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Iowa State Senate District 3

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Iowa State Senate District 3
Incumbent
Assumed office: January 3, 2023

Iowa State Senate District 3 is represented by K. Lynn Evans (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

See also: State legislature candidate requirements by state

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]
SalaryPer 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

See also: How vacancies are filled in state legislatures

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]

DocumentIcon.jpg See sources: Iowa Code § 69.14


District map

Redistricting

2020 redistricting cycle

See also: Redistricting in Iowa after the 2020 census

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]

  1. one member selected by the majority leader of the Iowa State Senate
  2. one member selected by the majority leader of the Iowa House of Representatives
  3. one member selected by the minority leader of the Iowa State Senate
  4. one member selected by the minority leader of the Iowa House of Representatives
  5. 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]

  1. Districts must be "convenient and contiguous."
  2. Districts must "preserve the integrity of political subdivisions like counties and cities."
  3. 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 3
until January 2, 2023

Click a district to compare boundaries.

Iowa State Senate District 3
starting January 3, 2023

Click a district to compare boundaries.

Elections

2022

See also: Iowa State Senate elections, 2022

General election

General election for Iowa State Senate District 3

K. Lynn Evans won election in the general election for Iowa State Senate District 3 on November 8, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of K. Lynn Evans
K. Lynn Evans (R)
 
99.1
 
17,609
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.9
 
152

Total votes: 17,761
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Iowa State Senate District 3

K. Lynn Evans defeated Anthony LaBruna in the Republican primary for Iowa State Senate District 3 on June 7, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of K. Lynn Evans
K. Lynn Evans
 
64.7
 
3,540
Image of Anthony LaBruna
Anthony LaBruna Candidate Connection
 
35.1
 
1,921
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.1
 
7

Total votes: 5,468
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2018

See also: Iowa State Senate elections, 2018

General election

General election for Iowa State Senate District 3

Incumbent Jim Carlin defeated Dave Dawson in the general election for Iowa State Senate District 3 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Jim Carlin
Jim Carlin (R)
 
64.7
 
16,366
Dave Dawson (D)
 
35.1
 
8,884
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.1
 
34

Total votes: 25,284
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Iowa State Senate District 3

Dave Dawson advanced from the Democratic primary for Iowa State Senate District 3 on June 5, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Dave Dawson
 
100.0
 
1,794

Total votes: 1,794
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Iowa State Senate District 3

Incumbent Jim Carlin advanced from the Republican primary for Iowa State Senate District 3 on June 5, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Jim Carlin
Jim Carlin
 
100.0
 
2,890

Total votes: 2,890
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2017

Iowa Senate District 3
See also: Iowa state legislative special elections, 2017

A special election for the position of Iowa State Senate District 3 was held on December 12, 2017. The seat became vacant following the resignation of incumbent Bill Anderson (R) on November 1, 2017.[8] The candidate filing deadline was November 17, 2017.[9]

Jim Carlin (R) defeated Todd Wendt (D) in the general election. Official results had Carlin winning with 54.5 percent of the vote.[10]

Both parties held nominating conventions to choose candidates for the race. Republicans chose state Rep. Jim Carlin from House District 6, and Democrats chose Todd Wendt, a former superintendent of Le Mars schools.[11] At the Republican nominating convention on November 13, Carlin defeated Akron City Councilman Alex Pick for the nomination by a 58-42 percent margin.[12] Wendt was the only candidate who sought the Democratic nomination at a convention held on November 11.[13]

Iowa State Senate District 3, Special Election, 2017
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngJim Carlin 54.5% 3,707
     Democratic Todd Wendt 45.3% 3,083
     Other Scattering 0.2% 11
     Other Overvote 0% 2
     Other Undervote 0% 2
Total Votes 6,805
Source: Iowa Secretary of State

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 Bill Anderson was unopposed in the Republican primary and was unchallenged in the general election.[14][15][16][17]

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. Incumbent David Johnson (R) was unopposed in both the general election and Republican primary.[18][19]

Iowa State Senate, District 3, General Election, 2010
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngDavid Johnson Incumbent 100% 17,770
Total Votes 17,770

Campaign contributions

From 2000 to 2022, candidates for Iowa State Senate District 3 raised a total of $652,442. Candidates who raised money in contributions earned $43,496 on average. All figures come from Follow the Money

Campaign contributions, Iowa State Senate District 3
Year Amount Candidates Average
2022 $41,653 2 $20,827
2018 $93,128 2 $46,564
2014 $90,713 1 $90,713
2012 $17,102 1 $17,102
2010 $39,129 1 $39,129
2008 $54,715 2 $27,358
2006 $26,192 1 $26,192
2004 $28,231 2 $14,116
2002 $5,427 1 $5,427
2000 $256,151 2 $128,076
Total $652,442 15 $43,496


See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. JUSTIA US Law, "Iowa Code, Section 39.8 - Term of office," accessed November 1, 2021
  2. Iowa Secretary of State, "Terms of Offices for Elected Officials," accessed November 1, 2021
  3. Iowa Constitution, "Article 3, Section 5," accessed May 21, 2025
  4. National Conference of State Legislatures, "2024 Legislator Compensation," August 21, 2024
  5. Iowa General Assembly, "Iowa Code - 2021," accessed February 9, 2021 (Statute 69.14)
  6. Des Moines Register, "Iowa lawmakers accept second redistricting plan, setting up next decade of politics," October 28, 2021
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 All About Redistricting, "Iowa," accessed April 21, 2015
  8. Office of Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, "Gov. Reynolds sets date for Iowa State Senate District 3 special election," November 1, 2017
  9. Iowa Secretary of State, "State Senate District 3 - Special Election," accessed November 3, 2017
  10. Iowa Secretary of State, "State Senate District 3 - Special Election," accessed December 12, 2017
  11. Radio Iowa, "Major party nominees set for special election for state senate seat," November 14, 2017
  12. Sioux City Journal, "Carlin selected as Republican to run against Wendt for NW Iowa seat," November 13, 2017
  13. Bleeding Heartland, "Jim Carlin to face Todd Wendt in Iowa Senate district 3," November 14, 2017
  14. Iowa Secretary of State, "Official primary election candidate list," accessed March 18, 2014
  15. Iowa Secretary of State, "Official primary election results," accessed June 30, 2014
  16. Iowa Secretary of State, "Official general election candidate list," accessed July 7, 2014
  17. Iowa Secretary of State, "Official general election results," accessed December 1, 2014
  18. "2010 Iowa Primary Results," October 16, 2013
  19. "Official Iowa State Senate November 2, 2010 Election Results," accessed October 16, 2013


Current members of the Iowa State Senate
Leadership
Senate President:Amy Sinclair
Minority Leader:Janice Weiner
Senators
District 1
Vacant
District 2
District 3
District 4
District 5
District 6
District 7
District 8
District 9
District 10
District 11
District 12
District 13
District 14
District 15
District 16
District 17
District 18
District 19
District 20
Mike Pike (R)
District 21
District 22
District 23
District 24
District 25
District 26
District 27
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
Art Staed (D)
District 41
District 42
District 43
District 44
District 45
District 46
District 47
District 48
District 49
District 50
Republican Party (33)
Democratic Party (16)
Vacancies (1)