Democrats have flipped an Iowa state Senate seat in a district that overwhelmingly voted for President Trump in November.
Democrat Mike Zimmer, who has worked in education and serves as the president of a school board, defeated the Republican candidate, Kate Whittington, by about 3.5 points to represent state Senate District 35, which voted for Trump by 21 points in 2024.
The special election was held to fill the seat vacated by Lt. Gov. Chris Cournoyer (R), who resigned from her seat in December to become the second-highest official in the state under Gov. Kim Reynolds (R). Zimmer will now serve for the remainder of Cournoyer’s term until 2026.
“Our campaign’s values of hard work and fairness resonated with a bipartisan coalition of voters in Clinton, Jackson and Scott counties,” Zimmer said in a statement, according to the Des Moines Register. “I’m looking forward to working on behalf of the people of Eastern Iowa to help working Iowans get ahead, support our public schools and teachers, and help lower the cost of living.”
Republicans will still have dominant control of the state Senate, but the win is a welcome surprise to Democrats, who said it demonstrates a warning to the GOP.
Heather Williams, the president of the Democratic campaign committee focused on state legislatures, said in a statement that the victory is the first seat flipped of the cycle.
“This earthquake victory in Iowa puts Republicans across the country on notice,” she said, adding “We have dozens more special elections on the horizon — we’re only just getting started.”
Democratic National Committee Executive Director Sam Cornale said the 24-point swing in the district from November shows that Democrats will compete “in every part of the country.”
“Democrats are ready to fight for our rights and for a government that looks out for the needs of working Americans,” Cornale said in a statement.
Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart said Zimmer’s win shows Democrats can win in rural Iowa and Trump districts when they work hard and focus on issues that Iowans care about.
“Mike is a small-town guy, a local business owner and a public school educator who knows first-hand what Iowans are looking for in a representative,” Hart said. “I’m so proud we flipped the senate district I represented and live in blue again. Iowa Democrats are already getting to work on a great election cycle.”