Iowa Democrats flipped 10 Republican-held House seats in Tuesday’s midterm elections, sharply narrowing the GOP’s majority and strengthening their hand as Gov.-elect Rob Sand prepares to lead the state’s first divided government in a decade.
Republicans will retain control of both legislative chambers, but their final margins remained unsettled Thursday. Called House races put Republicans at 52 seats and Democrats at 43, with five races still uncalled. Democrats have not lost any seats they entered the election defending.
Republicans were on track to win three of the outstanding House races. Two others remained close, including one that could give Democrats an 11th pickup. A 56-44 Republican majority remained possible, but was not yet confirmed.
In the Senate, one Democratic pickup and one Republican pickup have offset each other. The only uncalled race, District 47 in Bettendorf, will determine whether Republicans hold a 32-18 or 33-17 majority.
Republicans entered Tuesday night with a veto-proof 66-33 supermajority in the Iowa House and a 32-17 majority in the Senate, with one vacancy in each chamber. The results ensure Republicans will lose their House supermajority.
The outcome sets up a new balance of power at the Capitol: Republicans will continue setting the legislative agenda, while a Democratic governor and a larger House Democratic caucus will have greater influence over what becomes law.
“Tonight, the Iowa House Democrats delivered the biggest electoral gains in a generation, sending a clear message that our state is ready for bold, balanced leadership,” House Democratic Leader Brian Meyer, D-Des Moines, said in a statement.
Meyer credited an agenda focused on public schools, rising costs and making Iowa a better place to live, work and raise a family.
He said Democrats’ House wins “lay the foundation leading into 2028 and beyond.”
“With a stronger caucus than we’ve seen in years, Iowa House Democrats are ready to get to work with Governor-elect Sand, stand ready to stop any veto efforts and fight for every Iowan,” Meyer said. “Because tonight shows that when we fight for every Iowan, we win.”
Republicans, meanwhile, emphasized that their remaining majorities give them the power to check Sand.
“There's still a red wall out there, and the red wall is called the Iowa Legislature,” Republican Party of Iowa Chair Jeff Kaufmann told supporters Tuesday night.
“If there is any kind of, call it whatever you want, blue wave, a historical trend that manifested itself, it will come crashing against the Iowa Legislature,” he said.
House gains reach beyond the suburbs
Democratic victories and leads in Republican-held House districts stretched from the Des Moines suburbs to communities across eastern, southeastern and north-central Iowa. Ten pickups had been called Thursday morning, with another possible as the remaining races were resolved.
Four Democratic House pickups came in the Des Moines metro, where several Republican incumbents lost their seats. Tom Walton defeated Rep. David Young in District 28, covering West Des Moines, Van Meter and Adel. Heather Sievers beat Rep. Bill Gustoff in Des Moines and Altoona’s District 40, while Molly Buck defeated Rep. Ryan Weldon in Ankeny’s District 41. Jill Alesch won Johnston’s open District 43 seat against Republican Nicole Hasso. And Amy Newton Rosenow was leading Rep. Dan Gehlbach in District 46 by about 260 votes, or 1.4 percentage points. The Associated Press had not yet called the race Thursday morning. The district covers Urbandale and Grimes.
Democrats also reclaimed ground beyond central Iowa. Mike Tupper unseated Rep. David Blom in Marshalltown’s District 52, and Jacob Welper defeated Rep. Christian Hermanson in Mason City’s District 59.
Along the Mississippi River, Matt Robinson in Dubuque and Jennifer Kirkman in Burlington won Republican-held districts. Democrat Randy Meier also won Clinton County’s House District 69, toppling Republican incumbent Tom Determann. In Muscatine, Democrat Nick Salazar defeated Republican incumbent Mark Cisneros in House District 96.
The gains marked a recovery after years of Democratic legislative losses. Republicans won their largest majorities in more than 50 years in 2024, securing supermajorities in both chambers before Democrats broke the Senate supermajority through two special-election victories last year.
One uncalled race will determine Senate margin
Democrats and Republicans have each flipped one Senate seat, leaving neither party with a net gain in called races.
State Rep. Heather Matson defeated Republican John Hollinrake in an open Ankeny seat. The seat was vacated after GOP incumbent Sen. Mike Bousselot decided to run in a different district before ending his campaign to take a job in the private sector.
Republican Joe Stutting defeated Democratic Sen. Mike Zimmer of De Witt, reclaiming a district Democrats flipped in a 2025 special election.
In Bettendorf’s District 47, Democrat Nikhil Wagle led Republican Sen. Scott Webster by about 150 votes, less than 1 percentage point. Wagle declared victory on election night, but the Associated Press had not called the race as of Thursday morning.
A Wagle win would give Democrats a net gain of one seat and leave Republicans with a 32-18 majority. A Webster win would leave Republicans with a 33-17 majority.
Democratic Sen. Catelin Drey retained the Sioux City seat she won in another special election last year.
Senate Democratic Leader Janice Weiner, D-Iowa City, said the results showed voters rejected another decade of one-party rule and wanted lawmakers to focus on household costs, public schools, water quality and Iowa’s cancer crisis.
“Our party’s future depends on showing up everywhere, listening to everyone, and earning the trust of voters in all corners of this state one conversation at a time,” she said in a statement.
Weiner also praised Zimmer’s bipartisan work despite his defeat and said she looked forward to working with Sand and lawmakers from both parties.
“It is time to get Iowa back on track to a state where we all work together to solve problems,” she said in a statement.
Senate Majority Leader Mike Klimesh, R-Spillville, highlighted Zimmer’s defeat and said voters responded to Republicans’ record and their vision for “jobs, affordability and common sense.”
“Furthermore, the Iowa Senate Republicans continue to be a bright spot in difficult election years,” Klimesh said in a statement. “I am excited to welcome several new members to our caucus who are looking forward to implementing policies that help our state grow, families thrive, and our communities prosper.”
A new test of bipartisan government
Sand’s inauguration in January will bring divided state government to Iowa for the first time since 2016, when Democrats controlled the Senate.
Over the following decade, Republicans used unified control to reshape Iowa’s laws on taxes, abortion, education, transgender rights, guns, elections and the size of state government.
Sand campaigned on working with people who disagree with him. In his victory speech, he extended that promise to voters who supported his opponent.
“For the folks who didn't vote for me, I'm going to work just as hard for you as I do for anyone else,” he said.
House Speaker Pat Grassley, R-New Hartford, said Republicans’ record on tax cuts, conservative social policies and government spending helped them retain their majority despite a difficult election night for the party nationwide.
“Governor-elect Sand ran as a moderate. Now, we'll find out if he was being genuine,” Grassley said in a statement.
He said House Republicans were willing to work with Sand on policies that improve life for Iowans, but warned his caucus would act as a “firm firewall” against what he called a “radical left agenda.”
The new balance of power gets its first legislative test when lawmakers convene Jan. 11.
