Let's Do This: On August 26, We Have a Chance to Beat an Ultra-MAGA Candidate in a Red District
There has been a lull in special elections over the past month. However, on August 26, there is a good one coming up in the vacant 1st State Senate district of Iowa.
The candidates are Democrat Catelin Drey, who is a local grassroots organizer, and Republican Christopher Prosch, who is a political communications consultant.
This is really a perfect matchup for us right now. Here is why you should care:
This is a red, but winnable, district. Donald Trump won this district by a 55-44 margin back in November 2024, according to The Downballot. However, across the 31 special elections for state legislative and House of Representatives seats held so far in 2025, that 11-point margin is actually lower than the median pro-Democratic swing of 13 points and the mean pro-Democratic swing of 15.4 points. In fact, Democrats actually won this district back in 2018, before losing it in 2022.
It's in Iowa. Iowa special elections have been solid gold for Democrats so far in 2025. Across the three special elections held so far in the Hawkeye state this year, there have been pro-Democratic swings of 25 points back January (resulting in a red to blue flip of a district that Trump won by 21 points), 24 points in a March special election, and 26 points in an April special election. With flips like these, you have to like Catelin Drey's chances in a district that Trump only won by 11 points. You also have to think that Iowa Republican Sen. Joni Ernst is in real trouble for re-election next year, too, especially if Drey comes close or flips this seat.
The timing and framing are perfect. While Republicans are slashing health insurance for low-income children (which is what Medicaid primarily is) and concealing information about child sexual predators (the Jeffry Epstein scandal), the Democratic candidate is a grassroots organizer focused on issues for parents and children. Catelin Drey, whose website you can visit here, is the founder of Moms for Iowa, an advocacy organization that focuses on gun safety, child care, reproductive rights and the freedom to read.
The Republican candidate is everything you dislike about MAGA. The Downballot offers a quick summary of Drey's Republican opponent:
Republicans nominated media consultant Christopher Prosch, who has worked as a political operative and communications strategist for a variety of far-right figures, as Iowa Starting Line catalogs, including now-DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.
Among other things, Prosch has falsely claimed the 2020 election was stolen; amplified conspiracy theories about the 9/11 terrorist attacks; has said rape victims should be forced to give birth to their rapists’ babies; and suggested that abortion is worse than the Holocaust.
These under-the-radar special elections have another cool feature: any donation you make to them really matters. Whereas in high profile campaigns your small donation is inevitably tossed onto a huge pile of cash, candidates in elections like these have budgets in the of thousands of dollars, maybe a few tens of thousands at the most. So, your donation will make a real difference, paying for campaign basics like office space, yard signs, leaflets, and coffee for volunteers.
If her campaign has not already done so you need to help her contact Postcards to Voters through its website. She can have thousands of people from across the country send cards on her behalf at NO COST TO HER. Those writers are anxiously looking for a candidate to assist in flipping a seat BLUE!
Great info on Catelin Drey , thank you so much . Let’s win in Iowa