The 1998 Iowa State Senate elections took place as part of the biennial 1998 United States elections. Iowa voters elected state senators in half of the state senate's districts—the 25 odd-numbered state senate districts. State senators serve four-year terms in the Iowa State Senate, with half of the seats up for election each cycle. A statewide map of the 50 state Senate districts in the year 1998 is provided by the Iowa General Assembly here.
The primary election on June 2, 1998, determined which candidates appeared on the November 3, 1998 general election ballot. Primary election results can be obtained here. General election results can be obtained here.
Following the previous election in 1996, Republicans had control of the Iowa state Senate with 29 seats to Democrats' 21 seats. In a special election in District 13 in 1997 to fill a vacancy created by Sen. Jim Lind's (R) resignation, Democratic candidate Patricia M. "Pat" Harper (D) flipped the seat for her party. Therefore, on election day 1998, Republicans held 28 seats to Democrats' 22.
To reclaim control of the chamber from Republicans, the Democrats needed to net 4 Senate seats.
Republicans strengthened their control of the Iowa State Senate following the 1998 general election by netting two seats, resulting in Republicans holding 30 seats and Democrats having 20 seats after the election.
Summary of Results NOTE: The 25 even-numbered districts did not have elections in 1998 so they are not listed here. State Senate DistrictIncumbent PartyElected Senator Party 1st Steven D. Hansen Dem Steven D. Hansen Democratic 3rd Wilmer Rensink Rep Kenneth Veenstra Republican 5th Mary Lou Freeman Rep Mary Lou Freeman Republican 7th Rod Halvorson Dem Mike Sexton Republican 9th Stewart Iverson Rep Stewart Iverson Republican 11th John Jensen Rep John Jensen Republican 13th Patricia M. "Pat" Harper Dem Patricia M. "Pat" Harper Democratic 15th Allen Borlaug Rep Betty A. Soukup Democratic 17th Thomas L. Flynn Dem Thomas L. Flynn Democratic 19th Sheldon L. Rittmer Rep Sheldon L. Rittmer Republican 21st Maggie Tinsman Rep Maggie Tinsman Republican 23rd Mary Neuhauser Dem Joe Bolkcom Democratic 25th Robert Dvorsky Dem Robert Dvorsky Democratic 27th Wally Horn Dem Wally Horn Democratic 29th Dennis Black Dem Dennis Black Democratic 31st Johnie Hammond Dem Johnie Hammond Democratic 33rd William D. Palmer Dem Jeff Lamberti Republican 35th Dick Dearden Dem Dick Dearden Democratic 37th Mary Kramer Rep Mary Kramer Republican 39th Jo Ann M. Douglas Rep Jo Ann M. Johnson Republican 41st Nancy Boettger Rep Nancy Boettger Republican 43rd Derryl McLaren Rep Derryl McLaren Republican 45th Bill Fink Dem Bill Fink Democratic 47th Donald Gettings Dem David P. Miller Republican 49th Tom Vilsack Dem Mark Shearer Democratic
Source:
Detailed Results Reminder: Only odd-numbered Iowa Senate seats were up for election in 1998; therefore, even-numbered seats did not have elections in 1998 & are not shown. District 1 • District 3 • District 5 • District 7 • District 9 • District 11 • District 13 • District 15 • District 17 • District 19 • District 21 • District 23 • District 25 • District 27 • District 29 • District 31 • District 33 • District 35 • District 37 • District 39 • District 41 • District 43 • District 45 • District 47 • District 49__NOTOC__ 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).
District 1
District 3
District 5
District 7
District 9
District 11
District 13
District 15
District 17
District 19
District 21
District 23
District 25
District 27
District 29
District 31
District 33
District 35
District 37
District 39
District 41
District 43
District 45
District 47
District 49
See also United States elections, 1998 United States House of Representatives elections in Iowa, 1998 Elections in Iowa
References