Ten lessons Democrats can learn from Catelin Drey's big win

Catelin Drey with volunteers including Senate Democratic leader Janice Weiner (center of front row standing). Photo first published on the Drey for Iowa Facebook page on August 16.

This original reporting and analysis first appeared at Bleeding Heartland and is shared here as part of the Iowa Writers Collaborative. For regular emails linking to all recent Bleeding Heartland articles and commentary, subscribe to the free Evening Heartland newsletter. Laura covered Mike Zimmer’s upset win in Iowa Senate district 35 here. If your email provider truncates this message, you can read it without interruption at this link.

In the end, it wasn’t even close.

Democrat Catelin Drey defeated Republican Christopher Prosch by 4,208 votes to 3,411 (55.2 percent to 44.7 percent) in Iowa Senate district 1, covering much of Sioux City and some rural areas in Woodbury County. Donald Trump carried this district by 11 points in the 2024 presidential election, winning more votes than Kamala Harris in fifteen of the 22 precincts. Yet Drey carried nineteen of the 22 precincts and improved on Harris’ vote share in every precinct.

It was the second Iowa Senate seat Democrats flipped in 2025, and the fourth straight special election in Iowa where the Democratic nominee overperformed by more than 20 points, compared to the November 2024 presidential results. Drey’s win also means Republicans will no longer have a two-thirds supermajority in the Iowa Senate when the legislature convenes in January.

While not every tactic from a special election campaign translates into a higher-turnout midterm environment, Democrats can learn a lot from what Drey and her team did right as they prepare for 2026 races for down-ballot offices. In addition, these lessons could help many progressives running in Iowa’s nonpartisan city and school board elections this November.

Senator-elect Drey and Iowa Senate Minority Leader Janice Weiner joined Iowa Starting Line’s Zachary Oren Smith and me on August 27 to discuss how they overcame the odds. You can watch our whole conversation here.

I also sought insight from Julie Stauch, who has worked on many Democratic campaigns and helped guide a successful 2023 special election campaign for Warren County auditor.

1. DON’T GIVE UP ON LONG-SHOT RACES

Weiner said one of her takeaways was, “We should never count ourselves out.”

After the November 2024 election, Republicans were on track for a 35 to 15 majority in the Iowa Senate. Then Governor Kim Reynolds selected State Senator Chris Cournoyer to be lieutenant governor, setting up a special election in Iowa Senate district 35 for late January of this year.

Weiner’s colleagues had just chosen her to lead the Democratic caucus. She recalled that in January, many Democrats were “down and out” after the presidential election and felt the party shouldn’t even try to win in a district where voter registration numbers and recent voting history strongly favored Republicans.

She told her caucus, “We have to try.” Mike Zimmer pulled it off, making national news and bringing the GOP majority in the chamber down to 34-16.

Drey told us the enthusiasm from Zimmer’s win helped her campaign. Registered Republicans outnumber Democrats in Senate district 1, and the GOP has represented Sioux City in the Iowa Senate for all but four of the last fifteen years. But it was a less-Republican-leaning area than the district Zimmer flipped.

The morning after the election, Drey speculated that her win would “give Iowans a little bit of hope.” If Democrats can win in this kind of area, they should be able to win in many places that voted for Trump by smaller margins.

To be clear: Democrats will not not win every long-shot race. Nannette Griffin fell just short in the March 2025 special election for Iowa House district 100, even as she outperformed the Harris baseline by 24 points. But you are guaranteed to lose when you don’t try.

2. FIELD A CANDIDATE WITH STRONG ROOTS IN THE COMMUNITY

The candidates had less than two months to make themselves known to voters across Senate district 1.

Drey came to Sioux City to attend Morningside College and has lived in the area for most of the last two decades. She’s been active in several community organizations as well as the Woodbury Democrats. She knocked nearly 1,000 doors as a volunteer last year.

Instead of nominating the Woodbury County supervisor who wanted to run in the special election, Republicans picked a political operative who had moved to the area about three years ago. Prosch quickly scrubbed his social media feeds and dodged an opportunity to answer questions at a public forum. The day before the election, the Woodbury County GOP put up a Facebook post debunking the “myth” that their nominee “swooped in from South Dakota and has no Sioux City ties.”

Democrats benefited from a similar dynamic in Senate district 35, where Zimmer had lived and worked in different parts of the district for decades, while the GOP nominee was not nearly as well-known.

3. RUN ON ISSUES THAT MATTER TO PEOPLE

Drey’s message focused on issues affecting ordinary people: education, affordable housing, child care, and health care.

