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 control of the chamber.
Hardman bested Republican Lucas Loftin by an overwhelming margin to win the seat representing parts of Des Moines’ suburbs. It became vacant after the October 6 death 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, becomes the first Black woman elected to the Senate.
Democratic voters outnumber Republicans in 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 said the committee would aim to block the supermajority again in 2026.
“Democrats have been on fire in state legislative special elections throughout 2025, and Iowa is our latest proof point,” Williams said in a statement. “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 party a supermajority once again, just months after a Democrat flipped a Republican seat in an August special election, giving Democrats 17 seats to Republicans’ 33. Celsi’s death made that 16.
Senate Republicans left Des Moines last spring with a supermajority, which allows the party to easily confirm Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds’ appointments to state agencies and commissions.
Without a supermajority, Republicans will have to get support from at least one Democrat to approve Reynolds’ nominees.
