ELECTION NIGHT: Iowa Republicans look to maintain legislative power

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – Iowa Republicans are expecting to maintain their majority in Iowa’s legislature, the question is whether it will remain a supermajority.

Going into the 2024 election, Republicans held 34 of the 50 seats in the Senate and 64 of the 100 seats in the House.

Each house seat is up every two years but only half of Iowa’s Senate seats are on the ballot this November. With those seats not up for election, Republicans already hold a 17 to 8 advantage. Add in unopposed races and Republicans are essentially guaranteed at least 20 seats in the Iowa Senate to the Democrats 9.

Unopposed House seats are a fairly even split with Democrats holding a slight edge, 15-14.

Republicans gained that supermajority advantage in both the Iowa House and Senate after the 2022 elections, leaving Iowa Democrats with little power but to complain about bills that came up in the chambers.

If Democrats are able to flip one seat, they will regain the power to hold up appointees needing confirmation votes, which they could use to negotiate legislative concessions.

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