Democrat Renee Hardman has won a special election for the Iowa state Senate, dashing Republicans’ hopes of reclaiming a supermajority in the upper chamber of the state legislature.
The race was called by The Associated Press shortly after the polls closed at 9:00 p.m., with Hardman overwhelmingly defeating Republican challenger Lucas Loftin.
The election will be held to replace state Sen. Claire Celsi, a Democrat, who died in October. Her district covers parts of Clive, West Des Moines, and Windsor Heights, Iowa.
While its previous track record as a Democrat-leaning district meant Hardman went into the race favored to win, Republicans hoped for an upset victory that could allow them to reclaim two-thirds of the state Senate.
The party lost control of the upper chamber in a shock defeat suffered in August, when the election of Democratic state Sen. Catelin Drey allowed Democrats to break the Republican supermajority.
Drey’s August victory represented a major reversal of the results in the district in the last general election. After Trump won the district by around 10 points, Drey won her race by 11, marking a 21-point swing in just nine months.
Without a supermajority, state Senate Republicans need the backing of at least one Democrat to approve Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds’ appointees.
The outcome brings Democrat control to 17 seats, while Republicans still control a majority, with 33 seats.
Hardman is the president and CEO of Lutheran Services in Iowa, a nonprofit group that provides assistance to immigrants, people with disabilities, children in the foster care and adoption system, and others.
Ahead of the election, she said her focus in the state Senate would be on making child care, housing, and health care affordable.
“I’m nervous about what’s going to happen with Medicare. I want to be in the fight to lift my voice up to make sure that families aren’t disadvantaged by Medicare changes,” she said, referencing the sweeping cuts to Medicaid instituted by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Loftin, meanwhile, ran his campaign with a focus on affordability and lowering taxes.
In the Democratic district, Loftin told Iowa Public Radio that he’s describing himself to voters as “just a regular guy.”
“I buy groceries, I put gas in my car, I pay a mortgage. You know, all of these things,” Loftin said. “Our dollars don’t go as far as they used to, and everybody across the country, not just in Iowa, is feeling that.”
