WASHINGTON — The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee has invested over $1.5 million in flipping the Iowa House red to blue and gaining seats in the Iowa Senate. Democrats need to flip four House seats to win control of the chamber for the first time in a decade. In doing so, Democrats will break a Republican trifecta, dramatically altering the political landscape of the state and breaking up the GOP’s single-party rule.
“Iowa is one of Democrats’ top priorities, and the momentum is on our side in the Hawkeye State,” said Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee Executive Director Heather Williams. “Republicans retired in droves this year after reading the writing on the wall and realizing they’d need to spend life in the minority. Republicans have failed Iowans on everything from the pandemic response to public education, and our investments will hold them accountable and break up their power in the legislature.”
Democrats are on total offense after 2018, when they chipped away at the GOP’s control of the legislature and picked up five seats. With more Democrats filing to run for office than Republicans, impressive candidate fundraising hauls, and record-breaking primary voter turnout, Democrats have the advantage heading into November.
In 2019, the longest-serving Republican legislator switched parties out of disgust for Donald Trump. Earlier this year, House Majority Leader Chris Hagenow and a wave of other GOP lawmakers announced their retirement to escape defending their embarrassing records.
Iowa remains among the states with the worst coronavirus outbreaks thanks to the GOP’s complete mishandling of the pandemic. State Republicans blew their chances with voters after privatizing Medicaid, decimating the public education budget, and using public service funding for corporate tax breaks.
The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee is the official Democratic organization dedicated to winning state legislative seats. Earlier this year, the DLCC announced its $50 million “Flip Everything” campaign, an unprecedented effort to win legislative majorities across the country. Since Trump’s election, the DLCC and state partners have flipped over 450 seats and 10 chambers from red to blue.
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