A Democratic candidate won a special election for the Iowa State Senate on Tuesday, The Associated Press said, a result that prevents Republicans from reclaiming a supermajority in that chamber.
The Democrat, Renee Hardman, a member of the West Des Moines City Council, held a left-leaning suburban seat for her party, continuing a string of encouraging off-year election results for Iowa Democrats. Ms. Hardman defeated the Republican nominee, Lucas Loftin.
This year, Democrats flipped two Republican-leaning Iowa Senate seats in special elections, breaking a two-thirds supermajority that had allowed Republican lawmakers to confirm the governor’s appointees without support from Democrats. Republicans could have regained a supermajority with a victory on Tuesday.
Heather Williams, the president of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, said her organization would work to prevent Republicans from gaining back a supermajority in next year’s election.
“Democrats have been on fire in state legislative special elections throughout 2025,” Ms. Williams said in a statement on Tuesday, “and Iowa is our latest proof point.”
The seat that Ms. Hardman won became vacant in October when Senator Claire Celsi, a Democrat, died after an illness. Last year, Ms. Celsi defeated a Libertarian candidate by 40 percentage points in a race that included no Republican.
Republicans maintain full control of the Iowa state government, with large majorities in both legislative chambers. Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican, has signed into law measures restricting abortion, banning school library books deemed sexually explicit and eliminating civil rights protections for transgender people.
Iowa Democrats, who have seen their support erode in recent years, hope their success in special elections could signal momentum for the 2026 midterms. Auditor Rob Sand, the only elected Democrat left in statewide office, is running for governor, and at least two U.S. House races are expected to be competitive.
Mitch Smith is a Chicago-based national correspondent for The Times, covering the Midwest and Great Plains.
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