The sixth and final Iowa legislative special election of 2025 takes place Tuesday, Dec. 30, as Polk County voters head to the polls to elect a state Senate candidate.
Democrat Renee Hardman and Republican Lucas Loftin are competing in a special election for Iowa Senate District 16, which includes parts of West Des Moines, Clive and Windsor Heights.
Gov. Kim Reynolds set the election for Dec. 30 following the death of Sen. Claire Celsi, D-West Des Moines, in October. Early voting began Dec. 10. Polls are open 7 a.m. until 8 p.m.
You can find a list of polling places here.
The Des Moines Register will carry complete results Tuesday night on its website.
Here’s what to know about the candidates:
Democrat Renee Hardman says she wants ‘to fight for working class families’
Hardman, 64, said she plans to use her campaign “to fight for working class families.”
“I came from a working class family,” she said. “From a mom who raised three daughters as a single parent and worked two jobs, that I can remember, all of my life. I know and understand the struggle of how affordability matters.”
Hardman said she already has a track record of lowering property taxes and expanding access to affordable housing as part of the West Des Moines City Council.
“I’d like to see what progress we can make in more affordability and availability of affordable housing, affordable child care, living wages, just working on behalf of things that advance working class families and allow them to thrive and allow them to succeed,” she said.
And she said she wants to see taxpayer dollars used for public education rather than the Republican-passed education savings account law, which provides Iowa families with taxpayer-funded accounts to pay private school costs, regardless of income.
Republican Lucas Loftin says ‘affordability is going to be key’
Loftin, 42, said limited government and lower taxes are priorities for his campaign.
“Affordability is going to be key for me,” he said. “People pay taxes no matter who you vote, for so it’s important to have people that want to steward the tax dollars wisely that you are paying and that I am paying into the system.”
Loftin said he would prefer to be able to abolish property taxes in Iowa, although he acknowledged he’s not sure that’s possible. First, he said, lawmakers should institute a cap to prevent property taxes from rising too quickly.
“Abolishment would be my primary goal,” he said. “But we have to figure out a way to stop it from increasing beyond what wages are doing.”
Other issues important to Loftin include property rights, “sanctity of life” and limited government, he said.
What’s on the line in the special election?
The outcome of the race will determine whether Republicans will enter the 2026 legislative session with a supermajority.
Currently, Republicans hold 33 Senate seats to Democrats’ 17, just one seat shy of a two-thirds supermajority.
If Hardman wins, it would mean Republicans would need at least one Democratic vote to confirm Reynolds’ nominees to state agencies, boards and commissions.
Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email at sgrubermil@registermedia.com or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on X at @sgrubermiller.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Special election Tuesday to fill Iowa Senate seat. Meet the candidates
Reporting by Stephen Gruber-Miller and Mike Trautmann, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
