Iowa House of Representatives elections, 2016

From Ballotpedia - Reading time: 17 min

Ballotpedia Election Coverage Badge-smaller use.png

Presidential • U.S. Senate • U.S. House • State Senate • State House • State judges • Local judges • Candidate ballot access
Flag of Iowa.png
2016 Iowa
House Elections
Flag of Iowa.png
PrimaryJune 7, 2016
GeneralNovember 8, 2016
2016 Election Results
2014201220102008
2006200420022000
2016 Elections
Choose a chamber below:

All 100 seats in the Iowa House of Representatives were up for election in 2016. Republicans gained two seats in the November 2016 general election.

A Ballotpedia analysis identified the Iowa State House as one of 20 battleground chambers in the November 2016 election. These are the chambers where one party might have, realistically, toppled the other party from its position of majority control.

HIGHLIGHTS
  • Democrats fielded unopposed candidates in 28 districts, while Republicans had 17 unchallenged candidates.
  • In the 13 open seats, eleven seats had general election competition. Nine seats were previously held by Republicans and the other four seats were held by Democrats.
  • If Democrats were to have made any gains, it would have been in the 55 districts that have general election competition between two major party candidates; only 11 seats were competitive or mildly competitive in 2014.[1]
  • This election was one of Ballotpedia's top 10 state-level races in 2016.
    Click here to read the full list.

    Introduction[edit]

    Elections for the Iowa House of Representatives took place in 2016. The primary election took place on June 7, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was March 18, 2016.

    Majority control[edit]

    See also: Partisan composition of state houses

    Heading into the election, the Republican Party held the majority in the Iowa House of Representatives:

    Iowa House of Representatives
    Party As of November 7, 2016 After November 8, 2016
         Democratic Party 43 41
         Republican Party 57 59
    Total 100 100

    Incumbents retiring[edit]

    Thirteen incumbents did not run for re-election in 2016. Those incumbents were:

    Name Party Current Office
    John Kooiker Ends.png Republican House District 4
    Ron Jorgensen Ends.png Republican House District 6
    David Dawson Electiondot.png Democratic House District 14
    Josh Byrnes Ends.png Republican House District 51
    Darrel Branhagen Ends.png Republican House District 55
    Nancy Dunkel Electiondot.png Democratic House District 57
    Brian Moore Ends.png Republican House District 58
    Deborah Berry Electiondot.png Democratic House District 62
    Kraig Paulsen Ends.png Republican House District 67
    Sally Stutsman Electiondot.png Democratic House District 77
    Thomas Sands Ends.png Republican House District 88
    Linda Miller Ends.png Republican House District 94
    Quentin Stanerson Ends.png Republican House District 95

    List of candidates[edit]

    General election[edit]

