Republican notches historic loss in key red state

While 2024 may have been a good year for President Donald Trump, 2025 has proven to be a disaster for the Republican Party.

The final election of the year was a a bloodbath for the GOP candidate in Iowa.

A Tuesday election for a state Senate seat ended with the Democratic candidate prevailing with a 43-point margin.

The seat was suspected to go to a Democrat, as Vice President Kamala Harris won the district by 17 percent in 2024. But winning with 71.5 percent of the vote summed up a disastrous year for the GOP.

Writing for the New Republic on Wednesday, Malcolm Ferguson highlighted that the win stopped a Republican super-majority in the Senate. Renee Hardman will also become the first Black woman elected to the chamber.

“A Democratic victory that large in a purple state mirrors recent historic results elsewhere, and may indicate that voters may be fatigued or are just outright rejecting anything to do with President Donald Trump," said Ferguson.

It comes after huge Democratic wins in New Jersey and Virginia in the off-year state elections that drove Abigail Spanberger and Mikie Sherrill to victorious governors' seats.

“A victory in a small, downballot race such as Hardman’s shows that disapproval of Trump and his administration may be hitting closer to home as the government fails to end endless wars and make the country more affordable," added Ferguson.

Erie County, Pennsylvania was another Democratic victory. In 2024 Trump narrowly won the area, but in March, a Democrat beat Republican Chuck Davis, the president of the White Oak Borough Council.

Democrats in Georgia won two statewide races, marking the first non-federal wins since 2006, Ferguson continued.

Deep red Mississippi also broke the Republican Senate supermajority after 13 years by winning three seats, he added.

“All that is to say that these results should have Trump very worried about how negatively Americans are feeling about his second term, even those who voted for him in 2024," Ferguson closed.

Read the full column here.