Fourteenth in a series interpreting the results of Iowa’s 2024 state and federal elections.

As Iowa legislature began its 2025 session on January 13, members of the LGBTQ community held more seats than ever, and representation for people of color matched the record set following the 2022 elections.

However, fewer women now serve in the Iowa House and Senate. Religious diversity will also decline, even though State Senator Janice Weiner became the highest-ranking Iowa legislator to adhere to a non-Christian faith tradition.

RECORD REPRESENTATION FOR LGBTQ IOWANS

Going into the 2024 elections, three Iowa lawmakers identified as part of the LGBTQ community: Democratic State Representative Elinor Levin (House district 89, Iowa City), Republican State Representative Austin Harris (House district 26, several counties in southern Iowa), and State Senator Liz Bennett (Senate district 39, Cedar Rapids). Levin and Harris were re-elected in November, and Bennett was not on the 2024 ballot, as she’s in the middle of a four-year term in the upper chamber.

A record number of out LGBTQ candidates ran for the Iowa legislature in 2024, but only one non-incumbent was successful. Wichtendahl won the open-seat race in House district 80 (Cedar Rapids metro) and will be the first transgender Iowan to serve at the statehouse. She got into local government “for the boring things” and plans to work on a wide range of issues in the legislature, from public education to the cost of living to regulating AI and providing better mental health and veterans’ services.

But Wichtendahl is also committed to fighting for the fundamental freedoms of all Iowans, which will include opposing the likely onslaught of bills that would discriminate against LGBTQ people. Last year, Wichtendahl told Bleeding Heartland it would “make a huge difference” to fight those battles as a member of the legislature, rather than from the outside. When certain Republicans invoke “overwhelmingly negative, just outright lies about the trans community and what trans people look like, they have to look really hard away from the people who are in the room.”

She believes “it’s easier for them to denigrate us” when legislators don’t have to confront someone at the capitol who represents that community.

BLACK REPRESENTATION STAYS AT RECORD-SETTING LEVEL

During the 2019 legislative session, four Black members of the Iowa House were the only people of color among the state’s 150 legislators. The number crept up as Democrat Ross Wilburn won a 2019 special election to the House and Republican Eddie Andrews won an Iowa House race in 2020.

The 2022 elections set a new high-water mark for Black representation at the capitol. Democrat Izaah Knox (Senate district 17, Des Moines) became the only person of color serving in the Iowa Senate—and just the second African American ever elected to that chamber. Democrats Mary Madison and Jerome Amos, Jr. won their first elections to the House, with Amos, Jr. taking the place of retiring State Representative Ras Smith.

Of the six Black members of the Iowa House for the past two years, five were re-elected in 2024:

• Democrat Mary Madison (House district 31, West Des Moines)
• Democrat Ruth Ann Gaines (House district 33, Des Moines)
• Republican Eddie Andrews (House district 43, Johnston and a small area in Des Moines)
• Democrat Ross Wilburn (House district 50, Ames)
• Democrat Jerome Amos, Jr. (House district 62, Waterloo)

Ako Abdul-Samad, who was the longest-serving Black legislator in Iowa history, did not seek another term in House district 34 (Des Moines). Rob Johnson, who is also Black, won a four-way Democratic primary last year and easily defeated a Republican opponent in November.

Following the opening proceedings on January 13, I caught up with Johnson in the capitol rotunda. He told me, “I honestly believe representation matters for this state and how we operate and making sure that voices are being heard.” He’s honored the residents of House district 34 sent him to the legislature, but feels he represents Iowans across the state. “And so whether you are in Des Moines or Waterloo or Davenport, I’m looking forward to working with everybody to try and make it happen.”

Johnson’s committed to making sure people of color’s voices are heard. If a “bill may inadvertently affect us differently than it may some other folks,” he’s “excited about the opportunity to be able to speak up and say, ‘Hey, I’m not sure that may work when it comes to people who look or feel like I do.'”

During floor debates, Abdul-Samad often highlighted how Republican bills would disproportionately impact Black Iowans. Johnson said his predecessor “has laid a great foundation for how we can speak up and do it eloquently, and so we plan on definitely carrying that legacy forward.”

