Iowa held its general election on November 6, 2018, deciding 125 legislative seats and 7 statewide offices led by the governorship. No chamber changed party control.
Highlights
- Republicans kept their trifecta, holding the governorship and adding to their Senate majority, while Democrats cut into the GOP's House majority and took the state auditor's office.
- Gov. Kim Reynolds (R), who took over in 2017 when Terry Branstad left to become ambassador to China, held off Fred Hubbell (D) by about 36,000 votes, under 3 points, to become the first woman elected governor of Iowa. Down the ballot, only the state auditor's office changed hands: Rob Sand (D), a prosecutor, unseated Auditor Mary Mosiman (R) by about 5 points after out-raising her. The other incumbents all held on: Secretary of State Paul Pate (R), Mike Naig (R) in the agriculture post, Treasurer Michael Fitzgerald (D), and Attorney General Tom Miller (D), who faced no Republican opponent.
- In the House, Democrats picked up seven GOP-held seats and lost two, leaving Republicans in control 54-46.
- Republicans widened their Senate majority to 32-18. They picked up Democratic-held Senate District 15 and Senate District 49, and Carrie Koelker (R) unseated Sen. Tod Bowman (D) in Senate District 29. Democrats' only Senate gain came when Jackie Smith (D) ousted Sen. Rick Bertrand (R) in Senate District 7.
- The closest race ended in a formal contest. Rep. Michael Bergan (R) led Kayla Koether (D) by nine votes in House District 55 after a recount, with 29 absentee ballots from Winneshiek County left uncounted because they arrived after Election Day without a postmark. Koether contested the result, and in January the Republican-majority House dismissed her contest on party-line votes, seating Bergan.
- In all, 8 incumbents lost in November, Mosiman included. Beyond the flips, 3 more races finished inside two points, among them Sen. Amanda Ragan (D) holding Senate District 27, and 29 of the 125 legislative races went uncontested.
Legislature
- House (100 seats): 41 D, 58 R, 1 other or vacant before the election, 46 D, 53 R, 1 other or vacant after; control stayed with Republicans.
- Senate (50 seats): 20 D, 29 R, 1 other or vacant before the election, 18 D, 32 R after; control stayed with Republicans.
Statewide races
Legislative races
| Race | Winner | Others | Notes |
|---|
| House 1 | John Wills (R) 74.3% | Karen Larson (D) 25.6% | |
| House 2 | Megan Jones (R) 66% | Ryan Odor (D) 33.9% | |
| House 3 | Daniel Huseman (R) 99.1% | Unopposed | |
| House 4 | Skyler Wheeler (R) 95.1% | Unopposed | |
| House 5 | Tom Jeneary (R) 76.8% | Andrew Emanuel (D) 23.2% | |
| House 6 | Jacob Bossman (R) 56.4% | Rita DeJong (D) 43.5% | |
| House 7 | Tedd Gassman (R) 56.9% | Debra Jensen (D) 43% | |
| House 8 | Terry Baxter (R) 67.1% | Connie Price (D) 32.9% | |
| House 9 | Ann Meyer (R) 51.7% | Megan Srinivas (D) 48.2% | Flipped D to R |
| House 10 | Mike Sexton (R) 67% | Jake Thompson (D) 32.8% | |
| House 11 | Gary Worthan (R) 97.8% | Unopposed | |
| House 12 | Brian Best (R) 65.7% | Peter Leo (D) 34.2% | |
| House 13 | Chris Hall (D) 95.5% | Unopposed | |
| House 14 | Timothy Kacena (D) 53.9% | Bob Henderson (R) 46% | |
| House 15 | Charlie McConkey (D) 56.3% | LeAnn Hughes (R) 43.6% | |
| House 16 | Mary Ann Hanusa (R) 49.5% | Steve Gorman (D) 48.4%, Steve Sechrest (L) 2.1% | |
| House 17 | Matt Windschitl (R) 71.1% | Jan Creasman (D) 28.7% | |
| House 18 | Steven Holt (R) 97.2% | Unopposed | |
| House 19 | Chris Hagenow (R) 56.2% | Gregg Gustafson (D) 41%, Richard Dedor (Other) 2.7% | |
| House 20 | Ray Sorensen (R) 62.3% | Warren Varley (D) 37.6% | |
