Democrat Mike Zimmer beat out Republican Kate Whittington in a special election to fill newly appointed Lt. Gov. Chris Cournoyer's state senate seat.

Democrat Mike Zimmer is the newest Iowa senator, flipping the Senate District 35 seat in Tuesday’s special election. Zimmer won with 52% of the vote to Republican Katie Whittington’s 48%, according to unofficial results published by the Iowa Secretary of State.

Democrats Tuesday flipped seat in the Iowa Senate in a special election held to replace Republican Sen. Chris Cournoyer, who was named as Iowa's lieutenant governor, but Democrats still will be far outnumbered in the chamber.