OTHER UNDER-REPRESENTED GROUPS HOLD STEADY

Both Latino members of the Iowa House were re-elected in November. Republican Mark Cisneros, who became the first Latino to serve in the Iowa legislature after winning in 2020, won a third term in House district 96 (Muscatine area). Democrat Adam Zabner was unopposed in House district 90, covering part of Iowa City, where Zabner was born and raised after his parents immigrated from Venezuela.

Both Asian-American members of the House will continue to serve as well. Republican Henry Stone, who describes himself as Amer-Asian, won a third term in House district 9 (Emmet, Winnebago, and most of Kossuth County). Democrat Megan Srinivas, the daughter of immigrants from India who settled in Fort Dodge, became the “youngest woman of color ever elected to the Iowa legislature” in 2022 and just won a second term in House district 30 (Des Moines).

Two years ago, Democrat Sami Scheetz became the first Arab American to serve in the Iowa legislature. He was unopposed for a second term in House district 78 (Cedar Rapids).

Although an estimated 15 percent of the population has a disability, Democrat Josh Turek is the only permanently disabled member of the Iowa legislature. Voters in House district 20 (Council Bluffs) gave him a second term in November. While Turek won by just six votes in 2022, he was re-elected by a 5-point margin, outperforming Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris by around 13 points. Turek has worked hard to raise awareness about barriers facing disabled Iowans and to change policies that previously flew below the radar.

MIXED BAG FOR RELIGIOUS DIVERSITY

The 2022 elections greatly expanded religious diversity at the statehouse. Srinivas became the first Hindu member of the Iowa House in more than a decade. After 28 years with no Jewish representation at the statehouse, three Jews (all Democrats) won legislative races in 2022. Levin and Zabner won House seats, and Janice Weiner won the open Senate district 45 (Iowa City).

To my knowledge, Weiner is the first Jewish person—and the first person from any non-Christian faith tradition—to lead an Iowa legislative caucus. Senate Democrats elected her in November to replace Pam Jochum, who was retiring. At the Iowa Capitol Press Association’s legislative forum on January 9, I asked her about that milestone. She said, “It just means that I represent Iowans just like everybody else represents Iowans, and people can see that you don’t have to be Christian in order to do a good job of representing Iowans.”

Weiner added that she brings some of her religious values to bear when considering legislation, such as the Jewish concepts of Tikkun olam (to heal and repair the world), and bringing justice to individuals. She said she hopes others can see that it’s not one-size-fits-all, and everyone can work together to make Iowa a better place to live.

Bleeding Heartland previously posted one example of how Weiner sometimes draws on Jewish ethics or beliefs during floor debate. Speaking in March 2023 against a Republican bill to ban gender-affirming care for minors, she explained why “This law violates my freedom of religion.”

The new legislature will take one step backward from diversity. Following Abdul-Samad’s retirement, the House is without a Muslim member for the first time since 2006. When I saw Abdul-Samad at the capitol on January 13, I asked about his thoughts on that change. He said, “We’re going to work on that for 2026,” adding, “We’ll swing the pendulum back again, but we have to prepare people.” It sounds likely that a group will work to recruit at least one Muslim candidate for the legislature during the next election cycle.

NUMBER OF WOMEN DECLINES IN BOTH CHAMBERS

As Bleeding Heartland discussed in more detail here, the 100 Iowa House members who will serve in 2025 include 27 women (fourteen Democrats and thirteen Republicans). That’s the lowest level of female representation in the chamber since 2016. In fact, for three election cycles in a row, voters have elected fewer women to the Iowa House.

The Iowa Senate reached its high point for women members in 2023, with fifteen female senators (eight Democrats and seven Republicans). That number was set to drop to fourteen following the November election, due to Jochum’s retirement. Then Governor Kim Reynolds named State Senator Chris Cournoyer as the new lieutenant governor in December.

Depending on the outcome of the January 28 special election in Senate district 35, the Iowa Senate will either have fourteen women (seven Democrats and seven Republicans) or thirteen women (seven Democrats and six Republicans) for the remainder of the 2025 session.

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Top photo of State Representative Rob Johnson was first published on his Facebook page on December 16.