Democrat Catelin Drey sworn in to Iowa Senate, ending Republican supermajority

DES MOINES — Catelin Drey, a northwestern Iowa Democrat who won an August special election and broke the Republican supermajority in the Iowa Senate, was sworn in at the Iowa Capitol Monday morning.

Drey, a 37-year-old strategic communications professional from Sioux City, said she’s already heard from constituents about key areas they would like her to focus on, including investments in high-speed rail, water quality and education.

“I'm perhaps unjustly optimistic about what the session in 2026 holds, but I've been really excited to get to work with my Senate Democratic colleagues and do what we can to improve the lives of Iowans,” Drey told reporters after taking the oath of office.

Drey won the Aug. 26 special election by 10 percentage points in Iowa Senate District 1, which includes much of Sioux City and northern Woodbury County. President Donald Trump won the district by a similar margin in 2024.

Drey will serve in the seat previously held by Republican Sen. Rocky De Witt of Sioux City, who died from pancreatic cancer in June. He was in the last year of his first term in office.

Prior to Drey’s win, Iowa Senate Republicans held a 34-member majority in a 50-seat chamber. The break in the GOP supermajority means that Republicans will have to garner the support of at least one Democrat to approve gubernatorial appointments to numerous state boards, which require a two-thirds vote.

  Buy Photo

Iowa Senate Minority Leader Janice Weiner, of Iowa City, said the Democratic caucus still needs to discuss priorities after Drey’s election, adding that having 17 members instead of 16 will bring Democrats more into the mix of things.

“Way too often, the last few sessions, it was perhaps a Senate of 34. Now we're a Senate of 50,” Weiner told reporters after Drey was sworn in. “That's honestly the way it should work. That's the way Iowans want it to work. They want us to work together. They want us to talk together so that we can actually do things that will improve the lives of Iowans.”

Drey plans to focus on funding for public education during her first legislative session, she said.

Her swearing-in comes less than a week after conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot and killed at a university in Utah during a question-and-answer session with students, which put a spotlight on increasing political violence in the country. Earlier this summer, former Minnesota House Speaker Sen. Melissa Hortman and her husband were killed in their home.

Drey said the country needs to “turn the temperature down” on political rhetoric.

“Talking to my neighbors, I think that we're much closer politically than the climate right now gives us credit for,” Drey said. “I’m thinking about the safety of kids in school and thinking about the safety of myself and my colleagues, but I am optimistic that we have an awareness now that this type of rhetoric is dangerous, and I'm also optimistic that we can find some solutions to solve the gun violence crisis that is ongoing.”

Drey has already said she'll run for a full term next year when the seat is up for re-election. The primary is set for June 2 and the general election is Nov. 3, 2026.