DES MOINES, Iowa – Gov. Kim Reynolds issued a proclamation on Wednesday setting Tuesday, December 14, 2021, as the date for a special election in Iowa Senate District 1 following the resignation of State Senator Zach Whiting.
Whiting, a Republican, resigned to accept a position with the Texas Public Policy Foundation, a conservative, free-market think tank located in Austin, Texas.
Iowa Code 69.14 outlines the authority given to the governor to set a special election. Whiting was serving his first term in the Iowa Senate. Senate District 1, located in Clay, Dickinson, Lyon, Osceola, and Palo Alto counties, includes Spirit Lake, Spencer, Emmetsburg, Sibley, and Rock Rapids.
Iowa Senate District 1 is a safe Republican district with Republicans having a 3 to 1 registered voter advantage over Democrats. As of November 1, there are 21,880 registered Republicans, 7,226 registered Democrats, and 9,904 registered independents.
Whiting won a competitive three-way Republican primary in 2018 to run unopposed in the general election.
Read Reynolds’ proclamation below:
2021.11.03 SD1 Special Election (Whiting)
