Des Moines City Council member Brian Meyer won today’s special election in Iowa House district 33 by a convincing margin of 1,380 votes to 363 (79.1 percent to 20.8 percent), according to unofficial results. Although Governor Terry Branstad recorded robocalls to get out the vote for Republican candidate Michael Young, it wasn’t enough to overcome the overwhelming Democratic advantage in this district. Meyer was previously a top aide to Iowa House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, whose resignation in August left this seat open. Today’s outcome means that for now, the Republican majority in the Iowa House remains 53-47.

I wish Meyer well but regret that other potentially good candidates stepped aside before the Democratic nominating convention. Two of the three people who strongly considered this race would have become Iowa’s first Latino state legislator. Instead, we have another white male insider in the Iowa House.

Meyer’s victory opens up a Des Moines City Council. Joe Henry, who had announced a campaign in House district 33 before Meyer got in the race, is a likely candidate to replace Meyer on the council.

Any relevant thoughts are welcome in this thread. A press release from the Iowa House Democrats is after the jump.

Democrat Brian Meyer and Republican Michael Young were both unanimously chosen as candidates for the October 22 special election in Iowa House district 33 during nominating conventions on September 4. Background on Des Moines City Council member Meyer is after the jump; he became the consensus candidate in this heavily Democratic district two weeks ago, preventing a potentially messy nominating process.

Young is a Marine Corps veteran who has lived on the south side of Des Moines for most of his life. He serves on the city’s Access Advisory Board, dealing with implementation of the Americans With Disabilities Act.

It would be a monumental upset for Meyer to lose this election. Not only do Democrats outnumber Republicans by nearly 5,000 in House district 33, south side voters have elected Meyer to the Des Moines City Council twice. Democrats would be wise to take nothing for granted in a low-turnout special, though.