Iowa Senate District 16 Special Election Results
Democrat Renee Hardman has won the special election for Iowa Senate District 16, making history as the state’s first Black female senator and preventing Republicans from regaining their supermajority in the Iowa Senate.
On December 30th, Hardman secured 71.4% of the vote against Republican candidate Lucas Loftin, leading by approximately 43 percentage points based on unofficial results from the Iowa Secretary of State, with 99% of votes counted.
This election was held to fill the vacancy left by the late Senator Claire Celsi (D-Iowa), who passed away in October at the age of 59 after battling an undisclosed illness that eventually required hospice care. The district encompasses parts of West Des Moines, Clive, and Windsor Heights.
At age 64, Hardman is the president and CEO of Lutheran Services of Iowa and has previously made headlines by becoming West Des Moines’ first Black City Councilwoman in 2017.
“I want to recognize that while my name was the one on the ballot, this race was never just about me,” Hardman expressed to her supporters in West Des Moines after her victory.
This win marks a shift for Iowa Democrats, having flipped two of the 50 state Senate seats this year, which disrupts the Republican supermajority that allowed them to approve Governor Kim Reynolds’ (R-Iowa) state agency appointments without Democrat support.
Following this election, Republicans hold 33 seats while Democrats possess 17. Had Loftin won, the Republicans would have maintained their supermajority.
Ken Martin, chair of the Democratic National Committee, hailed Hardman’s victory as “a major check on Republican power,” stating, “2025 was the year of Democratic victories and overperformance, and Democrats are on track for big midterm elections.”
Iowa GOP Chairman Jeff Kaufmann praised Loftin for his candidacy in “a district so blue that there wasn’t a Republican candidate on the ballot last cycle,” highlighting that Democrats outnumber Republicans by 3,300 voters, approximately 30-37%.
“Although we fell short this time, the Republican Party of Iowa remains laser-focused on expanding our majorities in the Iowa Legislature and keeping Iowa ruby-red,” Kaufmann said.
