Each Iowa legislative district that had a special election in 2025 swung at least 10 points toward Democrats. Will that continue in 2026's midterms?

Following the November 2024 general election, Republicans expanded their majority to 67 out of 100 seats, which meets the two-thirds threshold required for a supermajority. Democrats hold 33 seats.

As the session opened Monday, Jan. 12, both the House and Senate swore in new lawmakers who won their seats in special elections in December: Rep. Wendy Larson, R-Odebolt, who filled northwest Iowa’s House District 7 after the resignation of Rep.

Renee Hardman won over Lucas Loftin in a special election to retain the District 16 Senate seat for Democrats after Claire Celsi's death.

Democratic candidate Renee Hardman won the Iowa Senate special election on Tuesday, preventing Republicans from regaining two-thirds control of the state’s upper chamber. Hardman defeated Republican candidate Lucas Loftin by nearly 45 percentage points,

Iowa Democrats need to hold a State Senate seat in suburban Des Moines in order to prevent Republicans from regaining a supermajority. This seat, which leans Democratic, became vacant after the death of Senator Claire Celsi, a Democrat. Read more

Voters in Iowa will head to the polls Tuesday to pick a new state senator in a special election that could allow Republicans to regain a supermajority in the upper chamber. The GOP held a

By holding a left-leaning seat in suburban Des Moines, Democrats ensured that Republicans would not have a supermajority in the State Senate.

Iowa special election Tuesday pits Democrat Renee Hardman against Republican Lucas Loftin for Senate District 16, with Republicans seeking supermajority control.

Iowa Sen. Art Staed, D-Cedar Rapids, will propose legislation banning a Chinese-manufactured pesticide, saying he believes it could be linked to Parkinson's disease, which he is battling.

Democrat Renee Hardman beat Republican Lucas Loftin by more than 40 percentage points in a special election Tuesday night. Hardman's win makes her the state's first Black female state senator.