[ April 14, 2026 ]
What the hell, Iowa?
Iowa Democrats Flip Republican Seat, Break State Senate GOP Supermajority
National Democrats tout organizing push, while Iowa GOP leaders downplay the win as fueled by outside money.
By: Tom Ozimek, The Epoch Times, August 28, 2025:
ADVERTISEMENTCatelin Drey, a Democrat, won an Aug. 26 special election for Iowa Senate District 1, flipping a Republican-held seat and breaking the GOP’s supermajority in the chamber.
Drey defeated Republican Christopher Prosch with 4,208 votes (55 percent) to Prosch’s 3,411 votes (44 percent), according to preliminary returns from the Woodbury County Election Department.
Turnout was 23.9 percent; 7,619 of the district’s 31,911 registered voters cast ballots. Absentee votes proved pivotal, as Drey received 1,883 to Prosch’s 1,310.
“I’m just really incredibly honored that the folks in Senate District 1 believed in this campaign as much as the team did, and I am looking forward to representing them well,” Drey told the Des Moines Register.
The seat became vacant in June after Republican state Sen. Rocky De Witt died of pancreatic cancer. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds called the special election to fill the remainder of De Witt’s term, which runs through January 2027. The seat will next be on the ballot in November 2026.
ADVERTISEMENTDistrict 1, which covers Woodbury County and includes Sioux City, had been part of the Republican majority in the 50-member state Senate, where the GOP held 34 seats. Drey’s win reduces that number to 33, stripping Republicans of the two-thirds threshold required for a supermajority.
The result gives Democrats—now holding 17 seats—greater leverage.
“Sen.-elect Drey’s victory gives state Dems increased power in the chamber, including the ability to block Gov. Reynolds from making controversial gubernatorial appointments,” the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC) said in a post on X.
The governor’s nominees must receive two-thirds support to be confirmed.
National Democrats hailed the victory as proof that their organizing strategy is working.
The Truth Must be Told
Your contribution supports independent journalism
Please take a moment to consider this. Now, more than ever, people are reading Geller Report for news they won't get anywhere else. But advertising revenues have all but disappeared. Google Adsense is the online advertising monopoly and they have banned us. Social media giants like Facebook and Twitter have blocked and shadow-banned our accounts. But we won't put up a paywall. Because never has the free world needed independent journalism more.
Everyone who reads our reporting knows the Geller Report covers the news the media won't. We cannot do our ground-breaking report without your support. We must continue to report on the global jihad and the left's war on freedom. Our readers’ contributions make that possible.
Geller Report's independent, investigative journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. But we do it because we believe our work is critical in the fight for freedom and because it is your fight, too.
Please contribute here.
or
Make a monthly commitment to support The Geller Report – choose the option that suits you best.
ADVERTISEMENT
Quick note: We cannot do this without your support. Fact. Our work is made possible by you and only you. We receive no grants, government handouts, or major funding.Tech giants are shutting us down. You know this. Twitter, LinkedIn, Google Adsense, Pinterest permanently banned us. Facebook, Google search et al have shadow-banned, suspended and deleted us from your news feeds. They are disappearing us. But we are here.
Subscribe to Geller Report newsletter here— it’s free and it’s essential NOW when informed decision making and opinion is essential to America's survival. Share our posts on your social channels and with your email contacts. Fight the great fight.
Follow Pamela Geller on Gettr. I am there. click here.
Follow Pamela Geller on Trump's social media platform, Truth Social. It's open and free.
Remember, YOU make the work possible. If you can, please contribute to Geller Report.
Join The Conversation. Leave a Comment.
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spammy or unhelpful, click the ... symbol to the right of the comment to let us know. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.