    2016 Iowa House general election candidates
    District Democratic Party Democrat Republican Party Republican Other
    1 No candidate John Wills (I) Approveda
    2 No candidate Megan Jones (I) Approveda
    3 Mason McCoy: 2,848 Daniel Huseman: 12,096 (I) Approveda
    4 No candidate Skyler Wheeler: 9,815 Approveda Jeff VanDerWerff: 5,838 (Unaffiliated)
    5 Patrick Ritz: 3,445 Charles Holz: 11,774 (I) Approveda
    6 Perla Alarcon-Flory: 5,086 Jim Carlin: 9,655 Approveda
    7 Dave Grussing: 5,608 Tedd Gassman: 9,665 (I) Approveda
    8 Nancy Huisinga: 4,701 Terry Baxter: 10,078 (I) Approveda
    9 Helen Miller: 7,461 (I) Approveda Gary Waechter: 5,562
    10 No candidate Mike Sexton (I) Approveda
    11 Sara Huddleston: 4,475 Gary Worthan: 8,279 (I) Approveda
    12 Ken Myers: 4,369 Brian Best: 10,349 (I) Approveda
    13 Chris Hall: 7,027 (I) Approveda Shaun Broyhill: 4,365
    14 Timothy Kacena: 5,365 Approveda Robert Henderson: 5,126
    15 Charlie McConkey: 5,424 (I) Approveda Bill Riley: 5,056
    16 Steve Gorman: 5,120 Mary Ann Hanusa: 6,847 (I) Approveda
    17 Jan Creasman: 3,866 Matt Windschitl: 10,712 (I) Approveda
    18 No candidate Steven Holt (I) Approveda
    19 Bryce Smith: 6,597 Ralph Watts: 10,393 (I) Approveda
    20 Scott Heldt: 4,006 Clel Baudler: 7,204 (I) Approveda Bob Boyle: 1,498 (L)
    Ryan Ketelsen: 985 (Unaffiliated)
    21 No candidate Tom Moore (I) Approveda
    22 No candidate Greg Forristall (I) Approveda
    23 Craig Florian: 4,061 David Sieck: 10,068 (I) Approveda
    24 No candidate Cecil Dolecheck (I) Approveda
    25 Justin Knight: 5,850 Stan Gustafson: 11,280 (I) Approveda
    26 Scott Ourth: 9,122 (I) Approveda Rebel Snodgrass: 7,769
    27 Rich Higdon: 3,885 Joel Fry: 9,478 (I) Approveda
    28 Martin Duffy: 5,230 Greg Heartsill: 9,593 (I) Approveda
    29 Wesley Breckenridge: 7,903 Approveda Patrick Payton: 5,831 Dan Kelley: 1,758 (Stand Up To Bullies)
    30 Joe Riding: 6,999 Zach Nunn: 11,442 (I) Approveda
    31 Rick Olson: 7,160 (I) Approveda Matt Christoffersen: 5,027 Joe Gleason: 794 (L)
    32 Ruth Ann Gaines: 7,142 (I) Approveda Bill Charlier: 2,920 Seth Bartmess: 466 (L)
    33 Brian Meyer: 7,785 (I) Approveda No candidate Jeremy Tomlinson: 2,373 (L)
    34 Bruce Hunter (I) Approveda No candidate
    35 Ako Abdul-Samad: 6,458 (I) Approveda No candidate Jocelyn Fry: 2,057 (L)
    36 Marti Anderson: 10,348 (I) Approveda Scott Miller: 5,853
    37 Andrea Phillips: 8,954 John Landon: 12,059 (I) Approveda
    38 Heather Matson: 7,264 Kevin Koester: 8,793 (I) Approveda Jeff Meyers: 610 (L)
    Brett Nelson: 183 (Unaffiliated)
    39 Maridith Morris: 8,549 Jake Highfill: 11,492 (I) Approveda
    40 John Forbes: 9,660 (I) Approveda Scott Reed: 7,332
    41 Jo Oldson (I) Approveda No candidate
    42 Claire Celsi: 7,948 Peter Cownie: 9,065 (I) Approveda
    43 Jennifer Konfrst: 8,273 Chris Hagenow: 8,809 (I) Approveda
    44 No candidate Rob Taylor (I) Approveda
    45 Beth Wessel-Kroeschell: 9,036 (I) Approveda Sondra Childs-Smith: 5,730 Eric Cooper: 1,277 (L)
    46 Lisa Heddens (I) Approveda No candidate
    47 Deb Duncan: 5,983 Chip Baltimore: 9,165 (I) Approveda
    48 Sherrie Taha: 5,397 Robert Bacon: 9,829 (I) Approveda
    49 Mickie Franklin: 4,382 Dave Deyoe: 9,315 (I) Approveda John Evans: 1,126 (L)
