Catelin Drey officially became a member of the Iowa Senate on Monday, taking her oath of office at the State Capitol.
“There is something very humbling about taking the official oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States and the state of Iowa at a moment when it feels like that has become increasingly difficult or increasingly controversial,” the new senator from Sioux City told reporters after the swearing-in ceremony. “And so, that oath is sacred and I look forward to doing the best that I can to uphold that.”
Last month, Drey won the special election in Iowa Senate District 1 to fill the seat that came open after Rep. Rocky DeWitt’s death from pancreatic cancer in June. DeWitt, a Republican from Lawton, had held the Woodbury County seat since defeating incumbent Democrat Jackie Smith in 2022. Trump carried the district in 2024, winning 55 percent of the vote. Drey, a Democrat and first-time candidate, also won with 55 percent of the vote, defeating Republican Christopher Prosch in the Aug. 26 special election.
“I am looking forward to getting to work, quite honestly,” Drey said. “I’m perhaps unjustly optimistic about what the session in 2026 holds, but I am really excited to get to work with my Senate Democratic colleagues, and do what we can to improve the lives of Iowans.”
The next legislative session begins in January. Until then, Drey said she would be listening to her constituents and discussing issues with them.
“I’ve had folks reach out already about Iowa’s high-speed rail and what we can do there connecting both sides of the state,” she said. “I’ve had requests about child support, water quality, public schools, and so I’m taking all that information under advisement as we head to January.”
Republicans will still dominate the Iowa Senate during the next session, 33-17, but Drey’s victory ended the supermajority they held starting in January 2023. Senate Minority Leader Janice Weiner said that with the end of the supermajority, Senate Republicans will no longer be able to behave as if only their votes matter.
“I believe that what it does is give us the ability to have a role to talk to our colleagues and be part of the mix,” the Iowa City Democrat said standing next to Drey on Monday. “… Because if they want to get people confirmed, if they want some other things, they will need to work with us. That’s honestly the way it should work.”
Drey said she is ready to work with Republicans, and cited funding for public education as an area where she thinks bipartisan agreements may be likely.
“I think most people in the Senate can agree right now that we have a public education funding crisis. Supporting our students is the best way that we can give them an economic boost. And so, working really hard across the aisle to make sure we are funding our public schools at a rate that keeps pace with or exceeds inflation.”
There may be agreement among Democrats about the importance of funding public schools at or above the rate of inflation, but there isn’t among Republican lawmakers. The state’s funding for public schools has not kept pace with inflation since 2011, when Republicans took control of the Iowa House. In this year’s session, the House originally approved a 2.25 percent increase, which was less than the rate of inflation — 2.28 percent — but still higher than the 2 percent increase proposed by the Senate. The bill Gov. Reynolds signed into law used the Senate’s lower funding level.
Drey was asked if she was feeling concerned as she took office, given the events of last Wednesday, when a 16-year-old gunman wounded two students in a Colorado school shooting before killing himself, and Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk was murdered while speaking on a Utah college campus. President Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance and other prominent Republicans were quick to blame Democrats for Kirk’s murder, vowing to crack down on leftwing speech.
Once again, Drey struck a hopeful note.
“I think right now we need to turn the temperature down,” she said. “Talking to my neighbors, I think that we are much closer politically than the climate right now gives us credit for.”
“I’m thinking about the safety of kids in school, I’m thinking about the safety of myself and my Senate colleagues, but I am optimistic that we have an awareness now that this type of rhetoric is dangerous and I’m also optimistic that we can find some solutions to solve the gun violence crisis that is ongoing in this country.”
The 2026 session of the Iowa Legislature is scheduled to begin on Monday, Jan. 12.
