DES MOINES, Iowa — Iowa is returning to its political roots as a swing state after Democrats swept a series of key races on election night, according to a political expert.
Democrats took control of Congress, and in Iowa, the shift was dramatic. The state added a new Democratic senator, Josh Turek, and three of four U.S. House seats are now held by Democrats. Voters also elected Rob Sand as Iowa's next governor.
Karen Kedrowski, a professor of political science at Iowa State University, said the results signal a broader transformation in the state's political identity.
"I really see this though as a return to Iowa as a Swing State," Kedrowski said.
For nearly a decade, Republicans have controlled the Iowa statehouse. But the GOP majority in the legislature has now slimmed, setting the stage for a political environment that leaders have not navigated in years.
Kedrowski said the national results reflect deep dissatisfaction with the current administration.
"This not just a few seats, this is really an indictment of President Trump and the very unpopular policies that his administration has been supporting," Kedrowski said.
She pointed to the key factors driving the outcome, noting that President Donald Trump's approval rating sits in the 30% range and that many voters are struggling with the economy.
Kedrowski said the strategy that helped Democrats win statewide was to compete everywhere, even in unfriendly territory.
"What the new strategy was, which was used here and also in Georgia and Texas and so forth, was to campaign in places that are sort of politically unfriendly with the hopes of losing by smaller margins," Kedrowski said.
While nearly all of western Iowa voted Republican, Democrats earned enough support across the state to win key races by narrowing their losses in red counties.
"Yeah, they went everywhere and they in fact narrowed the margins. So yes those areas stayed republican dominated, but the point is, is that the margin of victory and vote difference is smaller and that's enough to help the democrats statewide," Kedrowski said.
Kedrowski said issues like Iowa's rising cancer rates and the rapid growth of data centers resonated with voters, while Republicans were slow to engage on them. She also noted that voters are turned off by divisive, negative politics that predate the current administration.
Voters said the results reflected a Republican Party that had grown too comfortable in power.
"I think a lot of republicans here got complacent and thought that they would never lose," Iowa voter Macklin Scheldrup said.
Fellow voter Nancy Bobo said the outcome extended beyond party lines.
"I think it's pretty clear the country agrees it's time for change," Bobo said.
Bobo added that winning in Iowa required reaching beyond the Democratic base.
"In iowa in particular, we had to pull in a lot of independents, a lot of republicans to win anything in this state, we're a less of the third of the voting registration in Iowa," Bobo said.
In his remarks, Sand pledged to work across the aisle.
"To Iowa's legislators, I look forward to working with you on the same common sense ideas and solutions that we advocated for throughout this campaign," Sand said.
With a slimmer Republican majority in the legislature, Kedrowski said lawmakers will have to find common ground.
"The republicans and democrats are going to have to work together in a way that we have not seen, they just haven't had the imperative to do so and now they face that," Kedrowski said.
Kedrowski encouraged Iowans to pay attention to who was elected to the state legislature, noting those lawmakers are already writing bills to be introduced in January. She said it is an opportunity for voters to tell their elected officials exactly what issues they want addressed — a shift that brings party politics back toward the middle.
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