Cedar Falls School Board member Eric Giddens (D) defeated former state Rep. Walt Rogers (R) in a special election for the District 30 seat in the Iowa State Senate. Giddens won with 57 percent of the vote to Rogers’ 42 percent.
The appearance of current and potential 2020 Democratic presidential candidates in the district helped this race garner national attention. At least three candidates made appearances with Giddens, while others held separate campaign events in the district or sent staff to canvas for the Democratic candidate. The district voted Democratic in the past two presidential elections. In 2012, Obama won the district by 7.4 percent. In 2016, Clinton won the district by 3.5 percent.
The seat became vacant after Jeff Danielson (D) resigned on February 14, 2019. Heading into the election, Republicans held a 32-17 majority in the chamber. A party needs 34 votes in the Senate in order to override a gubernatorial veto, so the outcome of this election did not impact either partisan control or veto-proof supermajority status.
