A Democrat has won a special election for an Iowa state Senate seat in a district that had been held by Republicans and had voted heavily for President Donald Trump in 2024, adding to the Democratic Party's hope that it can flip more seats during the 2026 midterm elections.
Democrat Catelin Drey handily defeated Republican Christopher Prosch in Tuesday's election, according to unofficial results from the Woodbury County Auditor's Office, for the district that covers Sioux City in the Republican stronghold of northwestern Iowa. The special election had been called after Republican Sen. Rocky de Witt died in June of pancreatic cancer.
Fewer than a quarter of registered voters turned out for the special election.
Drey's win breaks Republicans’ supermajority in the 50-member Iowa Senate, giving Democrats 17 seats to the GOP's 33. The addition of Drey's seat means Republicans would need the support of at least one Democrat to confirm appointments to state agencies and commissions by Gov. Kim Reynolds.
The win follows other Democratic victories in the state this year, including the pickup of another state Senate seat in a January special election and an Iowa House seat in April. In March, a Democratic candidate for a southeast Iowa House district narrowly lost in what would have been a typically easy win for Republicans.
The Iowa Republican Party downplayed Drey's win.
“National Democrats were so desperate for a win that they activated 30,000 volunteers and a flood of national money to win a state senate special election by a few hundred votes,” Iowa GOP Chairman Jeff Kaufmann said in a written statement.
But Democrats are buoyed by the win, saying it builds on their momentum in special elections this year — including those in districts Trump won in 2024.
“As Trump and Republicans wreck the economy and erode democracy with power-grabbing schemes, Democrats’ special election wins should send a flashing warning to the GOP: voters are rejecting the failing MAGA agenda and leaving Republican candidates in the dust,” Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee President Heather Williams said in a statement.
Democrats are hoping Drey's victory telegraphs a win for them in Iowa's U.S. Senate race next year for the seat now held by Republican Sen. Joni Ernst, who has faced recent scrutiny for comments in support of unpopular policies taken up by the Trump administration.
“I think that that is a real wake-up call to the fact that Iowans are not happy,” Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart said Wednesday, later adding, “This gives us a real reason to believe that we have every opportunity to win that Senate seat and put it in the Democratic column.”
In May, Ernst's retort about Medicaid cuts at a town hall drew a firestorm of criticism. As Ernst insisted that the legislation protects Medicaid for those who need it most, someone in the crowd yelled that people will die without coverage. Ernst responded: “Well, we all are going to die.”
Ernst has said she will announce in the coming weeks whether she'll seek reelection, but she's given every indication she intends to run. She announced a campaign manager in June as well as an October date for her annual fundraiser.
If she does run, she faces a couple of GOP primary challengers, including former state Sen. Jim Carlin and Navy veteran Joshua Smith. A crowded field of Democrats is also challenging Ernst, including Democratic Iowa state Rep. Josh Turek, state Sen. Zach Wahls, former chamber of commerce president Nathan Sage, and Des Moines School Board Chair Jackie Norris.
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