2008 Iowa Senate election

The 2008 Iowa Senate election were held on November 4, 2008. The Senate seats for the twenty-five even-numbered districts were up for election. Senate terms are staggered such that half the membership is elected every two years, with each Senators serving a four-year term. Prior to the election, the Democrats were in the majority - marking the first time in 42 years that the Democrats had controlled both branches of the Iowa General Assembly and the Governor's Office.^[1] They expanded this majority by two seats in the 2008 elections.

Iowa State Senate elections, 2008

← 2006 November 4, 2008 2010 →
25 out of 50 seats in the Iowa State Senate 26 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader Jack Kibbie Ron Wieck Party Democratic Republican Leader's seat 4th 27th Last election 30 20 Seats before 30 20 Seats after 32 18 Seat change 2 2
Results of the elections:      Democratic gain      Republican gain      Democratic hold      Republican hold      No election
President of the Senate before election Jack Kibbie Democratic Elected President of the Senate Jack Kibbie Democratic

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
Stateline[2]	Likely D	October 15, 2008

Overview

Iowa Senate: pre-election		Seats
	Democratic-held	30
	Republican-held	20
Total		50

2006 Elections
	Democratic held and uncontested	19
	Contested	20
	Republican held and uncontested	11
Total		50

Iowa Senate: post-election		Seats
	Democratic-held	32
	Republican-held	18
Total		50

^[3][4] from the Iowa Secretary of State.

General election

District	Party		Incumbent	Status	Party		Candidate	Votes	%
2		Republican	Dave Mulder[5]			Republican	Randy Feenstra	24,595
4		Democratic	John P. Kibbie	Won re-election.		Democratic	John P. Kibbie	18,059
						Grassroots For Life	Ken Vaske	7,258
6		Republican	E. Thurman Gaskill			Republican	Merlin Bartz	14,299
						Democratic	Doug Thompson	12,496
						Independent	Kenneth J. Abrams	2,241
8		Republican	Mark Zieman	Lost re-election.		Democratic	Mary Jo Wilhelm	14,862
						Republican	Mark Zieman	13,836
10		Democratic	Jeff Danielson	Won Re-election.		Democratic	Jeff Danielson	16,103
						Republican	Walt Rogers	16,081
12		Democratic	Brian Schoenjahn	Won re-election.		Democratic	Brian Schoenjahn	17,402
						Republican	Rebecca Wearmouth	9,641
14		Democratic	Michael Connolly			Democratic	Pam Jochum	19,443
						Republican	John Hulsizer, Jr.	8,428
16		Democratic	Tom Hancock	Won re-election.		Democratic	Tom Hancock	17,129
						Republican	Dave McLaughlin	13,660
18		Republican	Mary Lundby			Democratic	Swati A. Dandekar	20,667
						Republican	Joe Childers	17,367
20		Republican	John Putney			Republican	Tim L. Kapucian	15,527
						Democratic	Randy L. Braden	13,916
22		Republican	Larry McKibben			Democratic	Steve Sodders	14,837
						Republican	Jarret P. Heil	11,846
24		Republican	Jerry Behn	Won re-election.		Republican	Jerry Behn	22,970
						Democratic	Albert Sorensen	16,233
26		Republican	Steve Kettering	Won re-election.		Republican	Steve Kettering	22,853
28		Republican	James A. Seymour	Won re-election.		Republican	James A. Seymour	17,188
30		Republican	Pat Ward	Won re-election.		Republican	Pat Ward	21,842
32		Republican	Brad Zaun	Won re-election.		Republican	Brad Zaun	23,190
34		Democratic	Dick L. Dearden	Won re-election.		Democratic	Dick L. Dearden	17,705
						Republican	Scott Strosahl	9,617
36		Republican	Paul McKinley	Won re-election.		Republican	Paul McKinley	18,236
						Democratic	Deb Ballalatak	10,579
38		Democratic	Thomas J. Rielly	Won re-election.		Democratic	Thomas J. Rielly	16,332
						Republican	Michael C. Hadley	12,393
40		Republican	James F. Hahn	Won re-election.		Republican	James F. Hahn	14,134
						Democratic	Sharon Savage	12,939
42		Democratic	Frank B. Wood	Lost re-election.		Republican	Shawn Hamerlinck	16,447
						Democratic	Frank B. Wood	16,063
44		Democratic	Thomas G. Courtney	Won re-election.		Democratic	Thomas G. Courtney	15,601
						Republican	David Kerr	10,536
46		Democratic	Eugene Fraise	Won re-election.		Democratic	Eugene Fraise	14,668
						Republican	Doug P. Abolt	11,088
48		Republican	Jeff Angelo			Republican	Kim Reynolds	14,274
						Democratic	Ruth Smith	11,653
						Independent	Rodney Schmidt	1,021
50		Democratic	Michael E. Gronstal	Won re-election.		Democratic	Michael E. Gronstal	13,375
						Republican	Mark A. Brandenburg	9,740

See also

• United States House of Representatives elections in Iowa, 2008
• Iowa Senate
• Iowa House of Representatives
• Iowa House of Representatives elections, 2008
• Iowa General Assembly
• Political party strength in U.S. states