The Iowa Democratic Party (IDP) is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Iowa.
The party organizes the Democratic Iowa presidential caucuses. In recent years, the party has lost ground in the state, holding no congressional seats from Iowa, superminorities in both houses of the state legislature, and only one out of seven statewide elected officials.
Current elected officials
Democrats hold no seats in the U.S. House delegation. They hold one of the seven statewide offices and currently hold minorities in the Iowa House of Representatives and Iowa State Senate.
Members of Congress
U.S. Senate None Both of Iowa's U.S. Senate seats have been held by Republicans since 2015. Tom Harkin was the last Democrat to represent Iowa in the U.S. Senate.
U.S. House of Representatives None Iowa's U.S. House delegation has been entirely Republican since 2023. Cindy Axne is the last Democrat to serve Iowa in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Statewide offices Auditor: Rob Sand
Legislative leadership Senate Minority Leader: Janice Weiner House Minority Leader: Brian Meyer
Municipal The following Democrats hold prominent mayoralties in Iowa: Des Moines: Connie Boesen (1) Davenport: Mike Matson (3) Iowa City: Bruce Teague (5) Dubuque: Brad M. Cavanagh (11)
Prominent former elected officials
Vice president Henry A. Wallace – 33rd Vice President of the United States, January 20, 1941– January 20, 1945
Governor Harold Hughes – 36th Governor of Iowa, January 17, 1963 – January 1, 1969 Tom Vilsack – 40th Governor of Iowa, January 15, 1999 – January 12, 2007 Chet Culver – 41st Governor of Iowa, January 12, 2007 – January 14, 2011
US Senator Harold Hughes – January 3, 1969 – January 3, 1975 Tom Harkin – January 3, 1985 – January 3, 2015. First elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1974, he served from 1975 to 1985.
Iowa caucuses
Considered the official start of the presidential election season, the Iowa Caucuses have been the first official votes cast in the Democratic presidential nomination process since 1972.http://thecaucuses.com/index.php That year, the Iowa Democratic Party scheduled its caucus to occur before the New Hampshire Primary. South Dakota Senator George McGovern used his win that year to propel him to claim the party's nomination over Maine Senator Edmund Muskie. The Iowa Caucuses would also help Jimmy Carter claim the Democratic nomination in 1976. From 1984 to 1996, the winner of the Iowa Caucus, excluding incumbents, did not win their party's nomination. But in 2008, Senator Barack Obama won the caucus over Senator Hillary Clinton, and used his momentum to eventually win the Democratic nomination as presidential candidate.
Past winners (excluding incumbents) 2020: Pete Buttigieg 2016: Hillary Clinton – eventual party nominee 2008: Barack Obama – eventual party nominee 2004: John Kerry – eventual party nominee 2000: Al Gore – eventual party nominee 1992: Tom Harkin - favorite son 1988: Dick Gephardt 1984: Walter Mondale – eventual party nominee 1976: "Uncommitted" 1972: "Uncommitted"
Party platform and legislative positions
Party platform The Iowa Democratic Party adopts a new platform every two years, most recently on June 16, 2018.
Platform stances
Civil rights Marriage Equality or Gay Marriage; Habeas Corpus; Affirmative Action; and Title IX.
Taxation Revoking tax breaks for and imposing substantial tax penalties on corporations sending jobs out of the country; Legalizing, taxing, regulating marijuana; Expanding "Earned Income Tax Credits" eligibility.
Social Security Removing cap on Social Security contributions; Honoring federal budget obligations to "Social Security Trust Fund"; Social Security benefits for married same-sex couples.
Gun regulation Fair, responsible, reasonable gun ownership; Banning private ownership of assault-style weapons.
Agriculture and the environment Energy independence with locally owned renewable, eco-sustainable sources. Carbon/mercury sequestration; safe storage/disposal of coal ash and hazardous nuclear waste. Cap and trade on carbon dioxide emissions; fines on excess. National smart-grid with standardized interconnect agreement. Net-metering, front-end loaded and declining for consumer investment of renewable energy production. Improved "Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency" standards for all vehicles. Green public transportation. Passage of "Land and Water Legacy Constitutional Amendment". Industrial hemp production
Legislative accomplishments
Civil rights Democratic governor Tom Vilsack issued a governor's order in 2005 that restored voting rights to felons who completed serving their sentences. The order's anticipated result would be returning the right to vote to over 80,000 Iowans. In 2011, Republican Governor Terry Branstad rescinded this order.
Agriculture Democratic governor Tom Vilsack signed a governor's order in 2000 that created the Iowa Food Policy Council.
Social issues In 2007, Democratic governor Chet Culver signed legislation easing limitations on stem-cell research.
Jobs program Later in 2009 and 2010, Democratic governor Chet Culver signed into law $875 million to go towards the I-Jobs program. Analysis from both Minnesota State Colleges and Universities and Southern Illinois University estimate that through 2011 the I-Jobs program will create 32,000–36,000 jobs.
Renewable energy Democratic governor Chet Culver signed legislation in 2007 that created the Iowa Power Fund. The fund spent a total of $70 million on 49 projects related to renewable energy. The largest project dealt with experimenting with cellulosic ethanol at an ethanol plant in Emmetsburg, Iowa. In June 2011, the project was ended by Governor Terry Branstad.