| House 21 | Tom Moore (R) 65.7% | Denise O'Brien (D) 34.3% | |
| House 22 | Jon Jacobsen (R) 65.9% | Ray Stevens (D) 34% | |
| House 23 | David Sieck (R) 66.1% | Chuck Larson (D) 33.8% | |
| House 24 | Cecil Dolecheck (R) 67.7% | James Uhlenkamp (D) 32.2% | |
| House 25 | Stan Gustafson (R) 59.2% | Ryan Marquardt (D) 40.7% | |
| House 26 | Scott Ourth (D) 55.4% | Rebel Snodgrass (R) 44.4% | |
| House 27 | Joel Fry (R) 69% | Richard Foster (D) 30.9% | |
| House 28 | Jon Thorup (R) 64.1% | Ann Fields (D) 35.8% | |
| House 29 | Wesley Breckenridge (D) 58.7% | Ann Howell (R) 41.2% | |
| House 30 | Brian Lohse (R) 56.14% | Kent A. Balduchi (D) 43.77% | |
| House 31 | Rick Olson (D) 96% | Unopposed | |
| House 32 | Ruth Ann Gaines (D) 70.2% | William Charlier (R) 26.8%, Toya S. Johnson (L) 2.8% | |
| House 33 | Brian Meyer (D) 67.6% | Gregory Malone (R) 32.2% | |
| House 34 | Bruce L. Hunter (D) 67.4% | Jerry Cheevers (R) 27.5%, Martha Layne Collins (L) 5% | |
| House 35 | Ako Abdul-Samad (D) 77.8% | John Callahan (L) 21.3% | |
| House 36 | Mark Anderson (D) 80.3% | Joseph Howe (L) 19.2% | |
| House 37 | John Landon (R) 52% | Andrew Rasmussen (D) 47.9% | |
| House 38 | Heather Matson (D) 51.5% | Kevin Koester (R) 48.4% | Flipped R to D; Incumbent defeated |
| House 39 | Karin Derry (D) 49.8% | Jake Highfill (R) 48.3%, Anthony Junk (L) 1.9% | Flipped R to D; Incumbent defeated |
| House 40 | John Forbes (D) 96.8% | Unopposed | |
| House 41 | Jo Oldson (D) 84.8% | Claudia Addy (R) 14.6% | |
| House 42 | Kristin Sunde (D) 53.8% | Peter Cownie (R) 46.1% | Flipped R to D; Incumbent defeated |
| House 43 | Jennifer Konfrst (D) 56.7% | Michael Boal (R) 41.2%, Chad Brewbaker (L) 2% | Flipped R to D |
| House 44 | Kenan Judge (D) 51.7% | Anna Bergman (R) 46.1%, Gabriel Thomson (L) 2.2% | Flipped R to D |
| House 45 | Beth Wessel-Kroeschell (D) 68.8% | Ben Brown (R) 31.1% | |
| House 46 | Lisa Heddens (D) 97.7% | Unopposed | |
| House 47 | Phil Thompson (R) 51.7% | David Weaver (D) 45.1%, Patrick Shaw (L) 3.2% | |
| House 48 | Robert Bacon (R) 58.7% | Tim Winter (D) 41.2% | |
| House 49 | Dave Deyoe (R) 56.7% | Brenda Brink (D) 39.4%, John Evans (L) 3.8% | |
| House 50 | Pat Grassley (R) 66.8% | Dennis Evans (D) 33.1% | |
| House 51 | Jane Bloomingdale (R) 58.4% | Tim Knutson (D) 41.6% | |
| House 52 | Todd Prichard (D) 97.3% | Unopposed | |
| House 53 | Sharon Steckman (D) 96.5% | Unopposed | |
| House 54 | Linda Upmeyer (R) 97.3% | Unopposed | |
| House 55 | Michael Bergan (R) 50% | Kayla Koether (D) 49.9% | |
| House 56 | Anne Osmundson (R) 57.9% | Lori Egan (D) 42% | |
| House 57 | Shannon Lundgren (R) 54.9% | Nancy Fett (D) 42.1%, Lucas Link (L) 3% | |
| House 58 | Andy McKean (R) 69.2% | Joe Oclon (D) 30.8% | |
| House 59 | Bob Kressig (D) 96.4% | Unopposed | |
| House 60 | Dave Williams (D) 50.7% | Walt Rogers (R) 49.2% | Flipped R to D; Incumbent defeated |
| House 61 | Timi Brown-Powers (D) 97.5% | Unopposed | |
| House 62 | Ras Smith (D) 97.4% | Unopposed | |
| House 63 | Sandy Salmon (R) 56.6% | Eric Stromberg (D) 43.3% | |
| House 64 | Bruce Bearinger (D) 97.1% | Unopposed | |
| House 65 | Liz Bennett (D) 69.4% | George Olmsted (R) 30.5% | |
| House 66 | Art Staed (D) 61% | Teresa Daubitz (R) 38.9% | |
| House 67 | Ashley Hinson (R) 52% | Eric Gjerde (D) 48% | |
| House 68 | Molly Donahue (D) 55.2% | Randy Ray (R) 44.7% | Flipped R to D |
| House 69 | Kirsten Running-Marquardt (D) 75.1% | Joshua Henderson (R) 23.9% | |
| House 70 | Tracy Ehlert (D) 76.5% | Myra Matejka (L) 22.6% | |
| House 71 | Mark Smith (D) 58.4% | James Perez (R) 41.52% | |
