Iowa Democrat’s state Senate win ends GOP supermajority

Iowa Republicans lost their supermajority in the state Senate on Tuesday, when Democratic candidate Catelin Drey won a special election to fill an open seat. Drey, a resident of Sioux City, Iowa, won Senate District 1 with 55% of the vote, according to unofficial results from the Woodbury County Election Department. Her Republican opponent, Christopher Prosch, fell short with about 44%.

The seat Drey just secured opened in June, after Republican state Sen. Rocky De Witt died of pancreatic cancer, according to the Iowa Capital Dispatch.

Is Drey’s win part of a trend in the state? A Democratic candidate also beat a Republican in another special election for state Senate in January, according to results from the Iowa Secretary of State. Another special election in April, for Iowa House District 78, also ended in a Democratic victory. Angel Ramirez won with 79% of the vote, according to official results.

Dig deeper: Read my recent report on how Iowa Democrats are considering moving their presidential nomination caucus to an earlier date on their party’s schedule.