Driscoll takes 46th Senate District

Republican Dawn Driscoll defeated Democrat Kevin Kinney in one of the state’s tightest state races on Tuesday.

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Ben Allan Smith

The Capitol building in Des Moines is pictured on April 29, 2019.

Sydney Libert, News Reporter


Dawn Driscoll, Republican candidate in for Iowa’s 46th Senate District, defeated Republican Kevin Kinney on Tuesday night, according to unofficial results from the Iowa Secretary of State.

Driscoll is currently a state senator representing Iowa’s 38th District in Iowa county. Driscoll was first elected to serve District 38 in 2020 when she defeated Democrat Ivy Schuster 63.9 percent to 36 percent and assumed office in January 2021.

Driscoll is currently on the Agriculture, Labor and Business Relations, Local Government, National Resources and Environment, and Transportation standing committees and received strong state-level support from Gov. Kim Reynolds.

The victorious Reynolds also backed Driscoll and even made an appearance at a candidate forum for the state seat last week. The 46th Senate district was one of the tightest in the state.

Driscoll obtained her Bachelor of Arts in Agronomy and a minor in Agricultural Business from Western Illinois University.

Outside of the Iowa State Senate, Driscoll works as a consultant for Hummer AgriBusiness Search Inc., a national search firm specializing in agriculture. As a 6th generation farmer, Driscoll wants to grow agriculture opportunities and plans to advocate for Iowa agricultural products. She previously served as the president of the Iowa County Farm Bureau. 

Driscoll’s campaign places an emphasis on cutting taxes for Iowans. Within her time as a state senator, Driscoll has worked to eliminate a property tax levy and the death tax. On Driscoll’s campaign website, she states that her passion is to “continue to eliminate burdens on [Iowa] citizens by cutting waste from the budget, simplifying the tax code, and leaving more money in taxpayer pocket”.

Driscoll attributes her past experience as a volunteer educator and coach to inspire her advocacy for upholding parental rights in education in the Iowa Senate. Driscoll supports U.S. Senator Josh Hawley’s Parents’ Bill of Rights Act, a bill introduced in 2021 to ensure parents have access to classroom materials and information about curriculums.