Iowa Republicans Flip Democrat State House Seat, First Time in Nearly 3 Decades

Republicans successfully flipped an Iowa State House seat held by Democrats for nearly three decades, celebrating it as a testament to the “conservative agenda” and proof that “blue-collar workers are leaving the Democrat Party in droves.”

This week, Republican Jon Dunwell successfully flipped House District 29, vacated by the incumbent who took a job with Iowa Law Enforcement Academy.

The seat, which a Republican has not held since 1992, went to Jon Dunwell, who squarely defeated Democrat Steve Mullan in the special election, garnering about 60 percent of the vote.

According to the Jasper County Auditor’s Office, voter turnout stood at around 22 percent with 4,717 total ballots cast. Of those, 2,820 went to Dunwell, and 1,890 went to Mullan. There were five write-ins and two blank ballots.

“Community engagement is very important to me. Being out and among people is very important to me. Giving everyone a seat at the table is very important to me,” Dunwell said, describing himself as having a “conservative philosophy.”

“My passion is for Jasper County and Iowa. The team that I work with is for the Republicans,” he added.

The Iowa GOP celebrated the victory, stating that the results “show that blue-collar workers are leaving the Democrat Party in droves, and finding their new home in the Republican Party”:

This win is a testament to the conservative agenda pushed by Kim Reynolds, Pat Grassley, and Jack Whitver in the State legislature. Iowans are beginning to realize that when promises are made by Republicans, those promises are kept.

This is the first time the Iowa GOP has held 60 percent or more control of both the House and Senate since 1973. 

Iowans in suburban and rural districts are realizing the Democrat Party has left them behind. It’s why the Iowa GOP has won all three special elections in 2021 – one seat in suburban Des Moines and two rural, old union districts.

Republicans, they added, are “gearing up and firing on all cylinders” heading into the 2022 election.

“Iowans are sending a clear message — they wholly reject the policies and agenda of Iowa Democrats,” Republican Party of Iowa Chairman Jeff Kaufmann said in a statement:

The Iowa Democrat Party has left Iowans behind. It is the Republican Party, our candidates and elected officials who continue to stand with Iowans, uphold their values, and fight to defend them. I’m proud of what we have been able to accomplish, but we are not going to become complacent.

“We will defend these tremendous leaders and begin to put an end to the chaos we are seeing coming out of Washington, D.C.,” he added.