Iowa House Speaker Pat Grassley and state Republican lawmakers celebrated GOP state legislative victories in the 2024 general election at the Republican Election Night watch party in Des Moines Nov. 5, 2024. (Photo by Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch)
Unofficial results show that Republicans held on to trifecta control at the Iowa Statehouse in the Tuesday election – and that both chambers may have a GOP supermajority in the upcoming General Assembly.
In the House, Republicans appeared to grow their majority to a supermajority in the 2024 general election by flipping multiple seats currently held by Democrats. And in the Senate, where Republicans already held a supermajority, two Democratic incumbents lost to Republican challengers while one GOP incumbent, Sen. Brad Zaun, R-Urbandale, lost his campaign.
House Speaker Pat Grassley celebrated successful defenses of incumbents and pick-ups in some competitive legislative seats at the Republican watch party in Des Moines Tuesday night, asking a cheering crowd, “How does the number 67 House Republicans sound?”
In the previous General Assembly, House Republicans held a 64-36 majority. Unofficial results show that lead has grown to a 67-seat advantage, with 33 seats to be held by Democrats.
The crucial pick-ups for the House GOP caucus came in four seats:
- In House District 41, covering much of Ankeny, Republican Ryan Weldon is ahead of incumbent Democratic Rep. Molly Buck with 50.2% to 49.8% of the vote in unofficial results as of 7 p.m. Wednesday, with all precincts reporting. The AP has not called the race.
- In Dubuque, Rep. Chuck Isenhart, the Democrat who has represented House District 72 for more than a decade, lost with 47% to Republican Jennifer Smith’s 53% of the vote.
- Another incumbent Democratic lawmaker, Rep. Sue Cahill, D-Marshalltown, was ousted by GOP challenger David Blom, who received 52% of the vote in the 2024 general election.
- Additionally, retiring Democratic Rep. Sharon Steckman’s seat in Mason City was taken by GOP candidate Christian Hermanson in the election, who defeated Democrat Jeremy True by a margin of just over 350 votes, according to the Iowa Secretary of State’s website.
Grassley said Iowans sent a clear message in their election results: “The woke mind virus comes to Iowa and it dies.”
He also said Iowans sent a clear message to Democrats through the 2024 election results – that abortion, and opposition to the state’s six-week abortion ban – is not a winning campaign message.
“We heard this all across the state, ‘Why in the world is a party running on one issue?’” Grassley said. “Which is – that one issue – is killing babies up until the day of birth. And I think Iowans rejected that wholeheartedly.”
In addition to the House legislative changes, there were some shake-ups in the Iowa Senate – though the outcomes did not change which party controlled the chamber. Republican Sen. Brad Zaun of Urbandale lost his reelection bid to Democratic challenger Matt Blake, a former Urbandale City Council member in Senate District 22. It was the most expensive state legislative race in 2024, with campaign and in-kind contributions reaching a total of $1.72 million during the election cycle.
Despite the significant pick-up, Senate Democrats appear to have lost two important seats in the 2024 election:
- Nate Boulton, D-Des Moines, may have lost his race to Republican challenger Mike Pike in Iowa Senate District 20, which does not yet have called results. According to Iowa Secretary of State website data, Pike was ahead of Boulton by 43 votes as of 7 p.m. Wednesday.
Boulton has said he plans to request a recount in the election. - Another seat identified by Republicans as a potential flip – Iowa Senate District 38, currently represented by Sen. Eric Giddens, D-Cedar Falls – appears to have turned to Republican control. Republican Dave Sires is currently ahead by nearly 400 votes according to state data.
Senate Democratic Leader Pam Jochum, who is retiring after the 2024 session, acknowledged “challenges” ahead for Democrats in Iowa in the future 2025 legislative session due to the election results.
“It’s clear that the defunding of our public schools resonated with voters, but unfortunately we came up short,” Jochum said. “Iowans are tired of the status quo here in our state and across the country, and the Iowa Senate Democrats will work harder to deliver a better deal for them in the legislature. While we get to work for the future, we are reviewing all of our options to ensure that every vote is counted.”