Updated November 22. Election night has ended and the table is now set for the 2025 Iowa Legislative Session, which will begin on January 13, 2025. Republicans now have a super majority in both chambers of the Iowa Legislature, picking up one seat in the Senate (35 Rs, 15 Ds) and gaining three in the House (67 Rs, 33 Ds). As a reminder, only even numbered Senate seats were up this year, since Senate terms are four years and elections are staggered.
Iowa Senate 2025
Two Democratic Senators and one Republican Senator lost their re-elections.
- Sen. Eric Giddens (D-Black Hawk) lost by 386 votes.
- Sen. Nate Boulton (D-Polk) lost by just 44 votes. A recount is likely.
- Sen. Brad Zaun (R-Polk) lost by more than 1,700 votes.
Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott (D-Dallas) won her seat by only 24 votes. Her challenger (Dallas County Supervisor Mark Hanson) has requested a recount, as has Sen. Boulton. These are the only two Senate seats with active recounts.
There will be seven new faces in the Iowa Senate (although one – Art Staed – is moving over from the House):
- Mike Pike (R-Polk) – beat Sen. Nate Boulton
- Matt Blake (D-Polk) – beat Sen. Brad Zaun
- Kara Warme (R-Story) – retiring Sen. Jeff Edler’s seat (note Warme works for a behavioral health/youth services provider, YSS)
- Doug Campbell (R-Cerro Gordo) – Sen. Waylon Brown’s seat (he resigned after the primary) Campbell is a retired pharmacist.
- Tom Townsend (D-Dubuque) – retiring Sen. Pam Jochum’s seat
- Dave Sires (Giddens) – beat Sen. Eric Giddens
- Art Staed (D-Linn) – retiring Sen. Todd Taylor’s seat; Staed is a current Representative
Iowa House 2025
Three Democratic Representatives lost their races:
- Rep. Chuck Isenhart (D-Dubuque) lost by more than 1,000 votes
- Rep. Sue Cahill (D-Marshall) lost by 568 votes.
- Rep. Molly Buck (D-Polk) lost by 138 votes.
Rep. Monica Kurth (D-Scott) won her re-election by only 45 votes; it is currently being recounted. Democrats picked up the open Republican seat (retiring Rep. Luana Stoltenberg) in Scott County, but Republicans flipped the open Democratic seat (retiring Rep. Sharon Steckman) in Cerro Gordo County.
There will be 16 new faces in the Iowa House:
- Travis Sitzman (R-Plymouth)- retiring Rep. Ken Carlson
- Craig Williams (R-Carroll) – retiring Rep. Brian Best
- Samantha Fett (R-Warren) – retiring Rep. Stan Gustafson; Fett is the co-founder of the Iowa chapter of Moms for Liberty
- Sam Wengryn (R-Decatur) – retiring Rep. Joel Fry
- Rob Johnson (D-Polk) – retiring Rep. Ako Abdul-Samad
- Ryan Weldon (R-Polk) – beat Rep. Molly Buck
- Larry McBurney (D-Polk) – retiring Rep. John Forbes
- Chad Behn (R-Boone) – retiring Rep. Phil Thompson
- Brett Barker (R-Story) – retiring Rep. Dave Deyoe; Barker is a pharmacist and former pharmacy association lobbyist
- David Blom (R-Marshall) – beat Rep. Sue Cahill
- Christian Hermanson (R-Cerro Gordo) – retiring Rep. Sharon Steckman; Hermanson is a former police officer
- Jason Gearhart (R-Clayton) – retiring Rep. Anne Osmundson
- Jennifer Smith (R-Dubuque) – beat Rep. Chuck Isenhart; Smith is a college professor (economics/accounting)
- Aime Wichtendahl (D-Linn) – retiring Rep. Art Staed; Wichtendahl will be Iowa’s first known transgender legislator
- Daniel Gosa (D-Scott) – retiring Rep. Luanna Stoltenberg
- Judd Lawler (R-Johnson) – retiring Rep. Brad Sherman
In addition to the three recounts noted above, US Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks’ race is being recounted as well. Her race was close (800 votes) but not as close as in 2020 when she won by only six votes. You can see all the results on the Secretary of State’s website here. We will update this post when recounts have been completed and races are finalized.
