SAEDNEWS: US Democrat Renee Hardman won a special election for state Senate in Iowa on Tuesday, preventing Republicans from regaining a supermajority in the chamber, Decision Desk HQ projects.
Democrat Hardman, the West Des Moines mayor pro tempore, defeated Republican Lucas Loftin in a special election to fill a state Senate seat that had been vacant since Senator Claire Celsi died in October, according to The Hill.
Her victory prevents Republicans from securing a two-thirds supermajority in the Iowa Senate — a threshold that would have allowed the GOP to override the governor’s vetoes, call special legislative sessions, and confirm gubernatorial appointees on a party-line vote.
Hardman’s win continues a series of recent Democratic gains in Iowa. In January, Democrat Mike Zimmer flipped a state Senate district that had strongly supported former President Donald Trump in 2024. In August, Democrat Catelin Drey captured another open Senate seat, ending the Republican supermajority.
The result also fits into a broader pattern of Democratic success nationwide. The party recently won a special state Senate election in Kentucky and exceeded expectations in a special election in Tennessee. In November, Democrats also performed better than anticipated, winning the governorships in New Jersey and Virginia, the mayor’s office in New York City, and several other key local and state races.
Hardman’s election is historically significant. She was the first Black woman elected to the West Des Moines City Council and now becomes the first Black woman elected to the Iowa State Senate. The late Senator Claire Celsi, whose seat Hardman now holds, had managed Hardman’s first city council campaign nearly a decade ago, according to KCCI.
“Her victory ensures that Iowa Republicans will not have a supermajority in the Iowa Senate, providing an important check on Republican power,” Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin said in a statement. “With the final special election of the year decided, it is clear that 2025 has been a year of Democratic gains, and the party is positioned strongly for the midterm elections.”
Celsi had previously won the district by double-digit margins, and state data show that registered Democrats outnumber Republicans in the area. While former President Trump won Iowa by 13 points in the last election, then-Vice President Kamala Harris carried this district by 17 points, according to the Associated Press.
