The
Iowa House of Representatives is the
lower houseA lower house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house.Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide the lower house has come to wield more power...
of the
Iowa General AssemblyThe Iowa General Assembly is the legislative branch of the state government of Iowa. Like the federal United States Congress, the General Assembly is a bicameral body, composed of the upper house Iowa Senate and the lower Iowa House of Representatives respectively...
. There are 100 members of the House of Representatives, representing 100 single-member districts across the
stateIowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
with populations of approximately 29,750 for each constituency. The House of Representatives meets at the
Iowa State CapitolThe Iowa State Capitol is located in Iowa's capital city, Des Moines, and houses the Iowa Senate, Iowa House of Representatives, the Office of the Governor, and the Offices of the Attorney General, Auditor, Treasurer, and Secretary of State...
in
Des MoinesDes Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the US state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small portion of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857...
.
Unlike the
upper houseAn upper house, often called a senate, is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house; a legislature composed of only one house is described as unicameral.- Possible specific characteristics :...
, the
Iowa SenateThe Iowa Senate is the upper house of the Iowa General Assembly. There are 50 members of the Senate, representing 50 single-member districts across the state with populations of approximately 59,500 per constituency. Each Senate district is composed of two House districts...
, state House representatives serve two-year terms with the whole chamber up for re-election in even-numbered years. There are no
term limitsTerm limits in the United States apply to many offices at both the federal and state level, and date back to the American Revolution.-Pre-constitution:...
for the House.
Leadership of the House
The
Speaker of the HouseThe term speaker is a title often given to the presiding officer of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body. The speaker's official role is to moderate debate, make rulings on procedure, announce the results of votes, and the like. The speaker decides who may speak and has the...
presides over the House in the chief leadership position, controlling the flow of legislation and committee assignments. The Speaker is elected by the majority party caucus, followed by confirmation of the full House on passage of a floor vote. Other House leaders, such as the
majorityIn U.S. politics, the majority floor leader is a partisan position in a legislative body.In the federal Congress, the role differs slightly in the two houses. In the House of Representatives, which chooses its own presiding officer, the leader of the majority party is elected the Speaker of the...
and
minority leaderIn U.S. politics, the minority leader is the floor leader of the second largest caucus in a legislative body. Given the two-party nature of the U.S. system, the minority leader is almost inevitably either a Republican or a Democrat, with their counterpart being of the opposite party. The position...
s, are elected by their respective party caucuses according to each party's strength in the chamber.
Leaders
| Position | Name | Party | Residence | District |
| Speaker of the House |
Kraig Paulsen Kraig Paulsen is the Iowa State Representative from the 35th District.He has served in the Iowa House of Representatives since 2002.He received his BBA from Iowa State University, his MBA from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and his JD from the University of Iowa College of Law.-Electoral...
|
Republican |
Hiawatha Hiawatha is a city in Linn County, Iowa, United States. It is a suburb located north of Cedar Rapids and is part of the Cedar Rapids Metropolitan Statistical Area...
|
35 |
| Majority Leader In U.S. politics, the majority floor leader is a partisan position in a legislative body.In the federal Congress, the role differs slightly in the two houses. In the House of Representatives, which chooses its own presiding officer, the leader of the majority party is elected the Speaker of the...
|
Linda Upmeyer Linda L. Upmeyer is the Iowa State Representative from the 12th District. She has served in the Iowa House of Representatives since 2003 and is the Iowa House majority leader for the 84th General Assembly...
|
Republican |
|
12 |
| Minority Leader |
Kevin M. McCarthy |
Democrat The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
|
|
67 |
Current composition
| Affiliation |
Party |
Total |
|
|
|
|
| Republican |
Democratic The Iowa Democratic Party is the local branch of the Democratic Party in the state of Iowa.-Current elected officials:Iowa Democrats are in control of the Iowa Senate, one of the state's United States Senate seats, and three out of the state's five United States House of Representatives seats. ...
|
Vacant |
| End of previous legislature |
44 |
56 |
100 |
0 |
|
| Begin |
60 |
40 |
100 |
0 |
| Latest voting share |
60% |
40% |
Past notable members
- William S. Beardsley
William Shane "Bill" Beardsley was the 31st Governor of Iowa from 1949 to 1954.-Biography:Beardsley was born in Beacon, Iowa and grew up in Birmingham, Iowa. The son of a pharmacist, he attended pharmacy school himself, and established a drugstore in New Virginia, Iowa in 1922. He was elected to...
Governor of Iowa from 1949 to 1954
- William W. Belknap
William Worth Belknap was a United States Army general, government administrator, and United States Secretary of War. He was the only Cabinet secretary ever to have been impeached by the United States House of Representatives.-Birth and early years:Born in Newburgh, New York to career soldier...
, U.S. Army major generalMajor general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
and U.S. Secretary of WarThe Secretary of War was a member of the United States President's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War," was appointed to serve the Congress of the Confederation under the Articles of Confederation...
from 1869 until impeachedImpeachment in the United States is an expressed power of the legislature that allows for formal charges against a civil officer of government for crimes committed in office...
in 1876.
- Terry E. Branstad
Terry Edward Branstad is an American politician who is the 42nd and current Governor of Iowa since January 2011. Branstad was the 39th Governor of Iowa from 1983 to 1999 and President of Des Moines University from 2003 to 2009. He is a member of the Republican Party. He is the youngest and...
, Governor of Iowa from 1983 to 1999, 2011 to present
- Robert D. Fulton
Robert David Fulton briefly served as the 37th Governor of Iowa during the first 16 days of 1969.-Biography:Fulton was born in Waterloo, Iowa. A Democrat, he served as a member of the Iowa House of Representatives from 1958 to 1960, followed by a term as a member of the Iowa Senate from 1962 to...
, Governor of Iowa for 16 days in 1969
- Chuck Grassley
Charles Ernest "Chuck" Grassley is the senior United States Senator from Iowa . A member of Republican Party, he previously served in the served in the United States House of Representatives and the Iowa state legislature...
, current U.S. SenatorThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
, 1981 to present
- Frank Merriam
Frank Finley Merriam was an American politician who served as the 28th governor of California from June 2, 1934 until January 2, 1939...
, Governor of CaliforniaThe Governor of California is the chief executive of the California state government, whose responsibilities include making annual State of the State addresses to the California State Legislature, submitting the budget, and ensuring that state laws are enforced...
from 1934 to 1939
- William M. Stone
William Milo Stone was the sixth Governor of Iowa .- Biography :...
, Civil WarThe American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
prisoner of warA prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
and Governor of Iowa from 1864 to 1868.
- James Wilson
James "Tama Jim" Wilson was a Scotland-born United States politician who served as United States Secretary of Agriculture for sixteen years during three presidencies, from 1897 to 1913. He holds the record as the longest-serving United States Cabinet member.-Personal background:Wilson was born in...
, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture from 1897 to 1913.
External links