Near perfect election night for ABI’s IIPAC

November 10, 2016

Tuesday's election saw a strong contingent of pro-business candidates elected to the Iowa Legislature. If current outcomes hold, 100 percent of the candidates who received IIPAC's Friend of Iowa Business endorsement in the Senate and 95 percent of IIPAC-endorsed candidates in the House were victorious.

Senate Republican challenger candidates defeated six Democrat incumbents. The Republicans protected all of their seats making the current count in the Iowa Senate 29-19-1. The new majority includes one Independent and one vacant seat due to the death of Sen. Joe Seng. A special election will take place Dec. 27 to determine the outcome of that seat. The two biggest surprises of the evening were when 34-year Statehouse veteran Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal (D-Council Bluffs) and Tom Courtney (D-Burlington) a friend of labor were defeated by Republican challengers.

In the Iowa House, retirements left 14 open seats up for grabs. Republicans had 47 seats and Democrats had 43 going into the night. Republicans were able to retain their majority by holding all incumbents, defeating one Democrat incumbent and picking up one Democrat open seat, which previously belonged to Nancy Dunkel (D-Dyersville). As with any election, there were a few surprises, but the overall outcome leaves Republicans with a 59-41 majority going into the 2017 legislative session, defying many who thought the Republicans would lose a few House seats.

Thank you to everyone who made a personal investment in IIPAC to help us speak with a loud and unified voice during the 2016 Elections. Read the full election update here.