“I don’t know how to campaign in the typical sense,” she told us. “Like, I am a regular working mom in this place, and I know what I need to be successful and healthy and able to live a good life. […] When we remove the R and the D from behind people’s names and we run just on good policy, Democratic policies win.”

Her opening ad for the special election campaign highlighted many problems facing Iowans, then pivoted to a hopeful message. You can watch it here.

My transcript:

Drey’s voice: Across Iowa, rural communities are shrinking. Schools are underfunded. Health care is out of reach. The political air is toxic, and the water is nearly as bad.

I’m done being afraid. I’m Catelin Drey, and I’m ready to work for change.

Let’s send a message to Des Moines. We need thoughtful policies that care more about people than pipelines.

I’m Catelin Drey, and I’m asking for your vote in the special election on August 26.

That line about pipelines alludes to the Summit Carbon Solutions proposed CO2 pipeline, a hot topic throughout northwest Iowa. That was not a central focus for Drey, but she did make clear that she opposes the use of eminent domain for this kind of project.

In a wide-ranging rant posted to Facebook on August 27, Woodbury County Supervisor Mark Nelson (a Republican) blamed GOP leadership in Des Moines for the special election loss. He particularly slammed powerful Republicans who have not stood up against “the taking of private property for private gain.” He said lots of Woodbury County residents have gone down to the capitol to talk about eminent domain, “and they feel like nobody listens.”

4. REACH OUT TO VOTERS EVERYWHERE

As mentioned above, Drey outpolled Prosch in nineteen of the 22 precincts, including twelve precincts that Trump carried last November and ten precincts that former Republican State Senator Rocky De Witt carried when he won the 2022 election in Senate district 1. (For those who want to geek out on the precinct-level results, I created a spreadsheet showing the vote totals and percentages for Drey and Prosch in this election, Democratic State Senator Jackie Smith and GOP challenger De Witt in the 2022 general election, and Kamala Harris and Trump in the 2024 presidential election.)

Iowa Senate Majority Fund executive director Tyler Redenbaugh, who led the effort in Senate district 35, was on the ground in Sioux City this summer. He told me on August 25 that 169 people helped Drey’s campaign by making phone calls or canvassing, not including any phone banking by the national group Sister District, which got involved in the race.

Drey estimated that volunteers knocked on more than 17,000 doors and made almost 30,000 phone calls during the campaign. She tried to connect directly with as many voters as possible, all over the district, and said many told her they’d never had a candidate knock on their door.

When I asked Weiner whether she was surprised Drey flipped twelve precincts that voted for Trump, she said, “I’m surprised to some extent, but we were out knocking everywhere. We knocked through our universe twice. We expanded our universe.”

Initially, Weiner explained, they focused on people who always vote Democratic, independents who usually vote for Democrats, and people who have voted in two of the last three elections. Once they expanded the universe, they added people who may have voted Democratic in the last election.

Stauch (who is now a candidate for governor) emphasized that she wasn’t working on this race and had no firsthand knowledge of the ground game strategy in Senate district 1. But she observed, “It looks like the campaign worked the whole district, not just targeted precincts. Excellent plan. Winning campaigns work hard to include everyone, not just key groups.”

Weiner noted that GOTV efforts often target marginal or swing voters ahead of a general election, whereas for a special election, you’re working on driving out your base. That meant a lot of reliable Democratic voters, who might only get some literature to remind them about a regular election, got personal contacts from Drey or volunteers this summer. Weiner said the reaction was “incredibly positive”: “There is a huge value in having this opportunity over this sprint period to talk to folks we don’t normally talk to at the doors, and revitalize that grassroots, and give them hope, and let them understand that their vote really matters, and that every vote matters in a race like this.”

5. MAKE IT EASY FOR SUPPORTERS TO VOLUNTEER

Drey was a “super-volunteer” before she was a candidate. When I interviewed her in July, we talked about finding roles for people who want to help a campaign but are not physically able (or prefer not to) knock doors, and don’t feel comfortable calling strangers. Maybe they can stuff literature into door hangers, or write postcards to voters. Maybe they can drive canvassers around town, or bring food to share with volunteers at the campaign headquarters.

Weiner gave a “huge shout out” to the Woodbury County Democrats. “They formed the core of this volunteer group. They have been doing this for a number of years, but nobody has believed in them.”

A busload of Democrats from Polk County came up to Sioux City on the Saturday before the election. The Woodbury Democrats recruited dozens of local drivers to take pairs of canvassers around the district. That meant the out-of-towners could cover more ground and didn’t waste time trying to figure out where to go in an unfamiliar city. Weiner called that day “electrifying,” and said it was when a lot of people started to believe “we could really do this.” They knocked thousands of doors and ID’ed 800 people just on that one Saturday afternoon.

