2012 Iowa Senate election

Iowa State Senate elections, 2012

← 2010 November 6, 2012 2014 →
26 out of 50 seats in the Iowa State Senate 26 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader Jack Kibbie Jerry Behn Party Democratic Republican Leader's seat 4th district (retired) 24th district Last election 26 24 Seats before 26 24 Seats after 26 24 Seat change
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 Pam Jochum[1] Democratic

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v t e

The 2012 Iowa State Senate elections took place as part of the biennial 2012 United States elections. Iowa voters elected state senators in 26 of the state senate's 50 districts—the 25 even-numbered state senate districts and the 49th district.^[2] State senators serve four-year terms in the Iowa State Senate, with half of the seats up for election each cycle. This was the first election cycle following the 2010 census and 2011 redistricting process.

As a result of redistricting, many state senators were redrawn into new seats. This explains some incumbents being reelected, but into districts with new numbers following the redistricting process.

The primary election on June 5, 2012, determined which candidates appeared on the November 6, 2012 general election ballot. Primary election results can be obtained here.^[3]

Following the previous 2010 Iowa Senate election, Democrats maintained control of the Iowa state Senate with 26 seats.

To reclaim control of the chamber from Democrats, the Republicans needed to net 2 Senate seats.

Democrats kept control of the Iowa State Senate following the 2012 general election as the chamber's partisan composition remained unchanged with 26 Democrats to 24 Republicans.

State Senator Pat Ward was running in district 22 when she died on October 15, 2012, less than a month before the general election.^[4] A special election on Dec. 11, 2012 saw her seat retained by the Republicans.^[5]

• NOTE: Only even-numbered Iowa Senate seats were up for regularly-scheduled election in 2012, so most of the odd-numbered seats are not included here. District 49 had a special election to fill a vacancy created by Senator Bacon's resignation.^[2]
• Also note, an asterisk (*) after a senator's name indicates they were an incumbent re-elected, but to a new district number due to redistricting.

Source:^[18][19]

• Note: If a district does not list a primary, then that district did not have a competitive primary (i.e., there may have only been one candidate file for that district).

• Senator Ward died less than a month before the 2012 general election and, since the ballots had already been printed, won this election after having already deceased. A special election was held due to these circumstances.

Source:^[20][21][22]

• United States elections, 2012
• United States House of Representatives elections in Iowa, 2012
• Elections in Iowa