Members of both parties in the Iowa Senate met this weekend to elect new leadership following the elections. Democrats went from split control in the Senate to a 30-member majority — and opted to keep their leaders in place. Senator Jack Kibbie of Emmetsburg was elected Senate President, while Mike Gronstal of Council Bluffs was elected majority leader.
The republican election did not go as smoothly. Senator Mary Lundby of Marion was elected by republicans as the minority leader, but that came with a protest. Senator Paul McKinley of Chariton says eight senators were not happy that they didn’t get a chance to discuss what went wrong in the election. McKinley says he feels it’s important to talk about what went wrong.
McKinley says Iowa republicans had “a mess.” He says, “Even though there was a loss in the United States, nationwide for republicans, the loss in Iowa was greater, and the loss in the Iowa senate was even greater yet.” McKinley says republicans need to discuss a plan for turning the election results around as he says republicans had “their heads handed to them.”
McKinley says they need to look at letting families keep more of their money, crime, safety, and family values. McKinley says if the republicans don’t address this issue, “We will continue to suffer further losses, and we will see the republican party continue to fade.” The republicans will return to the legislature with 20 senators in January.