The Iowa House of Representatives is the

lower house A lower house is the lower chamber of a bicameral legislature, where the other chamber is the upper house. Although styled as "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has come to wield more power or otherwise e ...

of the

Iowa General Assembly The 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 Repre ...

, the

upper house An upper house is one of two Legislative chamber, chambers of a bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house. The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restricted p ...

being the

Iowa Senate 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 Iowa, state of Iowa with populations of approximately 60,927 per constituency, . Each Senat ...

. There are 100 seats in the Iowa House of Representatives, representing 100 single-member districts across the state, formed by dividing the 50 Senate districts in half. Each district has a population of approximately 30,464 . The House of Representatives meets at the

Iowa State Capitol The Iowa State Capitol, commonly called the Iowa Statehouse, is in Iowa's capital city, Des Moines. As the seat of the Iowa General Assembly, the building houses the Iowa Senate, Iowa House of Representatives, the Office of the Governor, and the ...

Des Moines Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...

. Unlike the

, the

, state House representatives serve two-year terms with the whole chamber up for re-election in even-numbered years. There are no

term limits A term limit is a legal restriction on the number of Term of office, terms a Incumbent, person may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in Presidential system, presidential and Semi-presidential republic, semi-president ...

for the House.

Leadership of the House

The

Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hung ...

presides over the House as its chief leadership officer, 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 Deliberative assemblies – bodies that use parliamentary procedure to arrive at decisions – use several methods of voting on motions (formal proposal by members of a deliberative assembly that the assembly take certain action). The regular met ...

. Other House leaders, such as the

majority A majority is more than half of a total; however, the term is commonly used with other meanings, as explained in the "#Related terms, Related terms" section below. It is a subset of a Set (mathematics), set consisting of more than half of the se ...

and minority leaders, are elected by their respective

party caucus A caucus is a group or meeting of supporters or members of a specific political party or movement. The exact definition varies between different countries and political cultures. The term originated in the United States, where it can refer to ...

es according to each party's strength in the chamber.

Leaders

Committee leadership

All chairs and vice chairs are a member of the majority party, with the chair serving as the presiding officer and the vice chair the alternate presiding officer. Ranking members are the chief representative of the minority party on the committee. *All chairs and vice chairs are members of the

Republican Party of Iowa The Republican Party of Iowa (RPI) is the affiliate of the Republican Party (United States), United States Republican Party in Iowa. The State Central Committee is chaired by Jeff Kaufmann. The RPI operates the Republican side of the Iowa caucu ...

. All ranking members are members of the Democratic Party of Iowa.

Current composition

Past composition of the House of Representatives

Past notable members

* William S. Beardsley,

governor of Iowa A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

from 1949 to 1954 *

William W. Belknap William Worth Belknap (September 22, 1829 – October 12, 1890) was a lawyer, Union Army officer, government administrator in Iowa, and the 30th United States secretary of war, serving under President Ulysses S. Grant. Belknap was impeached o ...

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

major general and

U.S. secretary of war The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the C ...

from 1869 until he resigned under threat of

impeachment Impeachment is a process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In Eur ...

in 1876. *

Terry Branstad Terry Edward Branstad (born November 17, 1946) is a retired American politician who served as the 39th and 42nd governor of Iowa (1983–1999; 2011–2017) and the United States ambassador to China (2017–2020). A member of the Repu ...

, governor of Iowa from 1983 to 1999 and 2011 to 2017 *

Dale M. Cochran Dale M. Cochran (November 20, 1928 – August 27, 2018) was an American politician from the state of Iowa. Career Cochran was born in Fort Dodge, Iowa in 1928. He attended Iowa State University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree, and ...

, speaker of the Iowa House of Representatives from 1975 to 1978 and Iowa secretary of agriculture from 1987 to 1998. *

Abby Finkenauer Abby Lea Finkenauer (born December 27, 1988) is an American politician who served as the United States Special Envoy for Global Youth Issues within the U.S. Department of State from 2022 to 2025. Finkenauer previously served as the U.S. represe ...

, former

U.S. representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

, 2019 to 2021 * Robert D. Fulton, governor of Iowa for 16 days in 1969 *

Chuck Grassley Charles Ernest Grassley (born September 17, 1933) is an American politician serving as the president pro tempore of the United States Senate since 2025, a role he also held from 2019 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Re ...

, current

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

, 1981 to present *

Frank Merriam Frank Finley Merriam (December 22, 1865 – April 25, 1955) was an American Republican politician who served as the 28th governor of California from June 2, 1934, until January 2, 1939. Assuming the governorship at the height of the Great Depress ...

governor of California The governor of California is the head of government of the U.S. state of California. The Governor (United States), governor is the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard and the California State Guard. Established in the Constit ...

from 1934 to 1939 * William M. Stone,

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

and governor of Iowa from 1864 to 1868. *

James Wilson James Wilson may refer to: Politicians and government officials Canada * James Wilson (Upper Canada politician) (1770–1847), English-born farmer and political figure in Upper Canada * James Crocket Wilson (1841–1899), Canadian MP from Queb ...

, U.S. secretary of agriculture from 1897 to 1913.

Qualifications

A state representative must be at least 21 years of age. Other qualifications include

U.S. citizenship Citizenship of the United States is a legal status that entails Americans with specific rights, duties, protections, and benefits in the United States. It serves as a foundation of fundamental rights derived from and protected by the Constit ...

, Iowa residency for at least one year, and district residency of 60 days prior to election.

References

External links

Iowa Legislature
''official government website'' *
State House of Iowa
at

Project Vote Smart Vote Smart, formerly called Project Vote Smart, is an American non-profit, non-partisan research organization that collects and distributes information on candidates for public office in the United States. It covers candidates and elected offic ...

Iowa House DemocratsIowa House Republicans
{{Authority control 1846 establishments in Iowa State lower houses in the United States *