    Mike Knox: 741 (Unaffiliated)
    50 Doris Fritz: 3,901 Pat Grassley: 11,493 (I) Approveda
    51 Tim Hejhal: 5,647 Jane Bloomingdale: 9,408 Approveda
    52 Todd Prichard: 8,160 (I) Approveda Stacie Stokes: 6,847
    53 Sharon Steckman: 8,977 (I) Approveda Barbara Hovland: 5,869
    54 No candidate Linda Upmeyer (I) Approveda
    55 Pat Ritter: 6,697 Michael Bergan: 8,943 Approveda
    56 Patti Ruff: 6,605 (I) Kristi Hager: 7,910 Approveda
    57 Tom Stecher: 8,249 Shannon Lundgren: 9,023 Approveda
    58 Jessica Kean: 6,296 Andy McKean: 9,078 Approveda
    59 Bob Kressig: 8,567 (I) Approveda Drew Speer: 4,891 Nick Taiber: 2,319 (Ind.)
    60 Gary Kroeger: 7,267 Walt Rogers: 10,115 (I) Approveda
    61 Timi Brown-Powers (I) Approveda No candidate
    62 Ras Smith: 7,113 Approveda Todd Obadal: 3,354 John Patterson: 797 (Unaffiliated)
    63 Teresa Meyer: 6,644 Sandy Salmon: 9,927 (I) Approveda
    64 Bruce Bearinger: 8,288 (I) Approveda Zach Schulz: 5,912
    65 Liz Bennett: 9,724 (I) Approveda Harry Foster: 4,881
    66 Art Staed (I) Approveda No candidate
    67 Mark Seidl: 6,749 Ashley Hinson: 11,248 Approveda
    68 Molly Donahue: 7,921 Ken Rizer: 9,317 (I) Approveda
    69 Kirsten Running-Marquardt (I) Approveda No candidate
    70 Todd Taylor: 8,877 (I) Approveda Steven Van Fleet: 5,698 Dave Cork: 1,050 (L)
    71 Mark Smith (I) Approveda No candidate
    72 Nathan Wrage: 5,841 Dean Fisher: 9,397 (I) Approveda
    73 No candidate Bobby Kaufmann (I) Approveda
    74 Dave Jacoby (I) Approveda No candidate
    75 Paula Denison: 4,924 Dawn Pettengill: 10,448 (I) Approveda
    76 Jacob Tornholm: 5,907 David Maxwell: 9,754 (I) Approveda
    77 Amy Nielsen: 10,217 Approveda Royce Phillips: 7,461
    78 No candidate Jarad Klein: 10,138 (I) Approveda Joshua Miller: 2,790 (L)
    79 No candidate Guy Vander Linden (I) Approveda
    80 Levi Grenko: 5,009 Larry Sheets: 8,557 (I) Approveda Garrett Byrd: 497 (L)
    81 Mary Gaskill (I) Approveda No candidate
    82 Curt Hanson (I) Approveda No candidate
    83 Jerry Kearns (I) Approveda No candidate
    84 Carrie Duncan: 4,225 David Heaton: 9,636 (I) Approveda
    85 Vicki Lensing (I) Approveda No candidate
    86 Mary Mascher (I) Approveda No candidate
    87 Dennis Cohoon (I) Approveda No candidate
    88 Ryan Drew: 5,469 David Kerr: 8,619 Approveda
    89 Jim Lykam (I) Approveda No candidate
    90 Cindy Winckler (I) Approveda No candidate
    91 Phil Wiese: 6,229 Gary Carlson: 7,293 (I) Approveda
    92 Ken Krumwiede: 6,782 Ross Paustian: 8,676 (I) Approveda
    93 Phyllis Thede: 8,470 (I) Approveda Kurt Whalen: 7,865
    94 No candidate Gary Mohr Approveda
    95 Richard Whitehead: 7,085 Louis Zumbach: 9,868 Approveda
    96 Matt Hanlon: 4,950 Lee Hein: 9,276 (I) Approveda
    97 Jeff Wolf: 6,202 Norlin Mommsen: 9,345 (I) Approveda David Melchert Jr.: 1,247 (L)
    98 Mary Wolfe: 8,547 (I) Approveda Jeannine Eldrenkamp: 4,306
    99 Abby Finkenauer (I) Approveda No candidate
    100 Charles Isenhart (I) Approveda No candidate
    Notes:
    • An (I) denotes an incumbent.
    • Candidate lists can change frequently throughout an election season. Ballotpedia staff update this list monthly. To suggest changes, click here to email our State Legislature Project.

