Key takeaways from Tuesday's special elections in Iowa and Georgia (August 26, 2025)
thehill.com

... Democrats continued their winning streak in key special elections this year with another victory in a contested state Senate seat in Iowa. ...

The party eyed the seat as a pickup opportunity to break up the Republican supermajority in the body and demonstrate further enthusiasm among the Democratic base in an offyear election. The party's candidate in a Georgia state Senate election also appears poised to advance to a runoff against a Republican opponent in a deeply conservative district.

The Democratic Party has been struggling to unify itself and get energized in the aftermath of its devastating loss to President Trump in the 2024 presidential election and other key races last November.

But even amid voter dissatisfaction with party leaders and disapproval with the party brand as a whole, one positive sign for Democrats has been the multiple victories they have achieved in the handful of elections this year.

Democrat Catelin Drey's win in Iowa Senate District 1 by more than 10 points, as of the latest vote count, over Republican Christopher Prosch is just the latest in a string of Democratic electoral successes this year that is likely to give the party hope heading into the midterms.

Trump had carried both Iowa districts and the Pennsylvania one by double digits in November. ...

Modest Mouse - Missed the Boat (2007)
www.youtube.com

Lyrics excerpt ...

genius.com

...
[Verse 1: Isaac Brock]
While we're on the subject
Could we change the subject now?
I was knocking on your ear's door
But you were always out
Looking towards the future
We were begging for the past
Well, we knew we had the good things
But those never seemed to last
Oh, please just last

[Verse 2: Isaac Brock]
Everyone's unhappy
Everyone's ashamed
Well, we all just got caught looking
At somebody else's page
Well, nothing ever went
Quite exactly as we planned
Our ideas held no water
But we used them like a dam
...