple included the hashtag #StopTheSteal. In another, he commented: “Trump has got this... The left has tried real hard to steal our nation, but no thanks we will remain Patriots and free Americans,” according to screenshots taken by the Des Moines Register. Whipple also shared a statement from Trump on Dec. 22, 2020, saying “He’s not leaving despite media reporting. I’m loving this!” “When you have the sitting president of the United States saying that, wouldn’t it create some emotion for everybody to sit back and say, hey, if there’s smoke, let’s see if there’s fire?” Whipple told The Associated Press on Monday, as he explained why he made the online comments. Whipple, who said he has since deleted the posts to protect his friends and family, said that he didn’t closely follow the investigations that unsubstantiated Trump’s claims but that he accepts Joe Biden as the legitimate president. Whipple’s campaign to be elected to the office focused on issues he said he's found and worked to resolve in office operations since becoming interim auditor, including voting equipment that was unaccounted for, accrued late fees and poorly maintained county buildings.Alison Hoeman, 47, of Norwalk said she was shocked by Whipple’s posts and couldn’t trust him as a result, even if he’s since said the election was legitimate. “Whether he’s doing it on purpose or whether he didn’t read it or whether he believes it or whatever, that person can’t be in charge of our elections,” Hoeman said. “Under pressure, people say a lot of things, right? But it’s what you did at the time.”
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