Hey y’all, we made it. I don’t know about everyone else but I’m MOST excited to not get texts from random numbers at all hours of the day. I showed up to my polling location bright and early wearing my These Are My Voting socks (thanks, Raygun!), filled out my ballot, grabbed my sticker and headed out for some celebratory coffee.
So, what exactly happened? Well, let’s talk about it.
Written by Sidney Pezley, DSMG Contributor
Who Won?
We’ll start at the top! At the federal level, Iowa is now home to an entirely Republic delegation. Chuck Grassley (R) defeated challenger Mike Franken, Grassley continues as Iowa’s longest serving legislator and is the second oldest Senator (behind CA Senator Dianee Feinstein).
As for Iowa’s four Representatives to the House, the three Republican Incumbents Mariannette Miller-Meeks (1st District), Ashley Hinson (2nd District) and Randy Feenstra (4th District) were victorious in their collective races. The 3rd District race was extremely close and not initially called on Election Night, however results came in and Democratic Incumbent Rep. Cindy Axne was defeated by Zach Nunn (R), solidifying Iowa’s federal delegation as entirely Republican (both Senators and all four Representatives).
Iowa’s current Governor, Kim Reynolds (R), and Lieutenant Governor, Adam Gregg (R), won reelection, defeating Democratic challenger Diedre DeJear and Eric Van Lancker.
A number of other statewide races also went to the Republicans including Attorney General to Brenna Bird (R), defeating incumbent Tom Miller. Current Secretary of State, Paul Pate (R), emerged victorious as did the Incumbent Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig (R). The final two statewide races on Iowan’s ballots were Auditor and Treasurer, those results were mixed. In the Auditor’s race, incumbent Rob Sand (D) narrowly won. And in the Treasurer’s race, Roby Smith (R) defeated the incumbent to take over.
As for Iowa’s local legislators, Republicans maintain control of both the House and Senate. You can find results for your local races on the Des Moines Register tracker or your local auditor’s website. We’d list them here for ya but it’s a LOT of names so check out the link.
Constitutional Amendment
Iowa’s gun “strict scrutiny” constitutional amendment passed.
This means gun restrictions are now subject to “strict scrutiny”, which is the highest legal hurdle for legislation to clear if challenged in court. What this means practically speaking is passing and enacting gun restriction laws will be more difficult and all legislation passed will be subject to “strict scrutiny” (i.e. very careful evaluation and review) by courts. By passing this constitutional amendment the State of Iowa has opted to codify language making changing gun control laws difficult, but not impossible, to change going forward.
What does that mean going forward?
If you’ve been reading/listening/seeing news about Election Day things may be a little confusing. Generally speaking, elections following a Presidential Election favor the opposite party that won in the Presidential. Which means it was anticipated Republicans would largely win their races nationwide. That “Red Wave” didn’t happen quite as expected, but it DID happen in Iowa. Across the board, Republicans now comprise all of Iowa’s federal delegation and occupy most of the statewide offices while also maintaining a hold on the House and Senate in the statehouse.
So what does this actually mean? Well, it means the legislation we’ll likely see in our next two legislative sessions (remember Representatives are elected every two years, so no election until 2024) will reflect Republican priorities including tax cuts (some of which we’ve already seen including the elimination of retirement income tax and a flat income tax rate), school choice funding, abortion access, election laws, and transgender rights; to name a few. We’ll see some that focus on federal Republican priorities and some that are more local to Iowa’s Republican party.
When’s the next election?
Too soon? Maybeeeeee. Our next election is a BIG one, the Presidential election is Tuesday, November 5, 2024 (that’s still two years out!). Announcements from individuals intending to run will start coming soon (have already started – looking at you former President Trump), caucuses (this is Iowa, after all) and primaries will follow and then finally – Election Day.
No matter what side of the aisle(s) you fall on, the political cycle can feel unending and exhausting. We’re having big discussions about issues that are real and have very direct impacts on folk’s lives- emotions, opinions and pressure can be VERY high.
I super get it. I’m tired. But let me be the first to encourage you, to encourage you to take a quick break if you need it, give you brain a break yo. But then let me encourage you to reengage; talk to people, learn, grow and keep showing up. Quite simply, Democracy never stops and so we also cannot, we MUST not. So be encouraged! We voted, we showed up and did the thing and now the results are what they are because this is a Democracy and you’ll keep voting and encouraging your friends to vote too. I can’t wait to see y’all at the polls next time!
GET YOUR VOTE ON 🇺🇸
DSMG contributor Sidney Pezley will be back for the next election cycle, but don’t be afraid to review the registration guide if you want to get a head start on registering for 2024 based on these 2022 results.
