Iowa Democrats achieved a notable triumph on Tuesday by capturing a Republican seat during a special election, which effectively ended the GOP’s supermajority in the state Senate.
Catelin Drey secured victory in the Sioux City-area district with 55% of the votes against Republican rival Christopher Prosch, who garnered 44%, according to preliminary results with all precincts reporting.
Democrats will now hold 17 seats in the Senate, compared with 33 for Republicans, breaking the GOP’s two-thirds supermajority.
Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin celebrated Drey’s victory in a district Donald Trump won last year.
“Iowans recognize Republicans for what they are: self-serving individuals willing to abandon their constituents to support Donald Trump’s harmful agenda — and they want change,” stated Martin.
“Make no mistake: when Democrats organize everywhere, we win everywhere, and today is no exception,” he added.
The special election was announced by Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds following the death of Sen. Rocky De Witt, also a Republican, due to cancer in June. He had initially been elected in 2022.
Republicans also hold the majority in the state House.
Democrats have consistently performed well in special elections this year after Vice President Kamala Harris lost to Trump last year.
In January, Democrat Mike Zimmer managed to take over a state Senate seat by defeating his Republican challenger by 4 percentage points, in a district Trump had won by 25 points in November.
