- reverse pyromania
- Posts
- A Win in Iowa
Some good news:
Iowa Democrat Catelin Drey won a major upset on Tuesday night, flipping a deep-red seat in the state Senate and breaking the GOP's supermajority in the chamber.
Drey defeated Republican Christopher Prosch by a wide 55-44 margin in a district Donald Trump carried by 11 points last year.
It's the second conservative district that Iowa Republicans have lost in the legislature this year, and the results will further buoy Democratic hopes for similar victories in contests for governor and the U.S. Senate in 2026.
The most immediate impact will be felt right away. Drey's defeat of Republican Christopher Prosch, following a shock win by Democrat Mike Zimmer in January, chisels the GOP's advantage in the Iowa Senate down to 33-17.
Crucially, that means Gov. Kim Reynolds will no longer be able to rely solely on the support of fellow Republicans to confirm her picks for judgeships and state cabinet posts, since nominees must be confirmed by two-thirds of the Senate.
Drey had a total of $260K spent on her win — $160K she raised, and another $100K from the Iowa Democratic Party.
Anything and everything that makes Republicans worry about 2026 is good, so this is obviously good.
The Josh Marshall podcast is back and Kate Riga noted that the conventional wisdom on Republican and Democratic voters seems to have flipped. In the past, it was Democrats who weren’t heavily engaged and had to be coaxed out to vote, and Republicans would walk over broken glass to vote. For special elections and off-year elections, at least, it looks like Republicans need to be coaxed out.
Reply