Democrat Catelin Drey defeated Republican Christopher Prosch in an Iowa legislative special election on Tuesday.
By virtue of her win, Drey flipped control of Iowa Senate District 1 seat from Republicans. Republicans still have a sizable margin in the Iowa Senate at 33 to 17 to pursue their agenda, but no longer have a supermajority.
“It is great for the constituents across the state of Iowa who deserve to have their voices heard, who no longer will have to have unpopular policies shoved down their throat, with no hope of a debate or conversation around a bill,” Drey said.
Prosch got 44 percent of the vote, while Drey received 55 percent, with 4,208 votes for the Democrat.
The outcome drew national attention, as news outlets shared results and much was made of the fact that former Republican Rocky DeWitt won the district by 10 percent four years ago, and Drey won by 9 percent, for a 19 point swing.
Also, President Donald Trump defeated Democrat Kamala Harris nine months ago by 11 percent in that voting district.
Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee President Heather Williams in a statement to Siouxland Public Media News said that the Trump and Republican brand has fallen out of favor with voters, as shown by Drey’s win.
“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,” Williams said, in predicting more of that by state legislative Democrats.
The Woodbury Board of Supervisors will hold a Thursday meeting at the County Courthouse in Sioux City to canvass the ballots and make the outcome official. Drey will be sworn in to the term by mid-September.
It was a contest involving first time candidates, who both live in Sioux City.
Early voting began on August 6, and ran for three weeks. More than 3,100 absentee ballots were ultimately cast.
On Wednesday, as she juggled many media requests, including from national reporters, Drey said focusing on banking early votes allowed her team to then pursue other voters.
David Peterson is a political scientist from Iowa State University. He said the party not in the White House typically performs better in special elections.
“Democrats are doing better amongst more engaged voters, ones who turn out for a variety of lower profile elections. So the combination of those two things has been a real boon for Democrats in these special elections," he said.
Peterson says many people are frustrated with more established Democratic candidates. That makes it the perfect opportunity for non-traditional candidates who are connected to their community, like Drey, to succeed.
Drey is an account supervisor at Antidote 71 and founder of Moms for Iowa, a grassroots initiative aimed at making public policy accessible to Iowans. Her platform focused on public education, accessible child care, economic equity, and bodily autonomy.
