Iowa Senate

The Iowa Senate is the upper house of the Iowa General Assembly, Iowa's legislature.  There are 50 people in the Senate, one for each of 50 districts in Iowa.  Each district has about 59,500 people in it.  Each Senate district is composed of two House districts.  The Senate meets at the Iowa State Capitol in Des Moines.

Unlike the Iowa House of Representatives, Senate members - called "senators"—have terms of four years.  Half of the Senate is elected every two years, in even-numbered years.  There are no term limits for the Senate.

Leadership

The President of the Senate is the leader of the Senate and serves as its chair.  The Senate President also sends legislation to committees.  Unlike the Speaker of the Iowa House, the Senate President does not put representatives on committees.   The Lieutenant Governor of Iowa was the President of the Senate until 1991, when a constitutional amendment separated the jobs.  Other Senate leaders, such as the majority and minority leaders, are elected by their party's members.

Composition
300px|right|thumb|Iowa Senate districts for 2012-2022
AffiliationParty (shading indicates majority caucus)TotalDemocraticRepublicanIndependentVacantEnd 2012 26230 491Begin 201326240 500End of 2014 sessionBegin 201526240500End 2016 sessionDavid Johnson (District 1) switched parties from Republican to "No Party" on June 7, 2016. 231Begin 201720291500End 2018500Begin 201918320500Latest voting share

Past notable members
 Steve King, U.S. House Representative, 2003 to present.
 Samuel J. Kirkwood, two time Governor of Iowa (1860–1864), (1876–1877); two time U.S. Senator (1866–1867), (1877–1881); U.S. Secretary of the Interior (1881–1882).
 Tom Vilsack, Governor of Iowa from 1999 to 2007, Democratic candidate for the President of the United States in 2006, and current U.S. Secretary of Agriculture.
 George A. Wilson, Governor of Iowa from 1939 to 1943.
 George G. Wright, U.S. Senator from 1871 to 1877.
 Patty Judge, Iowa Secretary of Agriculture from 1999 to 2007, Lieutenant Governor of Iowa from 2007 to 2011

Related pages
Iowa House of Representatives

References

Other websites
Iowa Legislature official government website

State Senate of Iowa at Project Vote Smart
Iowa Senate Democrats
Iowa Senate Republicans
Current Iowa Senators 

Category:Government of Iowa
Category:State upper houses in the United States