Iowa state legislative special elections, 2017
In 2017, four special elections were called to fill vacant seats in the Iowa Legislature. All four seats were filled.
Senate special elections called:
- District 3: December 12
House special elections called:
- District 89: January 31
- District 22: June 27
- District 82: August 8
Read more about the special elections below.
How vacancies are filled in Iowa
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.[1]
See sources: Iowa Code § 69.14
About the legislature
The Iowa General Assembly (or IGA) is the state legislature of Iowa. The General Assembly convenes within the Iowa State Capitol in Des Moines. It is a bicameral legislature composed of an upper house, the Iowa State Senate, and a lower house, the Iowa House of Representatives. The boxes below show the partisan composition of both chambers directly before and after the November 2016 elections. For the most up-to-date numbers on partisan composition in this legislature, see here (Senate) and here (House).
| Iowa State Senate | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 7, 2016 | After November 8, 2016 | |
| Democratic Party | 25 | 20 | |
| Republican Party | 23 | 29 | |
| Independent | 1 | 1 | |
| Vacancy | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 50 | 50 | |
| 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 | |
Special elections
January 31, 2017
| ☑ Iowa House of Representatives District 89 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A special election for the position of Iowa House of Representatives District 89 was held on January 31, 2017.[2] The seat became vacant following Jim Lykam's (D) election to the state Senate. Monica Hosch Kurth (D) defeated Mike Gonzales (R) in the special election.[2][3]
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June 27, 2017
| ☑ Iowa House of Representatives District 22 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A special election for the position of Iowa House of Representatives District 22 was held on June 27, 2017. The seat became vacant following the death of incumbent Greg Forristall (R), who died from cancer on May 11, 2017.[4] The Republican and Democratic parties held nominating conventions on May 30, 2017, to select the candidates who appeared on the ballot on June 27.[5] Republican Jon Jacobsen and Democrat Ray Stevens were nominated at their respective party conventions to become the official party candidates for the special election. Jacobsen defeated Gregg Forristall's widow, Carol Forristall, at the convention by a 78-22 percent margin. Stevens did not face opposition at the Democratic convention.[6] On May 31, 2017, Bryan Holder was nominated to represent the Libertarian Party.[7] The filing deadline for candidates who won the nominating conventions was June 2, 2017. The list of candidates who filed included Jacobsen, Holder, and Carol Forristall, who filed to run as an independent candidate.[8] Stevens did not file his papers in time to appear on the ballot but said he would compete as a write-in candidate.[9] Jacobsen won the special election.
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August 8, 2017
| ☑ Iowa House of Representatives District 82 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A special election for the position of Iowa House of Representatives District 82 was held on August 8, 2017.[10] The filing deadline for candidates wishing to run was July 14, 2017.[11] The seat became vacant following incumbent Curt Hanson's (D) death from cancer on June 16, 2017.[10] Four candidates qualified to run in the August 8 election. The candidates who successfully filed were Republican Travis Harris, Democrat Phil Miller, Libertarian Joshua Miller, and Constitution Party candidate Edward T. Hee III.[12] Travis Harris and Phil Miller were nominated at their respective party nominating conventions. Miller was unopposed at the Democratic convention, while Harris faced four challengers at the Republican convention and did not secure the nomination until the fourth round of voting. Jeff Shipley, the 2014 Republican nominee who challenged Hanson, also sought the Republican nomination.[12] The election featured a number of television advertisements to support the Harris and Phil Miller campaigns. Advertisements supporting Harris highlighted his background in agriculture and said that Miller supported allowing transgender students to access bathrooms not corresponding with their biological sex. Advertisements supporting Miller highlighted his career in veterinary medicine and said that Harris failed to pay his property taxes in the past.[12][13][14][15] In 2017, the district had divided political loyalties. As of July 2017, there were 6,627 active registered Republicans, 6,253 Democrats, and 5,731 voters without partisan affiliation.[16] In the 2016 presidential election, it voted for Donald Trump (R) over Hillary Clinton (D) by a 21.3 percent margin. However, in the 2012 presidential election, it voted for Barack Obama (D) over Mitt Romney (R) by a 1.8 percent margin.[12] It intersects with Jefferson County, which is one of the country's 206 Pivot Counties. Pivot Counties voted for Obama in 2008 and 2012 and for Trump in 2016. Hanson was unopposed in the 2016 general election. However, he narrowly defeated Republican Jeff Shipley in 2014, winning by a margin of 51.7 percent to 48.3 percent. In 2012, he defeated Republican James F. Johnson by a margin of 59 percent to 41 percent. He had represented the district since winning a closely-contested special election in 2009.[17] Phil Miller won the special election on August 8.[18]
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December 12, 2017
| ☑ Iowa State Senate District 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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.[19] The candidate filing deadline was November 17, 2017.[20] Jim Carlin (R) defeated Todd Wendt (D) in the general election. Official results had Carlin winning with 54.5 percent of the vote.[21] 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.[22] At the Republican nominating convention on November 13, Carlin defeated Akron City Councilman Alex Pick for the nomination by a 58-42 percent margin.[23] Wendt was the only candidate who sought the Democratic nomination at a convention held on November 11.[24]
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Special elections throughout the country
Between 2011 and 2016, an average of 70 special elections took place each year. A total of 25 states use special elections to fill legislative vacancies. In two other states—Illinois and Indiana—special elections are used in limited circumstances. The rest of the states fill vacancies either through appointments made by the governor of the state or by a commission made up of officials from the former member's party. In 2017, 98 state legislative seats were filled through special elections.
