Zimmer flips seat for Democrats in state Senate

A local school board president who ran on supporting public education flipped a Republican state Senate seat blue.

Democrat Mike Zimmer of DeWitt, 64, won a special election to fill a senate seat north of Davenport. The seat which was vacated by Republican Lt. Gov. Chris Cournoyer will now be represented by Democrat. His term will through 2026.

“Our campaign’s values of hard work and fairness resonated with a bipartisan coalition of voters in Clinton, Jackson and Scott counties. I‘m looking forward to working on behalf of the people of Eastern Iowa to help working Iowans get ahead, support our public schools and teachers, and help lower the cost of living,” Zimmer said in a statement.

Janice Weiner, who leads the Senate Democratic minority pointed out in a statement that President Donald Trump won the district by nearly 21 percentage points, an overwhelming victory. She called Zimmer’s win a “clear rejection” of Republicans and their agenda of “stagnant wages, defunded schools, and state interference in local control.”

“Mike ran on a platform to help working Iowans get ahead, support public schools and teachers, and help lower the cost of living,” Weiner said in a statement. “This win shows that when Democrats fight for Iowa families, we can win anywhere. This is a victory for Iowans.”

Democratic Party Chair said it showed Democrats can win in Iowa’s rural counties.

“Mike is a small business owner and a public school educator who understands the challenges Iowans are facing and is ready to go to work on their behalf,” Hart said. “Mike will represent Iowans well in the state legislature and we could not be happier for the residents of this district.”

Republican candidate Kate Whittington lost her bid. She campaigned on supporting private school vouchers and opposing wind energy projects. While she initially had an event scheduled with former Iowa Congressman Steve King, she deleted posts related to the visit from her website. Since then, she has been endorsed by both Gov. Kim Reynolds and Lt. Gov. Chris Cournoyer.

Reynolds gave organizers only a month to put together the special election. This led to issues with getting ballots printed on time for early voting. Special elections tend to have a lower turnout than the normally scheduled elections that occur in November. This condensed, off-calendar timing made the matchup ripe for a surprise outcome.

US Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks won the district by 9 points in 2024. Cournoyer carried it with 61% of the vote in 2022.

Senate District 35 stretches across three Mississippi River counties. In Clinton County, it includes Clinton, DeWitt, Camanche and Wheatland. The district has a southern square of Jackson County that includes Maquoketa. It also has the northwestern section of Scott County including Princeton.

Republican continue to hold both chambers of the Iowa Legislature. With Zimmer’s victory, they still control the Senate with a 34-16 majority.