Zimmer flips seat in Senate
Democrat Mike Zimmer is the newest Iowa senator, flipping the Senate District 35 seat in a special election last week.
Zimmer won with 52% of the vote to Republican Katie Whittington's 48%, according to unofficial results published by the Iowa Secretary of State. The special election was called to replace Lt. Gov. Chris Cournoyer in the Iowa Senate, who resigned after accepting the lieutenant governor position in December.
'I am honored that the residents of Senate District 35 have put their faith in me to represent them in the Iowa Senate. Our campaign's values of hard work and fairness resonated with a bipartisan coalition of voters in Clinton, Jackson, and Scott counties,' Zimmer said in a press release following his victory.
'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.'
The district includes all of Clinton County and parts of Scott and Jackson counties.
Jackson County chose Zimmer by a vote of 555 to 446, according to unofficial results.
Clinton County chose Zimmer 3,411-3,169, according to unofficial results from the Clinton County Auditor's office. There were 18 write-ins.
Scott County voters selected Whittington 858-846.
Zimmer, 64 and president of the Central DeWitt School Board, will serve out the remainder of Cournoyer's term through 2026. Due to state rules, he no longer will be able to serve on the school board.
Zimmer has more than 40 years of experience in public education and served in various capacities from teacher to coach to administrator. He graduated from the University of Northern Iowa. He served as assistant principal of Pleasant Valley High School in Bettendorf, and principal of North Scott High School in Eldridge.
What this win means
Cournoyer, a Republican, won her 2022 re-election with 61% of the vote, and President Donald Trump won the district in the 2024 general election by a 21-point margin against Vice President Kamala Harris. Republicans will maintain their trifecta control at the Iowa Capitol — with 34-16 supermajority in the Iowa Senate after Zimmer is sworn into office and 67-33 supermajority in the House — but Democrats said the results show discontent with GOP leadership.
Senate Minority Leader Janice Weiner said in a statement that Zimmer's special election victory 'is a clear rejection of the Republican agenda led by Kim Reynolds and the Senate Republicans that have failed Iowans.'
'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. 'This win shows that when Democrats fight for Iowa families, we can win anywhere. This is a victory for Iowans.'
Heather Williams, president of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, the statehouse campaign arm of the Democratic Party, on Jan. 28 said the victory in a district where Trump won by a large margin shows Democrats have a strong path forward in the aftermath of major GOP wins in the 2024 election.
'This earthquake victory in Iowa puts Republicans across the country on notice,' Williams said in a statement. '… Tonight's win marks the first flip of the cycle and builds on key majority-making wins in Virginia earlier this month. The DLCC is starting the new cycle strong just a month into 2025 – from battlegrounds to Republican territory. We have dozens more special elections on the horizon – we're only just getting started.'
Campaign fundraising
In the fight for the District 35 Senate seat, Zimmer's campaign raised about five times that of Whittington's campaign, according to campaign finance reports which were required to be filed with the Iowa Ethics & Campaign Disclosure Board by Jan. 23.
Whittington's campaign raised $5,795, with $1,000 coming from the Clinton County Republican Central Committee. The largest contribution — $2,000 — came from the Iowa Liberty Network, which according to its website is a 'Christian, grassroots, nonpartisan organization.'
Zimmer's campaign raised $37,837.85 as of Jan. 23. Of that total, the Jackson County Democratic Central Committee contributed $2,000. The Scott County Democratic Central Committee donated $1,000. The Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 25 gave $5,000.
The reports are located on the board's website at iowa.gov/ethics.
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