Hunter
08/27/25
A special election for an Iowa Senate seat went to a Democrat and broke the Republican supermajority in the chamber for the first time in three years.
Catelin Drey got 55 percent of the vote over Republican Christopher Prosch’s 44 percent in Iowa Senate District 1. The seat became open after Republican senator Rocky DeWItt died of pancreatic cancer in June.
The Des Moines Register reports Drey will serve the remainder of De Witt’s term, which ends in January 2027. The seat will be on the ballot again in November 2026.
Democrats now hold 17 seats in the 50-member Senate to Republicans’ 33 seats — enough to break the two-thirds supermajority the GOP has enjoyed since the 2022 election.
That means Republicans will need support from at least one Democratic senator to confirm Governor Kim Reynolds’ nominees to state agencies, boards and commissions in the final year of her term.
State Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart issued a statement that read in part, “For the fourth special election in a row, Iowa voted for change…our state is ready for a new direction and Iowa Democrats will keep putting forward candidates who can deliver better representation for Iowans.”