Democrat Catelin Drey's victory in Iowa special election breaks GOP
supermajority
[August 28, 2025]
By MARGERY A. BECK
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.
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Catelin Drey, Democratic candidate for Iowa Senate District 1,
speaks during an interview Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025. She beat
Republican candidate Christopher Prosch in a special election held
Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025, to fill the unexpired term of Republican
Senator Rocky De Witt who died in June after battling pancreatic
cancer. (Tim Hynds/Sioux City Journal via AP)
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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