| House 72 | Dean Fisher (R) 59.5% | Mindy Benson (D) 40.4% | |
| House 73 | Bobby Kaufmann (R) 55.7% | Jodi Clemens (D) 44.2% | |
| House 74 | Dave Jacoby (D) 98.1% | Unopposed | |
| House 75 | Tom Gerhold (R) 60% | Paula Denison (D) 37.3%, John George (L) 2.6% | |
| House 76 | David Maxwell (R) 58.4% | Ann Egley (D) 41.5% | |
| House 77 | Amy Nielsen (D) 96.5% | Unopposed | |
| House 78 | Jarad Klein (R) 63.9% | Kimberly Davis (D) 36% | |
| House 79 | Dustin Hite (R) 72.9% | Samantha Keith (D) 23.6%, Nicholas Ryan (L) 3.4% | |
| House 80 | Holly Brink (R) 63.4% | Susan McDanel (D) 36.5% | |
| House 81 | Mary Gaskill (D) 54.4% | Cherielynn Westrich (R) 45.5% | |
| House 82 | Jeff Shipley (R) 50.1% | Phil Miller (D) 49.8% | Flipped D to R; Incumbent defeated |
| House 83 | Jeff Kurtz (D) 54% | Jeff Reichman (R) 45.8% | |
| House 84 | Joe Mitchell (R) 61.9% | Jason Moats (D) 38% | |
| House 85 | Vicki Lensing (D) 98.5% | Unopposed | |
| House 86 | Mary Mascher (D) 98.3% | Unopposed | |
| House 87 | Dennis Cohoon (D) 56.6% | Tim Goodwin (R) 43.3% | |
| House 88 | David Kerr (R) 54.8% | Lanny Hillyard (D) 43.3%, Corey Gingerich (Other) 1.9% | |
| House 89 | Monica Kurth (D) 96% | Unopposed | |
| House 90 | Cindy Winckler (D) 96.1% | Unopposed | |
| House 91 | Gary Carlson (R) 53.7% | Laura Liegois (D) 46.2% | |
| House 92 | Ross Paustian (R) 52.5% | Jean Simpson (D) 47.4% | |
| House 93 | Phyllis Thede (D) 95.2% | Unopposed | |
| House 94 | Gary Mohr (R) 54.9% | Joan Marttila (D) 45.1% | |
| House 95 | Louis Zumbach (R) 53.9% | Christian Andrews (D) 46% | |
| House 96 | Lee Hein (R) 62.4% | Reenie Montgomery (D) 37.4% | |
| House 97 | Norlin Mommsen (R) 53.1% | Tim McClimon (D) 44.3%, David Melchert, Jr. (L) 2.5% | |
| House 98 | Mary Wolfe (D) 96.1% | Unopposed | |
| House 99 | Lindsay James (D) 60.3% | Pauline Chilton (R) 39.6% | |
| House 100 | Charles Isenhart (D) 62.8% | Hank Linden (R) 37.1% | |
| Senate 1 | Zach Whiting (R) 98.2% | Unopposed | Flipped I to R |
| Senate 3 | Jim Carlin (R) 64.7% | David Alan Dawson (D) 35.1% | |
| Senate 5 | Tim Kraayenbrink (R) 61.9% | John O'Brien (D) 38% | |
| Senate 7 | Jackie Smith (D) 51.2% | Rick Bertrand (R) 48.7% | Flipped R to D; Incumbent defeated |
| Senate 9 | Jason Schultz (R) 97.8% | Unopposed | |
| Senate 11 | Tom Shipley (R) 67.2% | Sara Ramsey (D) 32.7% | |
| Senate 13 | Julian Garrett (R) 55.9% | Vicky Brenner (D) 44% | |
| Senate 15 | Zach Nunn (R) 56.9% | Dan Nieland (D) 43% | Flipped D to R |
| Senate 17 | Tony Bisignano (D) 96.6% | Unopposed | |
| Senate 19 | Jack Whitver (R) 51.3% | Amber Gustafson (D) 48.6% | |
| Senate 21 | Claire Celsi (D) 66% | Brian Bales (R) 33.8% | |
| Senate 23 | Herman Quirmbach (D) 74.8% | Eric Cooper (L) 24.7% | |
| Senate 25 | Annette Sweeney (R) 61.6% | Tracy Freese (D) 38.3% | |
| Senate 27 | Amanda Ragan (D) 51% | Shannon Latham (R) 49% | |
| Senate 29 | Carrie Koelker (R) 53.5% | Tod Bowman (D) 46.4% | Flipped D to R; Incumbent defeated |
| Senate 31 | Bill Dotzler (D) 97.6% | Unopposed | |
| Senate 33 | Robert Hogg (D) 65.5% | Bernie Hayes (R) 34.4% | |
| Senate 35 | Todd Taylor (D) 96.2% | Unopposed | |
| Senate 37 | Zach Wahls (D) 78% | Carl Krambeck (L) 21.4% | |
| Senate 39 | Kevin Kinney (D) 54.5% | Heather Hora (R) 45.4% | |
| Senate 41 | Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R) 51.7% | Marilyn Stewart (D) 48.1% | |
| Senate 43 | Joe Bolkcom (D) 79.5% | Patrick Wronkiewicz (R) 20.4% | |
| Senate 45 | Jim Lykam (D) 96.1% | Unopposed | |
| Senate 47 | Roby Smith (R) 52.8% | Marie Gleason (D) 47.2% | |
| Senate 49 | Chris Cournoyer (R) 54.9% | Patti Robinson (D) 45% | Flipped D to R |