Democrat Catelin Drey on Tuesday defeated Republican Christopher Prosch in a special election to flip control of Iowa Senate District 1 seat
It was a contest involving first time candidates, who both live in Sioux City.
Prosch got 44 percent of the vote, while Drey received 55 percent, with more 4,208 votes for the Democrat.
Early voting began on August 6, and polls held in 13 locations closed Tuesday at 8 p.m.
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.
Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee President Heather Williams in a statement to Siouxland Public Media News said, “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. "
"State legislative Democrats are delivering progress, responding to their communities’ concerns about the chaos in Washington, and providing the steady leadership voters are asking for — leadership that has propelled candidates like Sen.-elect Catelin Drey to victory this year."
There are just over 31,800 registered voters in Iowa Senate District 1 portion of Woodbury County, with 10,697 Republicans and 9,828 Democrats.
As of August 20, more than 2,000 early ballots had been returned, and more than 3,100 absentee ballots were ultimately cast.
The final results were in by 8:20 p.m.
Prosch runs a media consulting firm. When Prosch became the nominee last month, a Woodbury County Republican Party release said, “We are confident that Christopher will be a strong advocate for economic growth in our State because he understands the negative impact government overreach and overregulation has had on our economy.”
The special election for the Iowa Senate District 1 seat was needed because of the June death of state senator Rocky DeWitt, a Republican of Lawton, at age 66.
