Yesterday’s special elections sent a powerful message: When we support women in critical state legislative races, we don’t just win—we change the makeup of power. Take a look at how the victories in Iowa, Minnesota and Georgia played out:
- Iowa: Catelin Drey, a small business owner and founder of Moms for Iowa, flipped a deep red district, breaking the Republican supermajority in the state Senate. This marks the fourth special election that Democrats have won in Iowa, signaling a slowdown in GOP victories and providing hope for the midterms. Shattering the supermajority also means that, for the first time since 2022, Gov. Kim Reynolds will now need Democratic support for any nominations put forth.
- Minnesota: With a 33-32 Democratic majority in the state Senate, Amanda Hemmingsen-Jaeger’s victory in her special election primary means the balance of power of the chamber now rests on her district. Early investment in races like hers makes all the difference, and we’ve seen that play out with this win.
- Georgia: Debra Shigley, a former employment attorney, placed first and earned 40 percent of the vote in a seven-person primary. While the district is heavily Republicans, all eyes will be on the September runoff.
These victories show the importance of early support and women running in state legislative races. This is exactly why we are turning our focus to Virginia, where Democrats hold a slim one-seat majority in the House of Delegates, and all 100 seats are up for reelection this November.
Meanwhile, a recent study from our partners at Run for Something found that reverse coattail effects are real. When there are competitive state legislative races, the top of the ticket vote increases by up to 2.3 percent, and has no negative impact on statewide candidates. This means we can’t win top of ticket races without building state power from the bottom up.
We hope you’ll join us on Sept. 25 at our virtual event “Virginia is for Women, Part II,” where we’ll support the 10 most competitive women running in state legislative seats across Virginia. Let’s make sure these women have the money they need to run competitively all the way to November.