SARL Treasurer, Annette Sweeney, wins Iowa Senate seat

Annette Sweeney, a former state legislator with strong ties to agriculture, won a special election Tuesday to replace Republican state Sen. Bill Dix, who resigned in March after video surfaced of him kissing a female lobbyist in a Des Moines tavern. Sweeney, 60, a Republican who lives near Alden, defeated Democrat Tracy Freese, 35, of Dike, a marketing professional and chair of the Grundy County Democratic Party.The vote was 4,742 to 3,726, or 56 percent for Sweeney to 44 percent for Freese, according to the Iowa Secretary of State's office. Her election means Republicans will hold 29 seats in the Iowa Senate. Democrats hold 20 seats and there is one independent.