Iowa Republicans had a big night. Donald Trump carried the state. Chuck Grassley easily won re-election. Rod Blum of Dubuque and David Young of Van Meter, the two Republican freshmen in Iowa’s congressional delegation, were victorious. And the entire legislative branch at the Iowa statehouse will be led by Republicans. Iowa G-O-P chairman Jeff Kaufmann was in a celebrating mood.

“We listen to the people and we respond to the people,” Kaufmann said. “And I know there’s are a lot of tears going on in the ivory towers of the universities, but guess what? The people also have the intelligence in this state!” Bill Dix, a state senator from Shell Rock, orchestrated the Republican effort to seize control of the Iowa Senate’s debate agenda from Democrats.

“I came in cautiously optimistic,” Dix said. “I know we had hard-working candidates who just were relentless and bottom line, at the end of the day, that’s what makes the difference.” Long-time Republican Governor Terry Branstad has gotten his wish for a Republican-led senate. “We thought we could maybe win five seats,” Branstad said. “We won six, so, it was a great night and I’m really looking forward to working with both the House and the Senate.”

Republicans kept their working majority in the Iowa House, too. Republicans were even able to dethrone the legislature’s top Democrat. Senator Mike Gronstal of Council Bluffs — a 34-year veteran of the legislature — was defeated in his reelection bid. During an interview in early October, Gronstal argued Democratic incumbents could win by employing person-to-person tactics rather than spending “big money” on advertising.

“What power do we have? We have the power to run smart, savvy campaigns, knock on lots of doors and make personal contact and if we do that well, we can be proud of our effort,” Gronstal said, “regardless of what the outcome is.”

(Radio Iowa)