41°35′28″N 93°36′14″W / 41.591°N 93.604°W / 41.591; -93.604

Iowa Senate
Iowa General Assembly
Type
Type	Upper house
Term limits	None
History
New session started	January 9, 2023
Leadership
President	Amy Sinclair (R) since January 4, 2023
President pro tempore	Brad Zaun (R) since January 11, 2021
Majority Leader	Jack Whitver (R) since March 14, 2018
Minority Leader	Pam Jochum (D) since June 7, 2023
Structure
Political groups	Majority   Republican (34) Minority   Democratic (16)
Length of term	4 years
Authority	Legislative Department, Section 3, Iowa Constitution
Salary	$25,000/year + per diem
Elections
Last election	November 8, 2022 (25 seats)
Next election	November 5, 2024 (25 seats)
Redistricting	Legislative Service Agency with legislative approval
Meeting place
State Senate Chamber Iowa State Capitol Des Moines, Iowa
Website
Iowa General Assembly

The Iowa Senate is the upper house of the Iowa General Assembly, United States. There are 50 seats in the Iowa Senate, representing 50 single-member districts across the state of Iowa with populations of approximately 60,927 per constituency, as of the 2010 United States census^[update].^[1] Each Senate district is composed of two House districts. The Senate meets at the Iowa State Capitol in Des Moines.

Unlike the lower house, the Iowa House of Representatives, senators serve four-year terms, with no term limits. Terms are staggered so that half the Senate is up for reelection every two years.

Leadership

The President of the Senate presides over the body, whose powers include referring bills to committees, recognizing members during debate, and making procedural rulings. Unlike the more powerful Speaker of the Iowa House of Representatives, the Senate President cannot appoint committee chairmanships or shuffle committee memberships.^[2] The Lieutenant Governor of Iowa was the presiding officer of the Senate until 1988, when an amendment to the Constitution of Iowa was passed in a referendum (effective from 1991).^[3] The other partisan Senate leadership positions, such as the Majority and Minority leaders, are elected by their respective party caucuses to head their parties in the chamber.

The President of the Senate is Republican Amy Sinclair of the 12th District. The Majority Leader is Republican Jack Whitver of the 23rd District. The Minority Leader is Democrat Pam Jochum of the 36th District.^[4]

Committee leadership

*All chairs and vice chairs are Republicans. All ranking members are Democrats.^[5]

Current composition

Past notable members

• Samuel J. Kirkwood, two-time governor of Iowa (1860–64, 1876–77); two time U.S. senator (1866–67), (1877–81); U.S. secretary of the interior (1881–82)
• George G. Wright, U.S. senator from 1871 to 1877
• Tom Vilsack, Incumbent United States secretary of agriculture since 2021 and from 2009 to 2017, former governor of Iowa from 1999 to 2007, and briefly Democratic candidate for president of the United States in 2008
• George A. Wilson, governor of Iowa from 1939 to 1943
• Patty Judge, former lieutenant governor of Iowa (2007–2011), former Iowa secretary of agriculture (1999–2007)
• Steve King, former U.S. representative for Iowa's 4th congressional district (2003–2021)
• Joni Ernst, Incumbent U.S. senator, since 2015
• Kim Reynolds, Incumbent governor of Iowa since 2017, former lieutenant governor of Iowa (2011–2017)
• Randy Feenstra, Incumbent U.S. representative for Iowa's 4th congressional district since 2021
• Mariannette Miller-Meeks, U.S. representative for Iowa's 2nd congressional district since 2021 and Republican nominee for Iowa's 2nd congressional district in 2008, 2010, and 2014

Past composition of the Senate