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Iowa State Senate District 1
Iowa State Senate District 1 is represented by Catelin Drey (D).
As of the 2020 Census, Iowa state senators represented an average of 63,848 residents. After the 2010 Census, each member represented 61,076 residents.
About the chamber
Members of the Iowa State Senate serve four-year terms and are not subject to term limits. Half of the senate is up for re-election every two years. Iowa state senators assume office on the first day of January which is not a Sunday or legal holiday.[1][2]
Qualifications
The Iowa Constitution states, "Senators shall be chosen for the term of four years, at the same time and place as representatives; they shall be twenty-five years of age, and possess the qualifications of representatives as to residence and citizenship."[3]
Salaries
- See also: Comparison of state legislative salaries
| State legislative salaries, 2024[4] | |
|---|---|
| Salary | Per diem |
| $25,000/year | $178/day for legislators who live outside of Polk County. $133.50/day for legislators who live within Polk County. |
Vacancies
If there is a vacancy in the Iowa General Assembly, the vacant seat must be filled by a special election. The governor of Iowa is required within five days of a vacancy in the General Assembly to call for a special election. If the vacancy happens in session or within 45 days of the session convening, the governor must call for an election as soon as possible with at least an 18-day notice. All other special elections require a 40-day notice as long the election does not happen on the same day as a school election within the district.[5]
See sources: Iowa Code § 69.14
District map
Redistricting
2020 redistricting cycle
On November 4, 2021, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) signed new congressional and state legislative maps into law after the state's Legislative Services Agency had proposed them on October 21, 2021. The Iowa legislature approved the maps on October 28, 2021, by a vote of 48-1 in the state Senate and 93-2 in the state House.[6] The legislature could only vote to approve or reject the maps and could not make any amendments. These maps took effect for Iowa's 2022 congressional and legislative elections.
How does redistricting in Iowa work? The Legislative Services Agency prepares redistricting plans for approval by the Iowa State Legislature. According to All About Redistricting, the Legislative Services Agency (LSA) consists of "civil servants committed to nonpartisanship and otherwise charged with tasks like legal and fiscal analysis of state legislation and state government oversight." The LSA is assisted by a commission, which consists of the following members:[7]
- one member selected by the majority leader of the Iowa State Senate
- one member selected by the majority leader of the Iowa House of Representatives
- one member selected by the minority leader of the Iowa State Senate
- one member selected by the minority leader of the Iowa House of Representatives
- one member selected by the first four members
The members of this commission cannot "hold partisan public office or an office in a political party, and none may be a relative or employee of a federal or state legislator (or the legislature as a whole)."[7]
Working with this commission, the LSA drafts congressional and state legislative district lines. The maps are presented as a single bill to the state legislature, which may approve or reject the bill without altering it (the legislature can provide feedback). If the legislature rejects the plan, the LSA must draft a second proposal. If the legislature rejects the second proposal, the LSA must draft a third, and final, set of maps. If the legislature rejects this plan, it may then approve its own maps. Since the implementation of this process in 1980, the state legislature has never chosen not to approve an LSA proposal. Redistricting plans are also subject to gubernatorial veto. In addition, the legislature may repeal or revise the maps at any time, though it has never done so.[7]
State law establishes the following criteria for both congressional and state legislative districts:[7]
- Districts must be "convenient and contiguous."
- Districts must "preserve the integrity of political subdivisions like counties and cities."
- Districts must "to the extent consistent with other requirements, [be] reasonably compact–defined in terms of regular polygons, comparisons of length and width, and overall boundary perimeter."
In addition, state House districts are required to be contained within state Senate districts "where possible, and where not in conflict with the criteria above." It is explicit in state law that district lines cannot be drawn "to favor a political party, incumbent, or other person or group."[7]
Iowa State Senate District 1
until January 2, 2023
Click a district to compare boundaries.
Iowa State Senate District 1
starting January 3, 2023
Click a district to compare boundaries.