Breakdown of 2017 special elections
In 2017, special elections for state legislative positions were held for a variety of reasons:
- 46 due to appointment, election, or the seeking of election to another position
- 1 due to an ineligible general election candidate
- 15 due to the incumbent accepting another job
- 22 due to a retirement
- 15 due to a death
The partisan breakdown for the special elections was as follows:
- 46 Democratic seats
- 53 Republican seats
Impact of special elections on partisan composition
The table below details how many seats changed parties as the result of a special election. The number on the left reflects how many vacant seats were originally held by each party, while the number on the right shows how many vacant seats each party won in the special elections. It is not typical to see significant net changes in overall state legislative party composition because of special elections. In elections between 2011 and 2016, one party (either Republicans or Democrats) saw an average net gain of three seats across the country, although actual races won and lost by each party varied more. For instance, in 2015, Democrats lost nine seats to Republicans but won six different seats in other races, resulting in a net loss of three seats.
Note: This table reflects information for elections that were held and not total vacant seats.
| Partisan Change from Special Elections | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of Special Election | After Special Election | |
| Democratic Party | 45 | 56 | |
| Republican Party | 53 | 42 | |
| Independent | - | - | |
| Total | 98 | 98 | |
Flipped seats
In total, 17 state legislative seats flipped party control in 2017. Democrats flipped 14 seats and Republicans flipped three seats as a result of special state legislative elections in 2017.
Seats flipped from D to R
- Louisiana House of Representatives District 42 (March 25)
- Mississippi State Senate District 10 (November 28)
- Massachusetts State Senate Worcester & Middlesex District (December 5)
Seats flipped from R to D
- New Hampshire House of Representatives District Carroll 6 (May 23)
- New York State Assembly District 9 (May 23)
- Oklahoma State Senate District 44 (July 11)
- Oklahoma House of Representatives District 75 (July 11)
- New Hampshire House of Representatives District Belknap 9 (September 12)
- Oklahoma House of Representatives District 46 (September 12)
- New Hampshire House of Representatives District Rockingham 4 (September 26)
- Florida State Senate District 40 (September 26)
- New Hampshire House of Representatives District Hillsborough 15 (November 7)
- Georgia House of Representatives District 117 (November 7)
- Georgia House of Representatives District 119 (November 7)
- Washington State Senate District 45 (November 7)
- Oklahoma State Senate District 37 (November 14)
- Georgia State Senate District 6 (December 5)
See also
- State legislative special elections, 2017
- State legislative special elections, 2016
- State legislative special elections, 2015
- Iowa State Legislature
Footnotes
- ↑ Iowa General Assembly, "Iowa Code - 2021," accessed February 9, 2021 (Statute 69.14)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Dispatch Argus, "Candidates set in Iowa House special election," accessed January 19, 2017
- ↑ WQAD.com, "Monica Kurth wins Iowa House race," accessed February 1, 2017
- ↑ KMA Land, "Special election set to fill House District 22 seat," May 15, 2017
- ↑ The Daily NonPareil, "Jacobsen to challenge House seat," May 20, 2017
- ↑ The Daily NonPareil, "Stevens, Jacobsen to face off for Iowa House District 22 seat," June 1, 2017
- ↑ The Daily NonPareil, "Libertarians choose Holder as House District 22 candidate," June 2, 2017
- ↑ Iowa Secretary of State, "State House District 22 - Special Election," accessed May 25, 2017
- ↑ Bleeding Heartland, "Democrats dropped the ball in Iowa House district 22 special election," June 4, 2017
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 U.S. News and World Report, "Special Election Set to Fill Vacant Iowa House Seat," June 21, 2017
- ↑ Iowa Secretary of State, "State House District 82 - Special Election," accessed June 26, 2017
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 Bleeding Heartland, "Major battle shaping up for Iowa House district 82," July 10, 2017
- ↑ Bleeding Heartland, "Air war fully engaged in key Iowa House special election," July 18, 2017
- ↑ Bleeding Heartland, "Early votes and tv ads: the latest news from Iowa House district 82," August 1, 2017
- ↑ Youtube, "Bleeding Heartland," accessed August 4, 2017
- ↑ Iowa Secretary of State, "State of Iowa Voter Registration Totals," accessed August 3, 2017
- ↑ Bleeding Heartland, "Throwback Thursday: Curt Hanson's crucial Iowa House special election victory," August 13, 2015
- ↑ The Des Moines Register, "Democrat Phil Miller wins Iowa House District 82 special election," August 8, 2017
- ↑ Office of Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, "Gov. Reynolds sets date for Iowa State Senate District 3 special election," November 1, 2017
- ↑ Iowa Secretary of State, "State Senate District 3 - Special Election," accessed November 3, 2017
- ↑ Iowa Secretary of State, "State Senate District 3 - Special Election," accessed December 12, 2017
- ↑ Radio Iowa, "Major party nominees set for special election for state senate seat," November 14, 2017
- ↑ Sioux City Journal, "Carlin selected as Republican to run against Wendt for NW Iowa seat," November 13, 2017
- ↑ Bleeding Heartland, "Jim Carlin to face Todd Wendt in Iowa Senate district 3," November 14, 2017
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