Special election to be set for Iowa House seat

DAVENPORT - Fresh from winning a vacant state Senate seat, Iowa Rep. Jim Lykam said Wednesday he will resign his seat in the House next week - setting in motion yet another special election.

Lykam handily won the District 45 Senate seat Tuesday, defeating Republican Mike Gonzales and Libertarian Severin Gilbert, according to unofficial totals from the Scott County Auditor's Office. District 45 includes Davenport.

Lykam said he had spoken with House Democratic Leader Mark Smith and planned to step down next week.

He will be sworn in as a senator Jan. 9 when the next session of the Legislature convenes.

The special election was called to fill the vacancy of the late Sen. Joe Seng, who died of cancer.

Lykam's election leaves the seat in Democratic hands, but Democrats no longer control the chamber. The Senate makeup now is 29 Republicans, 20 Democrats and one independent.

Lykam's resignation from the House will leave people in the 89th House District without representation in the upcoming session for days, if not weeks or more.

State law says that Gov. Terry Branstad must call for a special election at the 'earliest practical time,” but that there must be at least 18 days' notice.

Ben Hammes, a spokesman for the governor, said Wednesday he is waiting word of a resignation before setting an election date.

Local party leaders are preparing for yet more special nominating conventions. Democratic Chair Thom Hart and GOP Chair Judy Davidson said their parties had not set dates yet, but they would move quickly. But there will be some lag time because there must be 10 days' public notice before conventions could be held, they said.

Depending on when a special election date is set, there could be limited time to compete for absentee ballots, which were pivotal in the state Senate race.

Scott County Auditor Roxanna Moritz said it took eight days to prepare ballots and program machinery for the state Senate race. If it takes that long in the House special election - again, depending on when a special election date it is set - that could limit the amount of time to collect absentee ballots. Absentees made up roughly half of the votes cast in the Senate election, with Lykam gaining a solid 5-1 edge over Gonzales.

Monica Kurth, a longtime activist, has said she will seek the Democratic nomination for the soon-to-be vacant House seat. Gonzales has said it's possible he might run for the Republican nomination, but he has not been definitive yet.

The 89th District includes parts of Davenport. Democrats outnumber Republicans there, 7,500 to 4,792. In addition, the district voted for Hillary Clinton in the presidential election by a 51 to 40 percent margin over Donald Trump.

Lykam has represented the area since 2003.