Four years ago Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds survived her first re-election bid with a 2.8-point win against Democrat Fred Hubbell. It was a tough race.
But last night Gov. Reynolds crushed her Democrat competition, Deidre DeJear. Reynolds gained about 40,000 more votes than she had in 2018 while DeJear captured 481,399 votes (as of 2:30 a.m.) compared to Hubbell’s 630,986.
Her 2.8-point win turned into nearly a 20-point victory in 2022.
Even with Reynolds’ success, she received fewer votes than Secretary of State Paul Pate and Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig, who were easily re-elected to their positions. Roby Smith appears to be the next Treasurer, and Brenna Bird has successfully defeated longtime Attorney General, Tom Miller.
While there were a few black eyes dealt in legislative races, the races Republicans lost couldn’t have been considered “safe” by any means. Meanwhile, Republicans picked up a few more seats in the Iowa House and, if we’re being honest, left another half dozen on the table.
On top of that, all four congressional districts in Iowa will have Republican representation. And, of course, Sen. Chuck Grassley won an eighth term to the United States Senate.
It was interesting to see just how “red” Iowa would be without Donald Trump at the top of the ticket. Republicans fared well in Iowa in 2016, then not as well in 2018, and recovered nicely in 2020.
But the 2022 results show Iowa is a red state — perhaps a deep shade of red, red state.
Iowans sent a clear message — they want conservatism. They’re ready to ride the red wave they’ve delivered.
We can thank our brilliant Governor Reynolds and a strong list of candidates for our deep red status. May it stay for years to come.