    Primary election[edit]

    Races we watched[edit]

    Ballotpedia identified six notable Iowa state primary races in 2016, five of which were state House contests.

    Click here to read more about Ballotpedia's coverage of notable Iowa races »

    Primary contests[edit]

    State House District 6 (R)

    Two Republicans competed for the open seat left by the Republican incumbent.
    Jacob Bossman       Jim Carlin

    State House District 55

    Two Democrats and two Republicans competed for an open seat left by the Democratic incumbent.
    (D) Steve McCargar       Pat Ritter
    (R) Alex Popenhagen       Michael Bergan

    State House District 63 (D)

    Three Democrats competed to challenge the GOP incumbent in November.
    Eric Stromberg       Matthew Glen Evans       Teresa Meyer

    State House District 68 (D)

    Two Democrats competed to challenge the GOP incumbent in November.
    Sam Gray       Molly Donahue

    State House District 77

    Two Democrats and two Republicans competed for the open seat left by the Democratic incumbent.
    (D) Amy Nielsen       Abbie Weipert
    (R) Paula Dreeszen       Royce Phillips
    2016 Iowa House primary candidates
    District Democratic Party Democrat Republican Party Republican Other
    1 No candidate John Wills (I) Approveda
    2 No candidate Megan Jones (I) Approveda
    3 No candidate Daniel Huseman (I) Approveda
    4 No candidate Skyler Wheeler: 2,120 Approveda
    Jeffrey VanDerWerff: 1,219
    Kevin Van Otterloo: 1,427
    5 No candidate Charles Holz (I) Approveda
    6 Perla Alarcon-Flory Approveda Jacob Bossman: 1,102
    Jim Carlin: 1,159 Approveda
    7 Dave Grussing Approveda Tedd Gassman (I) Approveda
    8 No candidate Terry Baxter (I) Approveda
    9 Helen Miller (I) Approveda Gary Waechter Approveda
    10 No candidate Mike Sexton (I) Approveda
    11 Sara Huddleston Approveda Gary Worthan (I) Approveda
    12 Ken Myers Approveda Brian Best (I) Approveda
    13 Chris Hall (I) Approveda Shaun Broyhill Approveda
    14 Timothy Kacena Approveda Robert Henderson Approveda
    15 Charlie McConkey (I) Approveda Bill Riley Approveda
    16 Steve Gorman Approveda Mary Ann Hanusa (I) Approveda
    17 Jan Creasman Approveda Matt Windschitl (I) Approveda
    18 No candidate Steven Holt (I) Approveda
    19 Bryce Smith Approveda Ralph Watts (I) Approveda
    20 Scott Heldt Approveda Clel Baudler (I) Approveda
    21 No candidate Tom Moore (I) Approveda
    22 No candidate Greg Forristall (I): 962 Approveda
    Bryan Holder: 238
    23 No candidate David Sieck (I) Approveda
    24 No candidate Cecil Dolecheck (I) Approveda
    25 Justin Knight Approveda Stan Gustafson (I): 856 Approveda
    Tim Mohs: 415
    26 Scott Ourth (I) Approveda Rebel Snodgrass Approveda
    27 Rich Higdon Approveda Joel Fry (I) Approveda
    28 Lois DeWaard: 219
    Martin Duffy: 365 Approveda
    Greg Heartsill (I) Approveda
    29 Wesley Breckenridge: 1,594 Approveda
    Dan Kelley (I): 854
    Patrick Payton Approveda
    30 Joe Riding Approveda Zach Nunn (I) Approveda
    31 Rick Olson (I) Approveda Matt Christoffersen Approveda
    32 Ruth Ann Gaines (I) Approveda No candidate
    33 Brian Meyer (I): 687 Approveda
    Jim Addy: 302
    No candidate
    34 Bruce Hunter (I) Approveda No candidate
    35 Ako Abdul-Samad (I) Approveda No candidate
    36 Marti Anderson (I) Approveda Derek Tidball: 198
    Scott Miller: 222 Approveda
    37 Andrea Phillips Approveda John Landon (I) Approveda
    38 Heather Matson Approveda Kevin Koester (I): 476 Approveda
    Brett Nelson: 72
    39 Maridith Morris Approveda Jake Highfill (I): 576 Approveda
    Christian DenOuden: 410
    40 John Forbes (I) Approveda Eric South: 103
    Scott Reed: 314 Approveda
    41 Jo Oldson (I): 2,765 Approveda
    Eddie Mauro: 1,350
    No candidate
