As snow falls and temperatures drop in Polk County, two candidates are getting ready for the state’s final election of 2025.
Democrat Renee Hardman and Republican Lucas Loftin are competing in a special election for Iowa Senate District 16, which includes parts of West Des Moines, Clive and Windsor Heights.
Gov. Kim Reynolds set the election for Dec. 30 following the death of Sen. Claire Celsi, D-West Des Moines, in October. Early voting has begun starting Wednesday, Dec. 10.
A potential Republican supermajority hinges on the election outcome as Democrats seek to hold the seat and prevent Republicans from increasing their caucus to 34 members.
Renee Hardman says she wants ‘to fight for working class families’
Hardman, 64, said she plans to use her campaign “to fight for working class families.”
“I came from a working class family,” she said. “From a mom who raised three daughters as a single parent and worked two jobs, that I can remember, all of my life. I know and understand the struggle of how affordability matters.”
Hardman said she already has a track record of lowering property taxes and expanding access to affordable housing as part of the West Des Moines City Council.
Renee Hardman speaks to the crowd as Polk County Democrats hold a nominating convention for Senate District 16 on Oct. 21, 2025, in West Des Moines.
“I’d like to see what progress we can make in more affordability and availability of affordable housing, affordable child care, living wages, just working on behalf of things that advance working class families and allow them to thrive and allow them to succeed,” she said.
And she said she wants to see taxpayer dollars used for public education rather than the Republican-passed education savings account law, which provides Iowa families with taxpayer-funded accounts to pay private school costs, regardless of income.
“People are concerned about public education,” she said. “And taxpayer dollars should be for public education and nothing more than that. People care about that. They have concerns about this voucher system that is using public dollars to pay for people to go to private schools, some of which can already afford it but yet they’re still getting a voucher.”
She said her time on the City Council, where she won a third term last month, has given her experience working with Republicans, independents and others who might disagree with her.
“I have an eight year track record of working with people that have maybe political different ideation than I do,” she said. “And I know City Council is different, don’t get me wrong, but we still have different views and different ways in which we look at things.”
Hardman would be Iowa’s first Black female senator if she wins the election. She said that’s not why she’s running, but she knows “some people are excited to see history in the making.”
Hardman is the president and CEO of Lutheran Services of Iowa. She said she has been “the first” in a lot of professional environments, including making history as West Des Moines’ first Black city councilwoman when she was elected in 2017.
She said it’s not being the first that’s exciting to her, but about using her position to inspire others.
“That’s how I use this firstness is an opportunity to shine a greater light on the possibilities of young children, young girls, young women that can look up to me and say, ‘Renee Hardman did it, I can too,'” she said.
Lucas Loftin says ‘affordability is going to be key’
Loftin, 42, said limited government and lower taxes are priorities for his campaign.
“Affordability is going to be key for me,” he said. “People pay taxes no matter who you vote, for so it’s important to have people that want to steward the tax dollars wisely that you are paying and that I am paying into the system.”
Loftin said he would prefer to be able to abolish property taxes in Iowa, although he acknowledged he’s not sure that’s possible. First, he said, lawmakers should institute a cap to prevent property taxes from rising too quickly.
“Abolishment would be my primary goal,” he said. “But we have to figure out a way to stop it from increasing beyond what wages are doing.”
Lucas Loftin is a Republican candidate for Iowa Senate District 16.
Other issues important to Loftin include property rights, “sanctity of life” and limited government, he said.
Loftin works for Wright Service Corp., an employee-owned company in West Des Moines. He previously worked for the company as a tree trimmer and now works in IT.
He serves on the boards of In His Light ministries and Homeschool Iowa and as co-president of Home Educators for Excellence in Des Moines, a Christian homeschool support group.
“I’m a regular guy,” he said. “I’ve got a mortgage, I’ve got an unfortunate car payment. I’ve got five kids. My grocery budget, a lot of times, is going to match what other people are struggling to accommodate.”
Loftin, a first-time candidate, said he started calling Republicans asking what they knew about the special election. Soon, the people he called began asking him if he was getting into the race himself, and he started thinking and praying about whether to do so.
He said it’s a chance for him to show his children that “good people need to step up and lead.”
“It was just an opportunity for my wife and I to pray and seek the Lord and show our kids what living, breathing examples of stepping out on your faith looks like,” he said.
Celsi won her first election in 2018 with nearly 66% of the vote and won reelection in 2022 with 58%, defeating Republicans each time. Republicans did not run a candidate in 2024 and Celsi won again against a Libertarian, taking 70% of the vote.
Claire Celsi
Loftin said Republicans have a better chance with an open seat. He said he and the party are putting in “elbow grease” and executing a strategy to turn out voters.
“This opportunity with Claire’s unfortunate passing presents an opportunity to the Republican Party to not face an incumbent,” he said.
Loftin said he knows Democrats outnumber Republicans in the district and that “I’m going to have a smile on my face” no matter which way the election goes.
“This is a tough district,” he said. “I have no illusions that this is going to be me walking away with this.”
Republican Senate supermajority on the line in special election
The outcome of the race will determine whether Republicans will enter the 2026 legislative session with a supermajority.
Currently, Republicans hold 33 Senate seats to Democrats’ 17, just one seat shy of a two-thirds supermajority.
If Hardman wins, it would mean Republicans would need at least one Democratic vote to confirm Reynolds’ nominees to state agencies, boards and commissions.
Hardman said she’s heard from voters who are worried about Republicans regaining the supermajority and who “feel there should be more of a balance at the legislature.”
“We’re better when we have differences across the aisles that can hammer out things,” she said.
But if Loftin wins, Republicans can restore their supermajority, allowing them to approve gubernatorial nominees without Democratic support and giving them a more comfortable margin to pass legislation.
Loftin said he’s telling voters that the election is a chance for Republicans to continue advancing their priorities.
“We have an opportunity to really move forward conservative ideas, conservative principles and make a big impact,” he said. “Iowa’s primed to be able to lead and the supermajority certainly helps that.”
Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on X at @sgrubermiller.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa Senate special election is Dec. 30 in WDM. Meet the candidates