Elections
2025
A special election for Iowa State Senate District 1 was called for August 26, 2025. The candidate filing deadline was August 1, 2025.[8]
The seat became vacant after Rocky De Witt (R) passed away on June 25, 2025.[9]
General election
Special general election for Iowa State Senate District 1
Catelin Drey defeated Christopher Prosch in the special general election for Iowa State Senate District 1 on August 26, 2025.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Catelin Drey (D) | 55.2 | 4,208 |
 | Christopher Prosch (R) | 44.8 | 3,411 | |
| Total votes: 7,619 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2022
- See also: Iowa State Senate elections, 2022
General election
General election for Iowa State Senate District 1
Rocky De Witt defeated incumbent Jackie Smith in the general election for Iowa State Senate District 1 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Rocky De Witt (R) | 55.1 | 7,700 |
 | Jackie Smith (D) | 44.7 | 6,256 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.2 | 30 | ||
| Total votes: 13,986 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Iowa State Senate District 1
Incumbent Jackie Smith advanced from the Democratic primary for Iowa State Senate District 1 on June 7, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jackie Smith | 100.0 | 1,554 |
| Total votes: 1,554 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Iowa State Senate District 1
Rocky De Witt advanced from the Republican primary for Iowa State Senate District 1 on June 7, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Rocky De Witt | 98.9 | 2,214 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 1.1 | 24 | ||
| Total votes: 2,238 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2021
A special election for District 1 of the Iowa State Senate was called for December 14, 2021.[10] Candidates running for special elections in Iowa are selected by their respective political parties in conventions. The candidate filing deadline was November 19, 2021.[11]
The seat became vacant after Zach Whiting (R) resigned on October 30, 2021, to take a job with the Texas Public Policy Foundation.[12]
General election
Special general election for Iowa State Senate District 1
Dave Rowley defeated Mark Lemke in the special general election for Iowa State Senate District 1 on December 14, 2021.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Dave Rowley (R) | 75.6 | 2,690 |
| Mark Lemke (D) | 24.3 | 864 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 5 | ||
| Total votes: 3,559 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Barb Clayton (R)
2018
- See also: Iowa State Senate elections, 2018
General election
General election for Iowa State Senate District 1
Zach Whiting won election in the general election for Iowa State Senate District 1 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Zach Whiting (R) | 98.2 | 21,245 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 1.8 | 384 | ||
| Total votes: 21,629 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Iowa State Senate District 1
Zach Whiting defeated Brad Price and Jesse Wolfe in the Republican primary for Iowa State Senate District 1 on June 5, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Zach Whiting | 62.4 | 3,539 | |
| Brad Price | 22.7 | 1,288 | ||
| Jesse Wolfe | 14.9 | 844 | ||
| Total votes: 5,671 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2014
- See also: Iowa State Senate elections, 2014
Elections for the Iowa State Senate took place in 2014. A primary election took place on June 3, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was March 14, 2014. Incumbent David Johnson was unopposed in the Republican primary and was unchallenged in the general election.[13][14][15][16]
2010
- See also: Iowa State Senate elections, 2010
Elections for the office of Iowa State Senate consisted of a primary election on June 8, 2010, and a general election on November 2, 2010. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was March 19, 2010. Rick Bertrand (R) defeated Rick Mullin (D) in the general election. Neither candidate faced opposition in their primary.[17][18]
| Iowa State Senate, District 1, General Election, 2010 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Rick Bertrand |
50.7% | 7,581 | |
| Democratic | Rick Mullin | 49.3% | 7,359 | |
| Total Votes | 14,940 | |||
Campaign contributions
From 2000 to 2022, candidates for Iowa State Senate District 1 raised a total of $2,110,922. Candidates who raised money in contributions earned $95,951 on average. All figures come from Follow the Money
| Campaign contributions, Iowa State Senate District 1 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Amount | Candidates | Average |
| 2022 | $1,048,248 | 2 | $524,124 |
| 2021 | $7,279 | 2 | $3,640 |
| 2018 | $46,821 | 3 | $15,607 |
| 2014 | $46,750 | 1 | $46,750 |
| 2012 | $102,063 | 2 | $51,032 |
| 2010 | $424,791 | 2 | $212,396 |
| 2008 | $158,031 | 2 | $79,016 |
| 2006 | $24,245 | 2 | $12,123 |
| 2004 | $61,615 | 2 | $30,808 |
| 2002 | $34,382 | 2 | $17,191 |
| 2000 | $156,696 | 2 | $78,348 |
| Total | $2,110,922 | 22 | $95,951 |
See also
- Iowa State Legislature
- Iowa State Senate
- Iowa House of Representatives
- Iowa state legislative districts
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ JUSTIA US Law, "Iowa Code, Section 39.8 - Term of office," accessed November 1, 2021
- ↑ Iowa Secretary of State, "Terms of Offices for Elected Officials," accessed November 1, 2021
- ↑ Iowa Constitution, "Article 3, Section 5," accessed May 21, 2025
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "2024 Legislator Compensation," August 21, 2024
- ↑ Iowa General Assembly, "Iowa Code - 2021," accessed February 9, 2021 (Statute 69.14)
- ↑ Des Moines Register, "Iowa lawmakers accept second redistricting plan, setting up next decade of politics," October 28, 2021
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 All About Redistricting, "Iowa," accessed April 21, 2015
- ↑ Iowa Secretary of State, "State Senate District 1 Special Election," accessed July 1, 2025
- ↑ KCCI, "Iowa state Sen. Rocky De Witt dies after cancer battle," June 25, 2025
- ↑ Office of the Governor of Iowa, "Gov. Reynolds sets date for Iowa Senate District 1 special election ," November 3, 2021
- ↑ Iowa Secretary of State, "State Senate District 1 – Special Election," accessed November 9, 2021
- ↑ KTIV 4, "Spirit Lake, IA State Senator Zach Whiting will resign seat," October 28, 2021
- ↑ Iowa Secretary of State, "Official primary election candidate list," accessed March 18, 2014
- ↑ Iowa Secretary of State, "Official primary election results," accessed June 30, 2014
- ↑ Iowa Secretary of State, "Official general election candidate list," accessed July 7, 2014
- ↑ Iowa Secretary of State, "Official general election results," accessed December 1, 2014
- ↑ "2010 Iowa Primary Results," October 16, 2013
- ↑ "Official Iowa State Senate November 2, 2010 Election Results," accessed October 16, 2013