Asked about the variety of volunteer roles, Drey said, “We can be influencers in our own circles.” If you’re not comfortable calling strangers, “Who can you text or call in your contacts? What kind of message can you share in your own social circles, on your own social media?”

She recalled one friend who didn’t want to go door to door, but talked to people at her job, wore her “ambitious woman” t-shirt and “Drey for Iowa” sticker, and texted or called people she knew in the district. “The interpersonal relationship is what makes the difference.”

6. PUSH EARLY VOTING

Although the Sioux City area traditionally has low voter participation compared to most parts of Iowa, turnout for this August special election exceeded my expectations. The 7,624 ballots cast amount to just under 55 percent of the votes cast in the November 2022 election for this Senate seat. (Turnout for the January election for Senate district 35 was just under 40 percent of the 2022 midterm turnout.)

Weiner said they increased the “win number” they were going for and expanded the pool of voters to contact when they saw how strong the early vote numbers were. They almost ran out of campaign literature to distribute on the doors.

We won’t know for sure which candidate won the early vote until the August 26 election results are certified. But going into election day, registered Democrats had returned more ballots than Republicans in Senate district 1. Drey probably carried the few hundred early votes cast by independents as well.

Early voting matters because it shrinks the number of voters the campaign needs to contact closer to election day. It also eliminates the chance that someone who had planned to vote on election day will be unable to do so due to an illness, family emergency, or work obligation. Stauch told me early voting “is critical, especially with people who are known supporters and who are not always reliable voters.” It frees up the volunteers you need for that final GOTV push.

Iowans can vote early in person at each county auditor’s office, starting 20 days before any election. However, Stauch advises, “Where possible, request early voting locations that are different from the Auditor’s office.” (That’s not always possible in Republican-controlled counties.)

The Woodbury County Democrats successfully requested three early voting satellite locations, two with extended hours until 7 PM and one on the last Saturday before the election. In addition to being in more convenient locations for many Sioux City residents, the extended hours helped accommodate people who couldn’t vote at the county elections office because they work 9-5 on weekdays.

Drey repeatedly urged supporters to vote early in the short videos she posted to Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram. She flagged the extended hours at the satellite locations as well as the opportunity to vote during regular business hours at the auditor’s office. In one video, labeled, “Early vote and we will leave you alone!” Drey promised with a laugh that casting an early ballot “also means that you will stop getting calls and texts and somebody knocking on your door from the campaign. So it’s really a win-win for all of us.”

7. REACH OUT TO VOTERS IN MULTIPLE LANGUAGES

I have rarely seen Iowa campaigns do much with Spanish-language outreach. Drey said she hopes “that’s about to change.” Having lived in Honduras for a year as a teacher, she understands how hard it can be to figure out where to go in another language. It was important to Drey for her campaign website “to be fully available in Spanish” (see here).

Drey told Zachary Oren Smith and me that other languages will be coming to the website. (She’ll be seeking re-election to a four-year term in 2026.) She noted, “We live in an incredibly diverse area” compared to much of the Midwest. More than 60 languages are spoken at home in the Sioux City school district. “We cannot continue to expect people to show up if we are not engaging with them in a way that’s meaningful.”

Here’s an example of a video Drey recorded in Spanish and posted on her social media.

Obviously not every Democratic candidate will have the skills to record a video in another language. But they can seek out volunteers to reach voters in their native language. Weiner mentioned that she used her Spanish a lot while knocking doors or leaving phone messages for voters.

Zohran Mamdami’s campaign for New York City mayor sets the gold standard on this front. One website page seeking volunteers lists phone banks in Spanish, Urdu, Hindi, and Arabic as well as English, and has a menu for volunteers to select two dozen other languages. In an area like Sioux City, a similar menu could seek people who speak Vietnamese or other languages as well as Spanish.

Sioux City is the fourth-largest city in Iowa. But having campaign material available in multiple languages is not just important for candidates running in larger urban centers. Many of Iowa’s mid-sized cities and small towns have sizeable Latino populations. The last page of the state’s “Latinos in Iowa” report from 2024 has a map with population estimates by county. You can see the higher percentages in counties containing diverse towns like Marshalltown, Ottumwa, Muscatine, Storm Lake, Denison, West Liberty, Eagle Grove, or Perry.

Some of these areas could have competitive legislative or county races in 2026. Many will have competitive races for city councils and school boards in November 2025. Those local elections are nonpartisan and often low-turnout, so progressive or Democratic candidates could move the needle with good outreach to communities that rarely hear directly from office-seekers.