    42 Claire Celsi Approveda Peter Cownie (I) Approveda
    43 Jennifer Konfrst Approveda Chris Hagenow (I) Approveda
    44 No candidate Rob Taylor (I) Approveda
    45 Beth Wessel-Kroeschell (I) Approveda Sondra Childs-Smith Approveda
    46 Lisa Heddens (I) Approveda No candidate
    47 George Ensley: 229
    Deb Duncan: 457 Approveda
    Chip Baltimore (I) Approveda
    48 Sherrie Taha Approveda Robert Bacon (I) Approveda
    49 No candidate Dave Deyoe (I) Approveda
    50 Doris Fritz Approveda Pat Grassley (I) Approveda
    51 Tim Hejhal Approveda Jane Bloomingdale Approveda
    52 Todd Prichard (I) Approveda Stacie Stokes Approveda
    53 Sharon Steckman (I) Approveda Barbara Hovland Approveda
    54 No candidate Linda Upmeyer (I) Approveda
    55 Steve McCargar: 815
    Pat Ritter: 881 Approveda
    Alex Popenhagen: 473
    Michael Bergan: 714 Approveda
    56 Patti Ruff (I) Approveda Kristi Hager: 1,223 Approveda
    Lowell Engle: 497
    57 Tom Stecher Approveda Shannon Lundgren Approveda
    58 Peter Hird Approveda Joshua Sundstrom: 110
    Allen Ernst: 287
    Andy McKean: 674 Approveda
    59 Bob Kressig (I) Approveda Drew Speer Approveda
    60 Gary Kroeger Approveda Walt Rogers (I) Approveda
    61 Timi Brown-Powers (I) Approveda No candidate
    62 Ras Smith Approveda No candidate
    63 Eric Stromberg: 506
    Matthew Glen Evans: 29
    Teresa Meyer: 539 Approveda
    Sandy Salmon (I) Approveda
    64 Bruce Bearinger (I) Approveda No candidate
    65 Liz Bennett (I) Approveda Harry Foster Approveda
    66 Art Staed (I) Approveda No candidate
    67 Mark Seidl Approveda Ashley Hinson Approveda
    68 Sam Gray: 697
    Molly Donahue: 908 Approveda
    Ken Rizer (I) Approveda
    69 Kirsten Running-Marquardt (I) Approveda No candidate
    70 Todd Taylor (I) Approveda Steven Van Fleet Approveda
    71 Mark Smith (I) Approveda No candidate
    72 John Anderson: 184
    Nathan Wrage: 682 Approveda
    Dean Fisher (I) Approveda
    73 No candidate Bobby Kaufmann (I) Approveda
    74 Dave Jacoby (I) Approveda No candidate
    75 Dennis Mathaus: 202
    Paula Denison: 442 Approveda
    Dawn Pettengill (I) Approveda
    76 Jacob Tornholm Approveda David Maxwell (I) Approveda
    77 Amy Nielsen: 667 Approveda
    Abbie Weipert: 384
    Royce Phillips: 198 Approveda
    Paula Dreeszen: 76
    78 No candidate Marcus Fedler: 957
    Jarad Klein (I): 1,942 Approveda
    79 No candidate Guy Vander Linden (I) Approveda
    80 Levi Grenko Approveda Larry Sheets (I) Approveda
    81 Jeremy Weller: 678
    Mary Gaskill (I): 982 Approveda
    No candidate
    82 Curt Hanson (I) Approveda No candidate
    83 Jerry Kearns (I) Approveda No candidate
    84 Carrie Duncan Approveda David Heaton (I) Approveda
    85 Vicki Lensing (I) Approveda No candidate
    86 Mary Mascher (I) Approveda No candidate
    87 Dennis Cohoon (I) Approveda No candidate
    88 No candidate Thomas Sands (I) Approveda
    89 Jim Lykam (I) Approveda No candidate
    90 Cindy Winckler (I) Approveda No candidate
    91 Phil Wiese: 561 Approveda
    Jessica Brackett: 315
    Gary Carlson (I) Approveda
    92 Ken Krumwiede Approveda Ross Paustian (I) Approveda
    93 Phyllis Thede (I) Approveda Kurt Whalen Approveda
    94 No candidate Gary Mohr Approveda
    95 Richard Whitehead Approveda Louis Zumbach Approveda
    96 Matt Hanlon Approveda Lee Hein (I) Approveda
    97 No candidate Norlin Mommsen (I) Approveda
    98 Mary Wolfe (I) Approveda Jeannine Eldrenkamp Approveda
    99 Abby Finkenauer (I) Approveda No candidate
    100 Charles Isenhart (I) Approveda No candidate
    Notes:
    • An (I) denotes an incumbent.
    • Candidate lists can change frequently throughout an election season. Ballotpedia staff update this list monthly. To suggest changes, click here to email our State Legislature Project.

