Des Moines, Iowa
AP
—
Democrat Renee Hardman was elected to the Iowa state Senate on Tuesday in a holiday-week special election, denying Republicans’ bid to reclaim two-thirds management of the chamber.
Hardman bested Republican Lucas Loftin by an awesome margin to win the seat representing elements of Des Moines’ suburbs. It turned vacant after the October 6 demise of state Sen. Claire Celsi, a Democrat.
Hardman, CEO of nonprofit Lutheran Services of Iowa and a member of the West Des Moines City Council, turns into the primary Black girl elected to the Senate.
Democratic voters outnumber Republicans within the district by about 3,300 voters, or 37% to 30%.
Heather Williams, president of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, celebrated Hardman’s victory and mentioned the committee would intention to dam the supermajority once more in 2026.
“Democrats have been on fire in state legislative special elections throughout 2025, and Iowa is our latest proof point,” Williams mentioned in an announcement. “Tonight, Iowans rebuked GOP chaos by blocking a toxic Republican supermajority, and made history by electing the first Black woman to serve in the Iowa Senate.”
A GOP win would have given the celebration a supermajority as soon as once more, simply months after a Democrat flipped a Republican seat in an August special election, giving Democrats 17 seats to Republicans’ 33. Celsi’s demise made that 16.
Senate Republicans left Des Moines final spring with a supermajority, which permits the celebration to simply verify Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds’ appointments to state businesses and commissions.
Without a supermajority, Republicans should get help from no less than one Democrat to approve Reynolds’ nominees.