Iowa held its general election on November 3, 2020, deciding 125 legislative seats. No chamber changed party control.
Highlights
- Democrats thought 2020 was their year to flip the House and break the Republican trifecta, but Republicans instead widened their House majority and held the Senate at the same strength.
- Republicans unseated six House Democrats, one of them a party-switcher, and gained seats on net:
- In the Des Moines suburbs, Garrett Gobble (R) beat Heather Matson (D) in House District 38 by about 160 votes and Eddie Andrews (R) beat Karin Derry (D) in District 39 by about 400, retaking two seats Democrats won in 2018.
- Steve Bradley (R) beat Andy McKean (D) in District 58 by about 7 points; McKean switched parties in 2019 after 27 sessions as a Republican.
- Brooke Boden (R) beat Scott Ourth (D) in District 26, Cherielynn Westrich (R) beat Mary Gaskill (D) in District 81, and Martin Graber (R) beat Jeff Kurtz (D) in District 83, each by 6 to 7 points.
- Chad Ingels (R) also took open District 64 from Democrats by about 13 points.
- Democrats' lone House pickup came when Eric Gjerde (D) won an open Republican seat, District 67, by about 6 points.
- Mark Cisneros (R), who held District 91 for Republicans, became the first Latino member of the Iowa Legislature.
- The Senate's party split did not change because its two flips offset each other. Jeff Reichman (R) unseated Sen. Rich Taylor (D) in Senate District 42 by about 20 points, while Sarah Trone Garriott (D) won open Republican District 22 over Scott Cirksena (R) by fewer than 200 votes in the only legislative recount of the year.
- In all, 10 legislative seats changed hands, all but two of them toward Republicans, and 7 Democratic incumbents lost. Beyond the flips, Jeff Shipley (R) held House District 82 against Phil Miller (D) by about 170 votes, the only other race inside two points. Separately, 32 legislative seats had no November opponent.
- Voters rejected the constitutional convention question, which appears every 10 years and would have obligated the Legislature to organize a convention to revise the state constitution.
Legislature
- House (100 seats): 47 D, 52 R, 1 other or vacant before the election, 41 D, 59 R after; control stayed with Republicans.
- Senate (50 seats): 18 D, 32 R before the election, 18 D, 32 R after; control stayed with Republicans.
Legislative races
Ballot measures
| Measure | Description | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Constitional Convention Question | Voters determine whether Iowa will hold a constitutional convention | Failed (29.58% yes) |