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Iowa State Senate District 12
Iowa State Senate District 12 is represented by Amy Sinclair (R).
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 12
until January 2, 2023
Click a district to compare boundaries.
Iowa State Senate District 12
starting January 3, 2023
Click a district to compare boundaries.
Elections
2024
See also: Iowa State Senate elections, 2024
General election
General election for Iowa State Senate District 12
Incumbent Amy Sinclair defeated Nicole Loew in the general election for Iowa State Senate District 12 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Amy Sinclair (R) | 70.4 | 23,075 |
 | Nicole Loew (D)  | 29.5 | 9,682 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 43 | ||
| Total votes: 32,800 | |||
| = 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 12
Nicole Loew advanced from the Democratic primary for Iowa State Senate District 12 on June 4, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Nicole Loew | 99.8 | 1,076 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.2 | 2 | ||
| Total votes: 1,078 | |||
| = 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 12
Incumbent Amy Sinclair advanced from the Republican primary for Iowa State Senate District 12 on June 4, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Amy Sinclair | 98.5 | 5,044 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 1.5 | 79 | ||
| Total votes: 5,123 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
2020
- See also: Iowa State Senate elections, 2020
General election
General election for Iowa State Senate District 12
Incumbent Mark Costello defeated Joey Norris in the general election for Iowa State Senate District 12 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Mark Costello (R) | 69.0 | 20,165 |
| Joey Norris (D) | 30.8 | 8,999 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.2 | 51 | ||
| Total votes: 29,215 | |||
| = 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 12
Joey Norris advanced from the Democratic primary for Iowa State Senate District 12 on June 2, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Joey Norris | 98.9 | 2,649 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 1.1 | 30 | ||
| Total votes: 2,679 | |||
| = 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 12
Incumbent Mark Costello defeated Richard Crouch in the Republican primary for Iowa State Senate District 12 on June 2, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Mark Costello | 59.2 | 5,749 |
 | Richard Crouch | 40.4 | 3,923 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.3 | 31 | ||
| Total votes: 9,703 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
2016
- See also: Iowa State Senate elections, 2016
Elections for the Iowa State Senate were held 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.
Incumbent Mark Costello defeated Don Brantz in the Iowa State Senate District 12 general election.[8][9]
| Iowa State Senate, District 12 General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Mark Costello Incumbent |
78.37% | 20,012 | |
| Libertarian | Don Brantz | 21.63% | 5,524 | |
| Total Votes | 25,536 | |||
| Source: Iowa Secretary of State | ||||
Incumbent Mark Costello ran unopposed in the Iowa State Senate District 12 Republican primary.[10][11]
| Iowa State Senate, District 12 Republican Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Republican | Mark Costello Incumbent (unopposed) | |
2014
Mark Costello (R) defeated Steven L. Adams (D) and Don W. Brantz (L) in the special election on December 30.[12][13][14]
The seat was vacant following Joni Ernst's (R) election to the United States Senate on November 4, 2014.[15]
A special election for the position of Iowa State Senate District 12 was called for December 30. The filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was December 16.[16]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Mark Costello |
74.7% | 3,138 | |
| Democratic | Steven L. Adams | 22.2% | 932 | |
| Libertarian | Don W. Brantz | 3.1% | 132 | |
| Total Votes | 4,202 | |||
2012
- See also: Iowa State Senate elections, 2012
Elections for the office of Iowa State Senate consisted of a primary election on June 5, 2012, and a general election on November 6, 2012. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was March 16, 2012. Incumbent Joni Ernst (R) was unopposed in both the general election and Republican primary.[17][18]
Campaign contributions
From 2000 to 2024, candidates for Iowa State Senate District 12 raised a total of $1,637,132. Candidates who raised money in contributions earned $86,165 on average. All figures come from Follow the Money
| Campaign contributions, Iowa State Senate District 12 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Amount | Candidates | Average |
| 2024 | $745,905 | 2 | $372,952 |
| 2020 | $133,989 | 2 | $66,994 |
| 2016 | $33,314 | 2 | $16,657 |
| 2012 | $90,539 | 2 | $45,270 |
| 2010 | $240,074 | 1 | $240,074 |
| 2008 | $155,612 | 2 | $77,806 |
| 2006 | $93,429 | 1 | $93,429 |
| 2004 | $60,764 | 2 | $30,382 |
| 2002 | $70,181 | 4 | $17,545 |
| 2000 | $13,326 | 1 | $13,326 |
| Total | $1,637,132 | 19 | $86,165 |
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, "General Candidate List, 2016," accessed August 24, 2016
- ↑ Iowa Secretary of State, "2016 General Election Canvass Summary," accessed December 16, 2016
- ↑ Iowa Secretary of State, "Candidate Listing by Office," March 21, 2016
- ↑ Iowa Secretary of State, "2016 Primary Election Canvass Summary," accessed August 22, 2016
- ↑ Omaha.com, "Republican Mark Costello wins special election to replace Joni Ernst in Iowa State Senate," December 31, 2014
- ↑ Iowa Secretary of State, "Official candidate list," accessed December 17, 2014
- ↑ Iowa Secretary of State, "Official election results," accessed January 14, 2015
- ↑ Quad-City Times, "Special election set for Ernst’s Statehouse seat," December 1, 2014
- ↑ Iowa Secretary of State, "State Senate District 12 - 12/30/2014 Special Election," accessed December 3, 2014
- ↑ "Iowa Secretary of State - Official Primary Election Results," accessed October 16, 2013
- ↑ "Iowa Secretary of State - Official General Election Results," accessed October 16, 2013
