Let's Do This: There is an Important Election in Iowa on August 26 Where You Can Make a Real Difference
As is normally the case when Donald Trump is president, there lot a lot happening right now. Trade wars. Actual wars. Militarization of cities. Threats to science and government data. A multi-state fight over mid-decade gerrymandering. A looming government shutdown. The Epstein files scandal. And this is just a partial list of the major stories of the last few weeks.
In the midst of all this, I wanted to remind you about an important special election in the first state Senate district of Iowa that takes place on August 26. The reason I am bringing this up right now is because as an individual, grassroots activist you can make a much larger difference to the eventual outcome of this campaign than in most of the other big political stories I listed above.
Here is a quick summary. This district became vacant due to the passing of the Republican state senator who held the seat. The Democratic candidate in the special election is local grassroots organizer Catelin Drey, and the Republican candidate is political consultant and right-wing conspiracy theorist Chrstoipher Prosch.
As I have written in the past over email and here on Wolves and Sheep, here are six reasons why should care about this election, and why you can make a bigger difference here than in most of the other political fights taking place at this time:
This is a winnable race in a red district. Donald Trump won this district by a 55-44 margin back in November 2024. However, across the 33 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 15.9 points. In fact, Democrats actually won this district back in 2018, before losing it in 2022. So, this is probably going to be a close election.
Your donation would really matter. This is an under-the-radar special election for Iowa state Senate, focused around Sioux City. As such, far less money will be spent in this election than on any race for Congress next year. Your small donation would not just be thrown onto a giant pile of cash that would be quickly spent on an ever-escalating amount of paid advertisements with rapidly diminishing returns. Instead, this is an election where your $10, $20 or $40 really would help the Democratic candidate muster a competitive campaign by paying for basic necessities.
The Republican, Christopher Prosch, is a right-wing conspiracy theorist. Last month, The Downballot succinctly summarized some of the more unsavory things about Republican nominee Christopher Prosch, noting “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.”
The Democrat, Catelin Drey, is is a local grassroots organizer. Catelin Drey is a pretty cool candidate in her own right. She is already heavily involved in local politics, as she founded the grassroots advocacy organization Moms for Iowa that focuses on gun safety, child care, and reproductive rights.
Iowa is pivotal in 2026. In order to win back the U.S. Senate in 2026, Democrats basically have to win the Iowa seat currently held by Republican Joni Ernst, plus three other Republican-held seats. It is going to take a big pro-Democratic swing to pull that off, something in the neighborhood of 13-14 points compared to 2024. Winning this special election on August 26, which is being held in a district that is very similar to Iowa as a whole, would prove that is possible. This is especially the case given the other extremely strong special election results for Democrats in Iowa so far this year, where Democratic candidates pulled off swings of 24, 25 and 26 points.
Breaking the Republican hold on Iowa itself. If Democrat Catelin Drey wins this special election, it would break the Republican supermajority in the Iowa state Senate.
In summary, this is a race with implications for 2026 where a local grassroots Democrat can defeat a right-wing conspiracy theorist in a red, but winnable district. Given how under-the-radar this election is, your small donation would really matter here, too. So, in the midst of everything that is happening right now, please consider helping Catelin Drey flip the Iowa first state Senate district from red to blue on August 26.
If you don't want to split your donation, donate directly to her campaign here: https://dlcc.org/candidates/catelin-drey/
I don't like split donations will donate $40 but must be to the candidates campaign