    Margins of victory[edit]

    The average margin of victory for contested races in the Iowa House of Representatives in 2016 was lower than the national average. Out of 100 races in the Iowa House of Representatives in 2016, 70 were contested, meaning at least two candidates competed for that seat in the general election. The average margin of victory across these races was 24.5 percent. Across contested single-winner state legislative elections in 2016, the average margin of victory was 29.01 percent.[2]

    Republican candidates in the Iowa House of Representatives saw larger margins of victory than Democratic candidates in 2016. Republicans won 59 races. In the 47 races where a winning Republican faced a challenger, the average margin of victory was 25.9 percent. Democrats won 41 races in 2016. In the 23 races where a winning Democrat faced a challenger, the average margin of victory was 21.6 percent.
    More Republican candidates than Democratic candidates saw margins of victory that were less than 10 percentage points. 12 of the 70 contested races in 2016—17.1 percent—saw margins of victory that were 10 percent or less. Five races saw margins of victory that were 5 percent or less. Republicans won seven races with margins of victory of 10 percent or less.
    The average margin of victory for incumbents in the Iowa House of Representatives who ran for re-election and won in 2016 was lower than the national average. 85 incumbents who ran for re-election in 2016 won. The average margin of victory for the 56 winning Iowa House of Representatives incumbents who faced a challenger in 2016 was 26 percent. The average margin of victory for all winning incumbents in contested single-winner state legislative elections in 2016 was 31.8 percent.
    Republican incumbents in the Iowa House of Representatives saw larger margins of victory than Democratic incumbents. 48 Republican incumbents won re-election. In the 37 races where a winning Republican incumbent faced a challenger, the average margin of victory was 27.7 percent. 37 Democratic incumbents won re-election. In the 19 races where a winning Democratic incumbent faced a challenger, the average margin of victory was 22.8 percent.
    Iowa House of Representatives: 2016 Margin of Victory Analysis
    Party Elections won Average margin of victory[3] Races with incumbent victories Average margin of victory for incumbents[3] Unopposed incumbents Unopposed races Percent unopposed
    Democratic 41 21.6 percent 37 22.8 percent 18 18 43.9 percent
    Republican 59 25.9 percent 48 27.7 percent 11 12 20.3 percent
    Total 100 24.5 percent 85 26.0 percent 29 30 30.0 percent

    Click [show] on the tables below to see the margin of victory in Iowa House of Representatives districts in 2016.

    Important dates and deadlines[edit]

    See also: Iowa elections, 2016

    The calendar below lists important dates for political candidates in Iowa in 2016.

    Dates and requirements for candidates in 2016
    Deadline Event type Event description
    February 29, 2016 Ballot access Primary candidate filing period opens
    March 18, 2016 Ballot access Primary candidate filing period ends
    May 19, 2016 Campaign finance Report due covering January 1 through May 14
    June 3, 2016 Campaign finance Special supplementary report due for certain contributions
    June 7, 2016 Election date Primary election
    July 19, 2016 Campaign finance Report due covering May 15 through July 14
    August 1, 2016 Ballot access General election candidate filing period opens
    August 19, 2016 Ballot access General election candidate filing period ends
    October 19, 2016 Campaign finance Report due covering July 15 through October 14
    November 4, 2016 Campaign finance Special supplementary report due for certain contributions
    November 8, 2016 Election date General election
    January 19, 2017 Campaign finance Report due covering October 15 through December 31
    Sources: Iowa Secretary of State, "Three Year Election Calendar," accessed June 5, 2015
    Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board, "Reporting Dates," accessed June 5, 2015

    Competitiveness[edit]

    Candidates unopposed by a major party[edit]

    In 45 of the 100 districts up for election in 2016, there was only one major party candidate running for election. A total of 28 Democrats and 17 Republicans were guaranteed election barring unforeseen circumstances.

