Iowa Senate
State of Iowa legislative body
41°35′28″N 93°36′14″W / 41.591°N 93.604°W / 41.591; -93.604
The Iowa Senate is the upper house of the Iowa General Assembly . There are 50 seats in the Iowa Senate, representing 50 single-member districts across the state of Iowa with populations of approximately 60,927 per constituency, as of the 2010 United States census [update] [ 1] Iowa State Capitol in Des Moines .
Unlike the lower house , the Iowa House of Representatives , senators serve four-year terms, with no term limits . Terms are staggered so that half the Senate is up for reelection every two years.
Leadership
The President of the Senate presides over the body, whose powers include referring bills to committees, recognizing members during debate, and making procedural rulings. Unlike the more powerful Speaker of the Iowa House of Representatives , the Senate President cannot appoint committee chairmanships or shuffle committee memberships.[ 2] Lieutenant Governor of Iowa was the presiding officer of the Senate until 1988, when an amendment to the Constitution of Iowa was passed in a referendum (effective from 1991).[ 3] Majority and Minority leaders, are elected by their respective party caucuses to head their parties in the chamber.
The President of the Senate is Republican Amy Sinclair of the 12th District. The Majority Leader is Republican Jack Whitver of the 23rd District. The Minority Leader is Democrat Pam Jochum of the 36th District.[ 4]
Committee leadership
*All chairs and vice chairs are Republicans . All ranking members are Democrats .[ 5]
Current composition
Iowa Senate districts from 2012 to 2022 Current partisan composition
Affiliation
Party (shading indicates majority caucus)
Total
Democratic
Republican
Independent
Vacant
End 2012
26
23
0
49
1
Begin 2013
26
24
0
50
0
End of 2014 session
Begin 2015
26
24
0
50
0
End 2016 session[ 6]
23
1
Begin 2017
20
29
1
50
0
End 2018
50
0
Begin 2019
18
32
0
50
0
Begin 2023
16
34
0
50
0
Latest voting share
Past notable members
Samuel J. Kirkwood , two-time governor of Iowa (1860–64, 1876–77); two time U.S. senator (1866–67), (1877–81); U.S. secretary of the interior (1881–82)George G. Wright , U.S. senator from 1871 to 1877Tom Vilsack , Incumbent United States secretary of agriculture since 2021 and from 2009 to 2017, former governor of Iowa from 1999 to 2007, and briefly Democratic candidate for president of the United States in 2008George A. Wilson , governor of Iowa from 1939 to 1943Patty Judge , former lieutenant governor of Iowa (2007–2011), former Iowa secretary of agriculture (1999–2007)Steve King , former U.S. representative for Iowa's 4th congressional district (2003–2021)Joni Ernst , Incumbent U.S. senator, since 2015Kim Reynolds , Incumbent governor of Iowa since 2017, former lieutenant governor of Iowa (2011–2017)Randy Feenstra , Incumbent U.S. representative for Iowa's 4th congressional district since 2021Mariannette Miller-Meeks , U.S. representative for Iowa's 2nd congressional district since 2021 and Republican nominee for Iowa's 2nd congressional district in 2008, 2010, and 2014SENATE CHAMBER seating chart detail from the 1882 Iowa Redbook
Past composition of the Senate
See also
References
External links
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