Terry Edward Branstad is an American politician and former diplomat. A member of the Republican Party, he served three terms in the Iowa House of Representatives from 1973 to 1979 before serving as the 39th Governor of Iowa from 1983 to 1999 and again as the 42nd Governor of the state from 2011 to 2017. He is the longest-serving governor in United States history. Branstad served as the United States Ambassador to China from 2017 to 2020 under President Donald Trump.
Timothy James Pawlenty is an American attorney, businessman, and politician who served from 2003 to 2011 as the 39th governor of Minnesota. A member of the Republican Party, Pawlenty served in the Minnesota House of Representatives from 1993 to 2003, and as House Majority Leader from 1999 to 2003. He unsuccessfully ran for the Republican presidential nomination in the 2012 presidential election.
Robert Lee Vander Plaats is an American politician and political activist. Since 2010, he has been the president and CEO of The Family Leader, a socially conservative organization in Iowa.
The Iowa Senate is the upper house of the Iowa General Assembly. 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. Each Senate district is composed of two House districts. The Senate meets at the Iowa State Capitol in Des Moines.
Jack G. Hatch is a former Iowa State Senator and American business owner. He was the Democratic nominee for Governor of Iowa in the 2014 election. A Democrat, Hatch served in the Iowa Senate from 2003 to 2015, and was an assistant majority leader. Prior to his election to the Iowa Senate, Hatch served in the Iowa House of Representatives from 1985 to 1993 and 2001 to 2003.
Geri D. Huser is an American lawyer and Democratic party politician. She served in the Iowa House of Representatives from 1996 to 2011. Since 2015 she has been Chairwoman of the Iowa Utilities Board.
The Republican Party of Iowa (RPI) is the affiliate of the United States Republican Party in Iowa. The State Central Committee is chaired by Jeff Kaufmann. The RPI operates the Republican side of the Iowa caucuses and previously sponsored the Iowa Straw Poll.
Kimberly Kay Reynolds is an American politician serving since 2017 as the 43rd governor of Iowa. A member of the Republican Party, she served as the 46th lieutenant governor of Iowa from 2011 to 2017.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) rights in the U.S. state of Iowa have evolved significantly in the 21st century. Iowa began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples on April 27, 2009 following a ruling by the Iowa Supreme Court, making Iowa the fourth U.S. state to legalize same-sex marriage. Same-sex couples may also adopt, and state laws ban discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in employment, housing and public accommodations.
The 2012 presidential campaign of Tim Pawlenty, the 39th Governor of Minnesota began shortly after the 2010 midterm elections. He was seeking the 2012 Republican Party nomination for President of the United States.
The 2012 Iowa Republican presidential caucuses took place on January 3, 2012.
Josh Byrnes is a Republican party member and was in of the Iowa House of Representatives from 2010 until 2016. In November 2020, Iowa governor Kim Reynolds appointed him to the Iowa Utilities Board until April 30, 2025.
The 2014 United States House of Representatives elections in Iowa were held on Tuesday, November 4, 2014, to elect the four U.S. representatives from the state of Iowa, one from each of the state's four congressional districts. The elections coincided with the elections of other federal and state offices, including Governor of Iowa and United States Senate. Primary elections were held on June 4, 2014. As no candidate won more than 35% of the vote in the 3rd district Republican primary, that nomination was decided at a party convention on June 21.
Rita Hart is an American politician and retired educator who served as an Iowa State Senator from the 49th district from 2013 to 2019. She is a member of the Democratic Party. In the 2018 gubernatorial election, Hart ran for lieutenant governor of Iowa on the Democratic ticket, with running mate Fred Hubbell.
The 2018 Iowa gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 2018. Incumbent Republican governor Kim Reynolds ran for election to a full term, facing Democratic businessman Fred Hubbell, Libertarian Jake Porter, and independent candidate Gary Siegwarth.
James M. Kurtenbach is an American politician. After serving as chair of the Republican Party in Story County, Iowa, Kurtenbach was elected to two terms on the Iowa House of Representatives from 2003 to 2007, and led the Republican Party of Iowa as co-chair from 2009 to 2011. Kurtenbach has held administrative and faculty positions at Iowa State University.
Robert Sand is an American lawyer and politician who has served as the 33rd Iowa State Auditor since 2019. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Sand was assistant attorney general of Iowa from 2010 to 2017. In 2018, he ran for state auditor, defeating Republican incumbent Mary Mosiman. After considering a run for governor of Iowa in 2022, Sand opted to run for reelection. Sand was reelected in 2022. He is currently the only Democratic statewide officeholder in Iowa.
The 2020 United States House of Representatives elections in Iowa was held on November 3, 2020, to elect the four U.S. representatives from the state of Iowa, one from each of the state's four congressional districts. The elections coincided with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate and various state and local elections.
Matthew Charles McDermott is an American lawyer who has served an associate justice of the Iowa Supreme Court since 2020.
The 2022 Iowa gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 2022, to elect the governor of Iowa. Incumbent Republican Governor Kim Reynolds won re-election to a second full term in a landslide, defeating Democratic nominee Deidre DeJear with 58.0% of the vote.
