Iowa Supreme Court elections

There are seven justices on the Iowa Supreme Court. For more information about these elections, visit the Iowa judicial elections page.

Judicial selection

See also: Judicial selection in Iowa

The seven justices on the Iowa Supreme Court are selected through the assisted appointment method. When a vacancy occurs on the supreme court, the State Judicial Nominating Commission submits a list of three potential nominees to the governor, who appoints one to serve as a judge. The commission consists of 17 members—nine appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Iowa State Senate and eight (two from each congressional district) elected by lawyers.

Iowa law states that no more than a simple majority of the state nominating commission may be of the same gender.

Newly appointed judges serve for one year after their appointment. They must then compete in a yes-no retention election (occurring during the regularly scheduled general election) if they wish to remain on the court. They then serve eight-year terms.

Qualifications

To serve on this court, a judge must be:

• licensed to practice law in the state;
• a member of the Iowa bar;
• a resident of the state, district, or county to which they are appointed; and
• under the age of 72.

Note: Retirement at 72 is mandatory, though older judges may apply to become a senior judge. Senior judges must work a minimum of 13 weeks a year and are to receive a monthly retirement annuity and an annual stipend. They must retire at age 78 (or 80, if reappointed by the supreme court for additional one-year terms).

Chief justice

The chief justice of the supreme court is elected by peer vote and serves a two-year term.

Vacancies

See also: How vacancies are filled in state supreme courts

If a midterm vacancy occurs on the court, the seat is filled as it normally would be if the vacancy occurred at the end of a judge's term. A judicial nominating commission recommends qualified candidates to the governor and the governor selects a successor from that list. The new appointee serves for at least one year and then stands for retention.

The map below highlights how vacancies are filled in state supreme courts across the country.

2024

See also: Iowa Supreme Court elections, 2024

David May's seat

General election

General election for Iowa Supreme Court

Incumbent David May won election in the general election for Iowa Supreme Court on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		David May (Nonpartisan)	100.0	776,472

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 776,472
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2022

See also: Iowa Supreme Court elections, 2022

Candidates and results

McDermott's seat

Iowa Supreme Court, Matthew McDermott's seat

Matthew McDermott was retained to the Iowa Supreme Court on November 8, 2022 with 67.5% of the vote.

			Retention  Vote	%	Votes
		✔	Yes	67.5	605,391
			No	32.5	291,264
			Total Votes		896,655

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It has been certified. Source

Oxley's seat

Iowa Supreme Court, Dana Oxley's seat

Dana Oxley was retained to the Iowa Supreme Court on November 8, 2022 with 67.0% of the vote.

			Retention  Vote	%	Votes
		✔	Yes	67.0	591,837
			No	33.0	291,799
			Total Votes		883,636

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It has been certified. Source

2020

See also: Iowa Supreme Court elections, 2020

Candidates and results

Christensen's seat

Iowa Supreme Court

Susan Christensen was retained to the Iowa Supreme Court on November 3, 2020 with 73.0% of the vote.

			Retention  Vote	%	Votes
		✔	Yes	73.0	859,886
			No	27.0	317,598
			Total Votes		1,177,484

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It has been certified. Source

Mansfield's seat

Iowa Supreme Court

Edward Mansfield was retained to the Iowa Supreme Court on November 3, 2020 with 69.2% of the vote.

			Retention  Vote	%	Votes
		✔	Yes	69.2	802,356
			No	30.8	356,374
			Total Votes		1,158,730

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It has been certified. Source

McDonald's seat

Iowa Supreme Court

Christopher McDonald was retained to the Iowa Supreme Court on November 3, 2020 with 71.3% of the vote.

			Retention  Vote	%	Votes
		✔	Yes	71.3	825,661
			No	28.7	332,499
			Total Votes		1,158,160

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It has been certified. Source

Waterman's seat

Iowa Supreme Court

Thomas Waterman was retained to the Iowa Supreme Court on November 3, 2020 with 69.9% of the vote.

			Retention  Vote	%	Votes
		✔	Yes	69.9	809,058
			No	30.1	348,665
			Total Votes		1,157,723

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It has been certified. Source

2016

See also: Iowa Supreme Court elections, 2016

Justices who faced retention

■ Mark Cady
■ Daryl Hecht
■ Brent Appel

November 8 general election

Mark Cady was retained in the Iowa Supreme Court election with 65.30% of the vote.

Iowa Supreme Court, Cady's seat, 2016
Name	Yes votes
Mark Cady	65.30%
Source: Iowa Secretary of State Official Results

Daryl Hecht was retained in the Iowa Supreme Court election with 64.08% of the vote.

Iowa Supreme Court, Hecht's seat, 2016
Name	Yes votes
Daryl Hecht	64.08%
Source: Iowa Secretary of State Official Results

Brent Appel was retained in the Iowa Supreme Court election with 64.36% of the vote.

Iowa Supreme Court, Appel's seat, 2016
Name	Yes votes
Brent Appel	64.36%
Source: Iowa Secretary of State Official Results

2012

See also: Iowa judicial elections, 2012

Justices David Wiggins, Edward Mansfield, Bruce B. Zager, and Thomas Waterman were all up for retention in 2012; all were retained. Wiggins had previously been retained; Mansfield, Zager, and Waterman were up for retention for the first time.

Candidate	Incumbent	Retention vote:	Retention Vote %
ZagerBruce B. Zager   A	Yes	829,934	74.1%A
WigginsDavid Wiggins   A	Yes	680,284	54.5%A
MansfieldEdward Mansfield   A	Yes	839,157	74.3%A
WatermanThomas Waterman   A	Yes	846,993	74.8%A

2010

See also: 2010 State Supreme Court elections

Justices David Baker, Marsha Ternus, and Michael Streit were all up for retention in 2010; all were defeated. Percentages in the below tables indicate the percentages against retention.

Iowa Supreme Court 2010 General election results
Candidates		Votes	Percent
David Baker A		n/a	54.14%

Iowa Supreme Court 2010 General election results
Candidates		Votes	Percent
Marsha Ternus A		n/a	54.98%

Iowa Supreme Court 2010 General election results
Candidates		Votes	Percent
Michael Streit A		n/a	54.38%

2008

See also: State Supreme Court elections, 2008

Justices Mark S. Cady, Daryl L. Hecht, and Brent R. Appel were up for retention in 2008; all were retained.

Footnotes

Iowa courts

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Federal courts:

Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Northern District of Iowa, Southern District of Iowa • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Northern District of Iowa, Southern District of Iowa

State courts:

Iowa Supreme Court • Iowa Court of Appeals • Iowa district courts

State resources:

Courts in Iowa • Iowa judicial elections • Judicial selection in Iowa