Renee Hardman chosen as Iowa Democrats’ nominee to replace Claire Celsi

Iowa Democrats have chosen West Des Moines City Council Member Renee Hardman as the party’s nominee for a coming special election for an Iowa legislative seat left vacant by the death of Sen. Claire Celsi.

Hardman defeated four other candidates at an Oct. 21 special nominating convention to win the Democratic nomination. She promised to uphold “the values and the fight” that Celsi, who died Oct. 6, brought to the Iowa Senate.

“I will not let her down,” she said.

Republicans have yet to meet to choose a candidate for the election.

Hardman is the president and CEO of Lutheran Services in Iowa. She was first elected to the West Des Moines City Council in 2017, becoming the first Black city councilwoman in West Des Moines’ history. Celsi served as Hardman’s campaign manager in that race, before her own election to the Iowa Senate in 2018.

In a speech to the convention, Hardman thanked her fellow Democrats for trusting her.

“Thank you for believing that I can be the candidate that helps all Democrats and fights the good fight for all marginalized communities and everyone that needs a voice,” she said. “Thank you for trusting me to be a candidate that will work with Republicans and independents and Democrats to try to get things done.”

She promised to be “a fighter, a fundraiser and a force for change” and to focus her campaign on expanding job opportunities, increasing wages and affordable housing and child care.

Hardman, who is on the ballot for another city council term on Nov. 4, said if she wins the Dec. 30 special election for the Iowa Senate seat, she will resign from the city council.

Iowa Senate District 16 includes parts of West Des Moines, Clive and Windsor Heights.

Close to 100 Democrats gathered at the Learning Resource Center in West Des Moines on Tuesday, Oct. 21, as members of the Polk County Democratic Central Committee met to select the party’s nominee.

It took four ballots for Hardman to win the majority of delegates needed to become the nominee, with the lowest vote-getter eliminated after each round. The other candidates were West Des Moines School Board Member Michael Andreski, Gracie Brandsgard, Peter Leo and Mary Collins.

After Polk County Democratic Party Chair Bill Brauch read Hardman’s name on the final ballot, her supporters burst into cheers and chants of “Renee! Renee!”

Before the voting began, Brauch urged Democrats to come together to support the nominee and win the election.

“I know we all come here tonight with a heavy heart as Claire Celsi was a great champion for our party,” Brauch said, to applause. “And the best way we can honor her—the very best—is to win the special election on Dec. 30.”

Republicans hold a 33-17 majority in the Iowa Senate. The GOP is one vote shy of a supermajority after Sen. Catelin Drey, D-Sioux City, won a special election for western Iowa’s Senate District 1 in August.

Senate Minority Leader Janice Weiner, D-Iowa City, told the convention that the District 16 special election will be the center of attention for Iowa’s political world.

“It is the seat that will continue to break the supermajority and give us more of a voice and more balance,” Weiner said. “And so we cannot take our eyes off the ball, since our Republican colleagues would like nothing better than to catch us sleeping. We won’t. Together, we will do the work.”

Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on X at @sgrubermiller.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa Democrats choose Renee Hardman as their nominee for Iowa Senate special election

Reporting by Stephen Gruber-Miller, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register

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