Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds announced Thursday the special election to replace Sen. Claire Celsi will take place Dec. 30.
Celsi, who represented Iowa Senate District 16, died Oct. 6 after a months-long battle with an undisclosed illness, according to a social media post from her daughter and statements from state leaders. The 59-year-old West Des Moines resident had entered hospice care Sept. 18. Earlier in the year during the 2025 legislative session, she had missed more than a month of votes before returning after she had a surgery in April.
Iowa Senate District 16 is composed of portions of Polk and Dallas counties, including parts of West Des Moines, Clive and Windsor Heights. Before redistricting, Celsi had first won election to represent Senate District 21 in 2018 to defeat Republican Brian Bales, and won reelection to the seat in 2022. After redistricting, she won in 2024 with 70% of the vote against Libertarian challenger Joshua Smith.
The Senate special election will be the sixth special election in Iowa in 2025. There have been two other special elections in the Iowa Senate, called after Sen. Rocky De Witt, R-Lawton, passed away in August, and one in January after Lt. Gov. Chris Cournoyer joined Gov. Kim Reynolds’ administration. Democrats won both elections: Sen. Mike Zimmer of DeWitt and Sen. Catelin Drey of Sioux City.
Iowa Republicans’ supermajority in the state Senate was broken with Drey’s election.
In the Iowa House, Rep. Angelina Ramirez, D-Cedar Rapids, won a special election in April, and Rep. Blaine Watkins, R-Donnellson, won in March. Reynolds has called a special election for Dec. 7 to replace Rep. Mike Sexton, who has taken a position in the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
