DAVENPORT, Iowa – Iowa State Representative Jim Lykam was elected to the State Senate after a Special Election to fill the seat once held by Dr. Joe Seng.
Rep. Lykam won by a 73% to 25% margin.
The Special Election in Iowa's 45th Senate District was held only in the downtown and western neighborhoods of Davenport and in neighboring Buffalo, Iowa on December 27, 2016.
Lykam, who has served in the Iowa House since 2003, defeated Republican Mike Gonzales, a veteran Le Claire police officer, and Libertarian candidate Severin Gilbert, a Defense Department employee working at Davenport's Army Reserve center.
The unofficial vote total is:
- JIM LYKAM (D) 3788 votes (73%)
- MIKE GONZALES (R) 1310 votes (25%)
- SEVERIN GILBERT (L) 76 votes (1%)
The Scott County Auditor's Office reports voter turnout was just over 11%.
It was both Gonzales' and Gilbert's first runs for office.
The unusual post-Christmas election was scheduled by Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad after Senator Seng died in September 2016 after first being diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2013.
Lykam retains the western Davenport State Senate seat for the Democrats but he will now join a Senate that is Republican controlled after the November 2016 elections. And Rep. Lykam's northwest Davenport seat in the Iowa House will now need to be filled as he advances to the State Senate.