Republicans, Democrats pick nominees for special Iowa Senate election

Democrats and Republicans in a Quad-Cities area Iowa state senate district have selected their candidates to run for a special election on Jan. 28.

Republicans nominated Katie Whittington, a party organizer in Clinton County, to run on the Republican ticket for Iowa Senate District 35. She amassed the most votes of three candidates vying for the nomination during a special convention last Saturday, Scott County Republicans Chair Jeanita McNulty said.

Democrats picked Mike Zimmer, the Central DeWitt School Board president and a long-time education professional, as the party nominee during a special convention Dec. 30.

The district covers Clinton County, and parts of northeast Scott County and southern Jackson County.

The previous senator for that district, Chris Cournoyer, resigned in December to become lieutenant governor. Two years remain of Cournoyer’s four-year term.

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Other Republicans that sought the nomination were Tom Determann, a state representative from Camanche and former county supervisor, and Dennis Campbell, a farmer from Clinton County.

Iowa GOP Chair Jeff Kaufmann congratulated Whittington in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. He said he met her at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee and called Whittington a "great conservative voice“.

Candidates have until Jan. 14 to file for nomination. Interested candidates not nominated by their party's special convention can still file a petition with signatures to run as a no-party candidate.

Once the filing deadline passes, ballots must be printed and shipped, which is likely to take a few days. Early voting is expected to begin soon after that.