Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver addresses the Senate at the beginning of the 2024 legislative session Jan. 8, 2024. (Photo by Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch)
The special election to replace now-Lt. Gov. Chris Cournoyer in the Iowa Senate will be Jan. 28, Gov. Kim Reynolds announced Monday.
The LeClaire Republican resigned from her seat representing Senate District 35 last week as she took the office of lieutenant governor. Reynolds appointed her to serve in the position after former Lt. Gov. Adam Gregg resigned from the seat in September. Cournoyer will hold the position for the rest of the governor and lieutenant governor’s term of office – until 2026.
Cournoyer won reelection in 2023 to a second term in Senate District 35, which encompasses Clinton County and some parts of Scott and Jackson counties. The seat was previously held by Democrat Rita Hart.
Even with Cournoyer’s resignation, Republicans still hold a supermajority at 34-15 in the Iowa Senate – in addition to having won a 67-33 supermajority in the Iowa House. But Iowa Democrats say winning the special election for the eastern Iowa seat could help send a message that “enough is enough,” according to a news release from the Iowa Senate Majority Fund, Iowa Senate Democrats’ campaign arm.
“This election allows voters to demand bold leadership and real solutions to move Iowa forward,” the Iowa Senate Majority Fund said in a statement. “It’s about electing a Senator who will fully fund our schools, grow Iowa’s middle class, and fight for a fair deal for every family – not just the wealthy few.”
With the governor’s proclamation of a special election, the County Commissioners of Elections in the three counties in Senate District 35 have been tasked with providing official notices of the election. Additionally, the state Democratic and Republican parties will convene at district nominating conventions ahead of the special election for delegates to select their party candidates for the seat.
The special election will take place just over two weeks after the Iowa Legislature convenes Jan. 13 for the 2025 session. The candidate who wins will serve in the state Senate through 2026, the remainder of Cournoyer’s term.