Christopher Prosch
Christopher Prosch (Republican Party) ran in a special election to the Iowa State Senate to represent District 1. He lost in the special general election on August 26, 2025.
Biography
Prosch is the founder and owner of Felix Strategies, a media consulting firm in Sioux City. His other experience includes being an usher at Cornerstone church, a tutor for college students, and a Trail Life mentor.[1]
2025 battleground election
Ballotpedia identified the August 26, 2025, special election as a battleground race. The summary below is from our coverage of this election, found here. Catelin Drey (D) defeated Christopher Prosch (R) in the special general election for Iowa state Senate District 1 on August 26, 2025.[2][3] The previous incumbent, Rocky De Witt (R), died on June 25, 2025.[4]
Leading up to the election, Republicans had a 33-16 majority in the Iowa Senate with one vacancy. Drey's win resulted in a 33-17 Republican majority in the Senate, one seat short of a two-thirds supermajority.
In Iowa, the governor appoints department and agency heads and other non-elected state officials. The governor’s appointments are generally subject to Senate approval and require a two-thirds majority vote to be confirmed. Among the appointed positions requiring Senate approval are the Commissioner of Insurance, Director of Education, Director of Natural Resources, and the Iowa Utilities Board. Click here to learn more about Iowa’s state executives.
Drey was a marketing executive and founder of the group Moms for Iowa, which described itself as a grassroots organization focused on "curbing gun violence and championing women's reproductive rights."[5][6][7] Drey said her top priority was to increase state education funding in the district.[6] Other priorities listed on Drey's campaign website included "Affordable, accessible childcare," "Bodily Autonomy," and "Economic mobility."[8]
Prosch was the owner of a media consulting firm in Sioux City. On his campaign website, Prosch described himself as "a principled, common sense conservative" who "believes in limited government, fiscal responsibility, and the traditional family values that have always been the bedrock of our community."[9] Prosch said his top priority was to eliminate the state income tax. Other priorities listed on his campaign website included "Securing the Border & Ending Illegal Immigration," "Empowering Parents & Prioritizing Education," "and "Protecting the Unborn."[10]
This was the fourth special state legislative election in Iowa in 2025.
Before the election, The Downballot's David Nir and Jeff Singer wrote, "The district has bounced back and forth in recent years, with Democrats flipping it in 2018 only to give it right back four years later. In 2024, it supported Donald Trump by a 55-44 margin, but Democrats are hopeful about their chances given their strong overperformances in three other Iowa special elections this year."[11]
The other three special state legislative elections in Iowa this year were in Senate District 35, House District 78, and House District 100. Democrats gained one seat in the Senate after they won in Senate District 35 and retained control in House District 78. Republicans retained control in House District 100.
At the time of the election, Republicans also had a majority in the Iowa General Assembly, and Gov. Kim Reynolds was a Republican, meaning Iowa had a Republican trifecta.
Elections
2025
See also: Iowa state legislative special elections, 2025
General election
Special general election for Iowa State Senate District 1
Catelin Drey defeated Christopher Prosch in the special general election for Iowa State Senate District 1 on August 26, 2025.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Catelin Drey (D) | 55.2 | 4,208 |
 | Christopher Prosch (R) | 44.8 | 3,411 | |
| Total votes: 7,619 | |||
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Polls
- See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls
We provide results for polls that are included in polling aggregation from FiveThirtyEight and RealClearPolitics, when available. No polls were available for this election. To notify us of polls published in this election, please email us.
Election campaign finance
Candidates in this election submitted campaign finance reports to the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board. Click here to access those reports.
Satellite spending
- See also: Satellite spending
Satellite spending describes political spending not controlled by candidates or their campaigns; that is, any political expenditures made by groups or individuals that are not directly affiliated with a candidate. This includes spending by political party committees, super PACs, trade associations, and 501(c)(4) nonprofit groups.[12][13][14]
If available, this section includes links to online resources tracking satellite spending in this election. To notify us of a resource to add, email us.
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Prosch in this election.
Campaign themes
2025
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Christopher Prosch did not complete Ballotpedia's 2025 Candidate Connection survey.
Campaign ads
View more ads here:
Campaign finance summary
Campaign finance information for this candidate is not yet available from OpenSecrets. That information will be published here once it is available.
See also
2025 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Christopher Prosch 2025 campaign website, "About," accessed August 14, 2025
- ↑ The Hill, "Democrats flip Iowa state Senate seat, breaking GOP supermajority," accessed August 26, 2025
- ↑ KTIV, "Catelin Drey wins special election for Iowa State Senate District 1," accessed August 26, 2025
- ↑ KCCI, "Iowa state Sen. Rocky De Witt dies after cancer battle," June 25, 2025
- ↑ LinkedIn, "Catelin Drey," accessed August 8, 2025
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 KTIV, "KTIV interviews Catelin Drey, Democrat running for Iowa State Senate District 1," August 6, 2025
- ↑ Moms for Iowa, "Home," accessed August 8, 2025
- ↑ Catelin Drey 2025 campaign website", "Home," accessed August 8, 2025
- ↑ KTIV, "KTIV interviews Christopher Prosch, Republican running for Iowa State Senate District 1," August 7, 2025
- ↑ Christopher Prosch 2025 campaign website, "My Plan," accessed August, 8, 2025
- ↑ The Downballot, "Morning Digest: Democrats land first recruit for ultra-close Virginia district," July 11, 2025
- ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Outside Spending," accessed December 12, 2021
- ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Total Outside Spending by Election Cycle, All Groups," accessed December 12, 2021
- ↑ National Review.com, "Why the Media Hate Super PACs," December 12, 2021
