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Democrat Renee Hardman wins Iowa state Senate special election
HANNAH FINGERHUT and HANNAH SCHOENBAUM
Updated Wed, December 31, 2025
Special Election Iowa - This combination of undated images provided by Hardman for Iowa and Lucas Loftin on Friday, Dec. 26, 2205, shows Democrat Renee Hardman and Republican Lucas Loftin, who are running against each other in the special election for the state Senate seat representing parts of Des Moines’ suburbs. (Hardman for Iowa, Lucas Loftin via AP)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
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 Oct. 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%.
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.
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