    Two major party candidates faced off in the general election in 55 of the 100 districts up for election.

    Primary challenges[edit]

    Nine incumbents faced primary competition on June 7. Twelve incumbents did not seek re-election in 2016 and another 79 incumbents advanced past the primary without opposition.

    Retired incumbents[edit]

    Thirteen incumbent representatives did not run for re-election, while 87 (87.0 percent) ran for re-election. A list of those incumbents, four Democrats and nine Republicans, can be found above.

    Results from 2014[edit]

    See also: 2014 state legislative elections analyzed using a Competitiveness Index

    There were 6,057 seats in 87 chambers with elections in 2014. All three aspects of Ballotpedia's Competitiveness Index—the number of open seats, incumbents facing primary opposition, and general elections between partisan candidates—showed poor results compared to the prior election cycle. States with elections in 2014 held fewer general elections between partisan candidates. Additionally, fewer incumbents faced primary opposition and more incumbents ran for re-election than in recent years.

    Since 2010, when the Competitiveness Index was established, there had not been an even-year election cycle to do statistically worse in any of the three categories. See the following chart for a breakdown of those scores between each year.

    Overall Competitiveness
    2010 2012 2014
    Competitiveness Index 36.2 35.8 31.4
     % Open Seats 18.6% 21.2% 17.0%
     % Incumbent with primary challenge 22.7% 24.6% 20.1%
     % Candidates with major party opposition 67.3% 61.7% 57.0%

    The following table details Iowa's rates for open seats, incumbents that faced primary challenges, and major party competition in the 2014 general election.

    Iowa General Assembly 2014 Competitiveness
     % Open Seats  % Incumbent with primary challenge  % Candidates with major party opposition Competitiveness Index Overall rank
    12.0% 7.3% 50.4% 23.2 37

    Historical context[edit]

    See also: Competitiveness in State Legislative Elections: 1972-2014

    Uncontested elections: In 2014, 32.8 percent of Americans lived in states with an uncontested state senate election. Similarly, 40.4 percent of Americans lived in states with uncontested house elections. Primary elections were uncontested even more frequently, with 61 percent of people living in states with no contested primaries. Uncontested elections often occur in locations that are so politically one-sided that the result of an election would be a foregone conclusion regardless of whether it was contested or not.

    F5 Pop. % with uncontested state legislative races.png

    Open seats: In most cases, an incumbent will run for re-election, which decreases the number of open seats available. In 2014, 83 percent of the 6,057 seats up for election saw the incumbent running for re-election. The states that impose term limits on their legislatures typically see a higher percentage of open seats in a given year because a portion of incumbents in each election are forced to leave office. Overall, the number of open seats decreased from 2012 to 2014, dropping from 21.2 percent in 2012 to 17.0 percent in 2014.

    Incumbent win rates: Ballotpedia's competitiveness analysis of elections between 1972 and 2014 documented the high propensity for incumbents to win re-election in state legislative elections. In fact, since 1972, the win rate for incumbents had not dropped below 90 percent—with the exception of 1974, when 88 percent of incumbents were re-elected to their seats. Perhaps most importantly, the win rate for incumbents generally increased over time. In 2014, 96.5 percent of incumbents were able to retain their seats. Common convention holds that incumbents are able to leverage their office to maintain their seat. However, the high incumbent win rate may actually be a result of incumbents being more likely to hold seats in districts that are considered safe for their party.

    Marginal primaries: Often, competitiveness is measured by examining the rate of elections that have been won by amounts that are considered marginal (5 percent or less). During the 2014 election, 90.1 percent of primary and general election races were won by margins higher than 5 percent. Interestingly, it is usually the case that only one of the two races—primary or general—will be competitive at a time. This means that if a district's general election is competitive, typically one or more of the district's primaries were won by more than 5 percent. The reverse is also true: If a district sees a competitive primary, it is unlikely that the general election for that district will be won by less than 5 percent. Primaries often see very low voter turnout in comparison to general elections. In 2014, there were only 27 million voters for state legislative primaries, but approximately 107 million voters for the state legislative general elections.

