(Radio Iowa) – Democrat Catelin Drey of Sioux City has won the special election for an open state senate seat by an 11 point margin — in a district President Trump carried by over 10 points last November. “I am just incredibly proud of the campaign that we ran and the work that this team did,” Drey told Radio Iowa last night. Iowa Democratic Party chair Rita Hart says Drey’s win shows Iowans are ready for a new direction. Drey says voters are frustrated by the policies coming out of Washington and Des Moines.

Democrat Catelin Drey of Sioux City (photo provided by Drey’s campaign

“It’s gotten too expensive to build a life in Iowa, you know. That’s the message we ran on,” Drey says. “And we are really proud to have the support of the constituents in Senate District 1 and I’m looking forward to bringing their voice to the Capitol.” Unofficial results show Drey finished with 55 percent of the vote, while 44 percent of ballots were cast for Republican Christopher Prosch. Drey will finish the term of Republican Senator Rocky De Witt of Lawton, who died of pancreatic cancer in June.

Drey says she and her supporters worked until the polls closed at 8 p.m. yesterday (Tuesday). “We talked to every single voter that we could,” Drey says. “We were knocking doors up until 7:30, making sure that if people needed a ride to the polls or had questions about the issues that I was available to talk to them.” Iowa Republican Party chairman Jeff Kaufmann says national Democrats were so desperate for a win they activated thousands of volunteers and spent a flood of money to win by a few hundred votes.

Drey’s victory ends the 34-seat supermajority Republicans have held in the Iowa Senate for the past three years. It means Governor Reynolds’ nominees for top state government roles will need the support of at least one Democrat to reach the 34 vote threshold for confirmation. The Woodbury County Board of Supervisors must certify the results before Drey can take the oath of office.

Drey says one of her top priorities in the 2026 legislative session will be providing a state funding boost for public schools that meets or exceeds the inflation rate. She would also vote for limitations on the state-funded accounts for private school students. “I personally would like to see an income cap on those who can quality for voucher funds,” Drey says. “I think it is wholly irresponsible that we have an uncapped budget item that is diverting public dollars into something we can’t track or audit.”

This is the first year when all private school students, regardless of their parents’ income, can qualify for state funds to cover tuition and other education-related expenses. There were household income limits in the first two years state assistance was provided for private schooling.