8. USE SOCIAL MEDIA EFFECTIVELY

Drey works for a marketing agency that counsels clients on how to reach people online. She’s an experienced social media user and founded the Moms for Iowa group on Instagram long before this race. Oren Smith asked her about her use of short-form video, which we don’t often see from Iowa candidates. These were largely conversational, not scripted.

Drey said many people had told her, “I resonate so deeply with your videos because you just are a person who shows up.” She sees herself as “just a regular lady, guys. I’m just a regular person talking to her phone in a room with the door closed so my kid doesn’t, like, dash in, right?”

Even though she was campaigning on serious issues, she struck a light-hearted tone in many social media posts, which probably helped them reach a wider audience.

9. USE HUMOR

The light touch was apparent in Drey’s direct-to-camera response to a Republican attack ad portraying her as “kooky,” using an old photo of her with pink hair.

The ad (which ran on television and digital platforms) began with Drey looking at the GOP hit piece. Watch it here.

My transcript:

Why are politicians so obsessed with me? I think I looked great with pink hair, but the upkeep was exhausting.

But seriously: I’m a working mom, a proud Sioux Citian, and I’m ready to be your voice in the Iowa Senate. My “kooky ideas” (uses hands to make air quotes) are fully funding our public schools, making housing and child care more affordable, and putting more money back in the pockets of working Iowans.

I’m Catelin Drey, running for the Iowa Senate, and I hope to earn your vote by August 26.

It’s hard to make a funny political ad, so I wanted to hear more about the decision to use humor in this context.

Drey explained, “I found the attack laughable, quite honestly.” She also thought the photo (taken during a vacation about eight years ago) was flattering. She gave credit to the videographer, with whom she’s worked before. As they workshopped the ad together, they tried to capture a “regular person’s reaction” to the Republican ad, in her authentic voice. “The end result was something I’m really proud of.”

Stauch found this commercial to be “a great example of how to push back with humor. Humor is an emotion and it requires an emotional connection with a candidate and their ad to move a voter. Intellectual responses will not work. Laughter, tears, and anger are the three most powerful emotions that will move people.”

10. RUN AGAINST REPUBLICAN GOVERNANCE

The Iowa Democratic Party paid for a negative ad, which ran on digital platforms and television. Its main theme could be replicated in almost any race. “For eight years, Republicans have had control of Iowa, promising to improve the lives of all Iowans.” Then the ad repeated the message that “Something went wrong” for Iowa businesses, for our health, for our kids, and our economy.

After the election, I asked Weiner why they decided to run with a broad message against Republicans—only briefly mentioning Prosch, in the context of his deleted social media accounts. They could have put a spotlight on the GOP candidate’s extremist statements, such as comparing abortion to the Holocaust.

Weiner said Drey and Senate Democrats didn’t want to run “a cookie cutter, typical political campaign,” because they thought that would turn off voters. They weren’t trying to do a lot of persuasion with this spot. “We want things that will really get our base out.” (I would add that a commercial highlighting far-right comments by Prosch could have activated GOP base voters.)

Stauch wholeheartedly agreed with the strategy. She told me, “Every campaign at every level should be tying all Republican candidates to Kim Reynolds and the debacle of her destruction of Iowa, just as the ad from the Senate Majority Fund did.”

Nelson, the Republican supervisor in Woodbury County, gave credit to Drey and Democrats for running “a great ground game.” But he put most of the blame for the loss on leaders of his own party. A few excerpts from that lengthy Facebook video:

I do think that it was about Kim Reynolds. […] and about what Republicans have done in the Iowa legislature for several years now. […] The policy that’s been coming out of Des Moines, if you’re a regular Iowan—Republican, independent, Democrat—has just been awful. […]

And the amount of things that the Republican-led legislature has done just to pick fights with the few remaining Democrats left in Iowa is just so stupid! You have Trump winning [Iowa by] double digits, and yet the priorities are to try to kick out the remaining few Democrats that are here? That’s your priority? Not make Iowa better? And then you wonder why you’re losing these special elections by wide margins. Iowans aren’t dumb. […]

Teachers. There are so many conservative teachers that wouldn’t stop to help Kim Reynolds if her car was broke down on the side of the road. That’s putting it nicely. Because of what they’ve done to public schools. You’ve got—they have basically made school boards a formality. […] They’ve taken all the power away from local and sent it to Des Moines. […]

So, I’m sorry, Iowa GOP, Kim Reynolds, Iowa legislature—any of these special elections that you guys are losing and these seats are getting flipped to Democrats—this is 100 percent a product of the crap you’ve been putting out of Des Moines for years now. You folks are not listening to constituents.

Democrats running for school board, county supervisor, or any seat in the legislature should take that message and run with it.