Voters in southeast Cedar Rapids will soon elect a new member of the Iowa House. Democratic State Representative Sami Scheetz resigned from the legislature on April 1 after being appointed to fill a vacancy on the Linn County Board of Supervisors (District 2). In a news release, he vowed to “continue to fight for working people, invest in our community’s future, and make sure Linn County remains a place where families can thrive” in his new role.
Scheetz was serving his second term in the legislature, representing House district 78. A detailed map is at the top of this post or can be downloaded here.
This district is solid blue. Kamala Harris received 65.2 percent of the vote in these precincts in the 2024 presidential election, and Joe Biden received 67.6 percent of the presidential vote in 2020. The latest official figures show House district 78 contains 8,891 registered Democrats, 4,121 Republicans, and 6,634 no-party voters.
Scheetz defeated his Republican opponent by a two-to-one margin in 2022 and was unopposed in the 2024 general election.
Democrats and Republicans (if they contest this race) will choose their nominees at special district conventions. Independent candidates could also attempt to qualify for the ballot once Governor Kim Reynolds has scheduled the special election.
Under state law, when a vacancy in the Iowa House or Senate arises while the legislature is in session, “the governor shall order such special election at the earliest practical time, giving at least eighteen days’ notice.” So in all likelihood, the election will happen in late April or early May. It’s not clear whether the new representative for House district 78 could be sworn in before the legislature adjourns for the year.
Please reach out if you know of candidates interested in running for this House seat. I’ll update this post as needed.
Following Scheetz’s resignation, Democrats hold 32 of the 100 Iowa House seats, and Republicans hold 67 seats.
District 2 on the Linn County board of supervisors will be on the ballot in November 2026. There may be a special election sooner than that, if county residents collect enough signatures over the next two weeks to force one. The vacancy arose when longtime Supervisor Ben Rogers stepped down, effective April 1, to accept a position with UnityPoint Health – St. Luke’s Foundation.
UPDATE: John Deeth pointed out that Linn County officials made this appointment just in time. Any day now, Governor Kim Reynolds will sign Senate File 75. The centerpiece of that bill is the new requirement that counties containing a Regents university (Johnson, Story, and Black Hawk) elect county supervisors by district, rather than in county-wide at-large elections. Another part of the bill requires special elections (rather than appointments) to fill county supervisor vacancies in any county that either contains a state university or has a population greater than 125,000.