    Campaign contributions[edit]

    The following chart shows how many candidates ran for State House in Iowa in past years and the cumulative amount of campaign contributions in State House races, including contributions in both primary and general election contests.[4]

    Iowa House of Representatives Donations
    Year Candidates Amount
    2014 181 $12,624,559
    2012 216 $13,979,655
    2010 201 $13,403,613
    2008 211 $15,457,284
    2006 176 $10,920,476

    State comparison[edit]

    The map below shows the average contributions to 2014 candidates for state houses. The average contributions raised by state house candidates in 2014 was $59,983. Iowa, at $69,749 per candidate, is ranked 12 of 45 for state house chambers with the highest average contributions. Hover your mouse over a state to see the average campaign contributions for that state’s house candidates in 2014.[4][5]

    Qualifications[edit]

    The Iowa Constitution states: "No person shall be a member of the house of representatives who shall not have attained the age of twenty-one years, be a citizen of the United States, and shall have been an inhabitant of this state one year next preceding his election, and at the time of his election shall have had an actual residence of sixty days in the county, or district he may have been chosen to represent."[6]

    See also[edit]

    External links[edit]

    BP-Initials-UPDATED.png
    Suggest a link

    Footnotes[edit]

    1. Under Ballotpedia's competitiveness criteria, districts that have a margin of victory of less than 5 percent are considered highly competitive. Districts that have a margin of victory from 5 to 10 percent are considered mildly competitive.
    2. This calculation excludes chambers that had elections where two or more members were elected in a race. These chambers are the Arizona House, the New Hampshire House, the North Dakota House, the South Dakota House, the Vermont House, the Vermont Senate, and the West Virginia House.
    3. 3.0 3.1 Excludes unopposed elections
    4. 4.0 4.1 followthemoney.org, "Contributions to candidates and committees in elections in Iowa," accessed July 28, 2015
    5. This map relies on data collected in July 2015.
    6. Iowa Constitution


    Current members of the Iowa House of Representatives
    Leadership
    Speaker of the House:Pat Grassley
    Minority Leader:Jennifer Konfrst
    Representatives
    District 1
    District 2
    District 3
    District 4
    District 5
    District 6
    District 7
    District 8
    District 9
    Ann Meyer (R)
    District 10
    District 11
    District 12
    District 13
    District 14
    District 15
    District 16
    District 17
    District 18
    District 19
    District 20
    District 21
    Tom Moore (R)
    District 22
    District 23
    District 24
    District 25
    District 26
    District 27
    Joel Fry (R)
    District 28
    District 29
    District 30
    District 31
    District 32
    District 33
    District 34
    District 35
    District 36
    District 37
    District 38
    District 39
    District 40
    District 41
    Jo Oldson (D)
    District 42
    District 43
    District 44
    District 45
    District 46
    District 47
    District 48
    District 49
    District 50
    District 51
    District 52
    District 53
    District 54
    District 55
    District 56
    District 57
    District 58
    District 59
    District 60
    District 61
    District 62
    Ras Smith (D)
    District 63
    District 64
    District 65
    District 66
    Art Staed (D)
    District 67
    District 68
    District 69
    District 70
    District 71
    District 72
    District 73
    District 74
    District 75
    District 76
    District 77
    District 78
    District 79
    District 80
    District 81
    District 82
    District 83
    District 84
    District 85
    District 86
    District 87
    District 88
    District 89
    District 90
    District 91
    District 92
    District 93
    District 94
    Gary Mohr (R)
    District 95
    District 96
    Lee Hein (R)
    District 97
    District 98
    District 99
    District 100
    Republican Party (60)
    Democratic Party (40)



    Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 | Original source: https://ballotpedia.org/Iowa_House_of_Representatives_elections,_2016
    Status: cached on November 18 2021 15:42:37
    Encyclosphere.org EncycloReader is supported by the EncyclosphereKSF