Bondurant Christian Church was a polling location for Bondurant community open Election Day, Nov. 5, 2024. (Photo by Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch)
Iowans in Clinton County, as well as parts of Jackson and Scott counties, will get to vote Tuesday in the special election to fill the Senate seat vacated by Lt. Gov. Chris Cournoyer.
Cournoyer vacated the Senate District 35 seat after Gov. Kim Reynolds appointed her lieutenant governor Dec. 16. The governor set the special election date for Jan. 28.
Voters in Senate District 35 can participate by heading to their precinct polling locations Tuesday between 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. — polling place information can be found using the Secretary of State’s website. Additionally, any voters who have requested and received absentee ballots to participate in the election have until 8 p.m. Tuesday to return their ballots to their local county auditor’s office to be counted.
There are two candidates who will appear on the ballot — Republican Katie Whittington and Democrat Mike Zimmer. Whittington is an Iowa GOP party organizer in Clinton County, and Zimmer is the Central DeWitt School Board president. In interviews with the Clinton Herald, Zimmer said improving access to health care and addressing the state’s high cancer rate would be his priorities in office. Whittington said she would focus on lowering property taxes as a state legislator.
The special election victor will serve in the position through 2026, the remainder of Cournoyer’s term.
Cournoyer served as senator for the district for two terms; previously, Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart held the seat.
Regardless of who wins the special election, Republicans will maintain supermajority control in the Iowa Senate. With Cournoyer’s seat unfilled, Republicans have 34-15 control in the chamber following the 2024 general election, in addition to a 67-33 supermajority in the House.