Military and veterans Democratic governor Chet Culver's first Executive Order in 2007 orders that the United States flag be flown at half staff to honor members of the Iowa National Guard, Iowa Air National Guard, or resident of Iowa who was serving as a member of the U.S. military and was killed in the line of duty. In 2010, Culver signed House File 2532 which allows benefits paid for by the Veterans Trust Fund to be exempted from individual income taxes.
Current political strength
Presidential level From 1988 to 2012, Democrats at the presidential level had consistent success in Iowa. With the exception of the 2004 presidential election, when George W. Bush carried the state's electoral votes, Iowa's electoral votes went to the Democratic candidate in every election during that twenty-four year period. This reversed the trend of the prior twenty years, when Republicans had consistent success in Iowa's presidential elections. In the 2016 election, Donald Trump carried the state with 51.15% to Hillary Clinton's 41.74%. In the 2020 election Donald Trump once again carried the state with 53.2% to Joe Biden's 45%. In 2024 election, Donald Trump secured 55.73% of the vote and won by 13 points over Kamala Harris, the highest for any nominee since 1988, thus making Iowa a Republican state.
Congressional level Senator Tom Harkin was Iowa's junior U.S. Senator from January 3, 1985, to January 3, 2015, serving alongside Republican Chuck Grassley. Harkin previously served in the United States House of Representatives from 1975 to 1985.
In the 2006 U.S. House elections, Democrats captured Iowa's 1st congressional district and Iowa's 2nd congressional district from the Republican Party, which had controlled both districts for over three decades. When Senator Harkin announced his retirement, U.S. Representative Bruce Braley, from Iowa's 1st congressional district, announced he would run for the seat. In the 2014 U.S. House elections, Republicans re-captured Iowa's 1st congressional district, but Democrats retained Dave Loebsack in Iowa's 2nd congressional district.
In the 2014 U.S. Senate elections, State Senator Joni Ernst beat U.S. Representative Bruce Braley. In the 2018 U.S. House elections the Democrats managed to retake Iowa's 1st congressional district with Abby Finkenauer, and Iowa's 3rd congressional district with Cindy Axne; the two women were the first female U.S. Representatives from Iowa. In the 2020 U.S. Senate elections, Ernst held her seat against Democratic candidate Theresa Greenfield. In the 2020 U.S. House elections, Democrats lost control of the 1st district to Republican Ashley Hinson and the 2nd district to Mariannette Miller-Meeks, while retaining Cindy Axne in the 3rd district. In the 2022 U.S. House elections, Democrats lost control of the 3rd district, marking the first time since 1994 that Democrats were completely shut out of the House delegation. Democrats again failed to secure any seat in 2024 U.S. House elections.
State level Iowa Democrats held the Governor's office from 1999 to 2011. In 1999, Democrat Tom Vilsack was elected governor and served two terms. Following Vilsack's decision to not run for reelection then-Secretary of State Chet Culver ran in 2006 and won. However, in 2010, Republican Terry Branstad defeated Culver 52.9% to 43.3%.
In the 2018 Iowa elections, Democrat Rob Sand defeated incumbent Republican Mary Mosiman to become State Auditor. Democrat Michael Fitzgerald held the post of State Treasurer from 1983 to 2023 and was the longest-serving state treasurer in the United States. Likewise, Democrat Tom Miller held the post of State Attorney General from 1995 to 2023, and was the longest-serving state attorney general in the United States. In the 2022 Iowa elections, Democrats lost every statewide office except that of State Auditor, which they won narrowly.
Registered voters As of July 2026 about 593,000 Iowans are registered Democrats compared to around 776,000 Republicans. Voters claiming independent outnumber Democrats at just over 735,000 voters.
History and past political strength The Democratic Party was active in Iowa when the area was still part of the Wisconsin Territory in 1836. During the first election held in the territory, Democrat Col G.W. Jones won 66% of the vote, and the Whig candidate won 57 votes in the county that today is the State of Iowa.Iowa Journal of History, Volume 6 pg. 7
Iowa entered the union in 1846 and its first governor was Ansel Briggs. That same year Iowa would send its first two Representatives to Congress, both Democrats.Iowa Journal of History, Volume 6 pg.51 Two years later the Iowa Legislature elected two Democrats to represent the state in the United States Senate.
However, after the rise of the Republican Party of Iowa following the American Civil War, Iowa Democrats had little political power for nearly a century. With the exception of the late 1890s and 1930s, during the Great Depression, Iowa Democrats did not become a major political force until the 1950s. By that time, new waves of immigrants and their descendants, and working-class unions in industry in Iowa's largest cities had aligned with the Democratic Party. Such demographic changes in the 1940s and 1950s helped lay a foundation for Democratic success.
During World War II, thousands of Iowans had flocked to large cities to take advantage of war time jobs. By 1960 the state had become urbanized: more Iowans resided in urban areas than in rural ones. Iowa's industrial areas were not concentrated in one town, but spread out among the state's 15 largest cities. Along with industry developing across the state, Democratic strongholds developed in such urban areas. This demographic change translated into Democratic success first in Iowa's largest city Des Moines. There Democrats identified and registered thousands of new supporters.
In 1954 Democrats "won control of the Polk County Board of Supervisors, every county administrative seat, and [...] all of Polk County's state legislative seats.A Party Reborn, pg. 45