A political earthquake in Iowa

Days until the court-mandated deadline for lawmakers to submit new congressional maps (9/24/2025) - 28
Days until Election Day (11/4/2025) - 69
Days to the start of the 2026 Utah Legislature (1/20/2026) - 146
Days until the 2026 midterm elections (11/3/2026) - 433
Days until the 2028 presidential election (11/7/2028) - 1,168

Democrats pulled off a massive upset in an Iowa special election for the state Senate on Tuesday night. The Democratic candidate pulled off a 22-point electoral swing, winning a seat by 11 points that Donald Trump carried in November by the same margin.

Not only was it a stunning upset, it also completely changed the math for the Republican majority in the state legislature.

Our friends over at The Downballot report that Democrat Caetlin Drey's defeat of Republican Christopher Prosch was the second conservative seat Iowa Democrats flipped this year - the first was Democrat Mike Zimmer's shock victory over Republican Katie Wittingham in a district Trump carried by 29 points.

Drey's victory lowers the GOP advantage in the Iowa Senate to 33-17, breaking the GOP supermajority in that chamber. That means Republicans will no longer be able to muscle through Republican Gov. Kim Reynold's judicial appointments and nominees for cabinet positions in her administration on a party line vote.

Zooming out, Tuesday's results could signal a shift in the political winds ahead of the 2026 midterms. In the last three special elections in the Hawkeye State, Democrats have run far ahead of the 2024 presidential results.

There are a pair of statewide races next year that should draw plenty of attention.

Reynolds is retiring, putting the governor's mansion up for grabs. Political handicappers give Republicans an advantage or rate the contest as a toss-up.

Republican Sen. Joni Ernst has not yet said whether she will run for a third term in 2026. Most analysts expect Republicans to hold on to the seat no matter who runs.

Podcast: All about gerrymandering. [Utah Political Watch]

Utah judge faces GOP backlash after ordering Legislature to redraw congressional maps. [Salt Lake Tribune]

Domestic violence is leading cause of homicide in Utah amid Trump cuts. [Guardian]

Utah economy shows strong growth with 2.3% employment increase outpacing national average. [Fox 13]

Utah AG calls on search engines, payment platforms to do more to fight deepfake pornography. [Utah News Dispatch]

The spending of every Utah public university and college president will now be audited. Here's why. [Salt Lake Tribune]

"A fighter": Former state Sen. Paula Julander dies at age 86. [KSL]

Utah schools face mental health shortages as demand for services grows. [Fox 13]

Questions raised over plan to use 400 acres near Camp Williams for nuclear manufacturing. [KUTV]

New Utah law requires firearm safety education for K-12 students. [Fox 13]

Courts reject another major fraud lawsuit against the LDS Church over tithing. [Salt Lake Tribune]

Just 36% of Americans support President Donald Trump's deployment of troops to Washington, D.C. However, 76% of Republicans favor the move. [Reuters]

A whistleblower complaint alleges the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) uploaded a copy of all federal Social Security numbers and information to an unsecured server in June. [ABC News]

Democrats are considering a mini national convention before the 2026 midterms to boost candidates and showcase emerging leaders of the party. [Axios]

A conservative election researcher who has used faulty data to push unproven claims of election fraud has been appointed to an election integrity role at the Department of Homeland Security. [Associated Press]

Florida could be the next state to redraw congressional maps to give the GOP an advantage in the 2026 midterms. [CBS News]

President Trump is pressuring Indiana Republicans to gerrymander their state ahead of 2026. [Politico]

Denmark's foreign minister has summoned the top U.S. diplomat over a report that Americans have been conducting covert influence operations in Greenland. [BBC]

Exxon held secret talks with Russia's biggest state energy company earlier this year about returning to a joint project as part of peace negotiations in Ukraine. [Wall Street Journal]

President Trump says he'll have a "majority" on the Federal Reserve soon, which will allow him to pressure the body to lower interest rates. [CNBC]

Apple is set to roll out an update to its text messaging platform that will filter text messages from unknown numbers. The change could hit GOP fundraising efforts hard. [Fox News]

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says he has identified "interventions" that are behind rising autism rates. He plans to "address them" sometime next month. [NOTUS]