When the 84th General Assembly convenes on January 10, the Iowa House will have 60 Republicans and 40 Democrats. House Republicans selected leaders and committee chairs last month, and Democrats finished choosing leaders and ranking committee members in the past two weeks.
All Iowa House leaders, committee chairs and ranking members can be found after the jump. I’ve included a link to a short biography for each state representative, as well as the year the person was first elected to the Iowa House and the district he or she represents.
Republicans (60 state representatives)
Leadership team
Speaker Kraig Paulsen (bio), first elected in 2002 from district 35, covering suburban and rural areas in Linn County
Majority Leader Linda Upmeyer (bio), first elected in 2002 from district 12, covering Franklin County and part of Cerro Gordo and Hancock
Speaker Pro Tem Jeff Kaufmann (bio), first elected in 2004 from district 79, covering Cedar County and parts of Johnson and Muscatine
Majority Whip Erik Helland (bio), first elected in 2008 in House district 69, covering suburban and rural areas in Polk County
Assistant majority leaders: Matt Windschitl (bio), first elected in 2006 from district 56, covering Harrison County, most of Monona and part of Pottawattamie
Renee Schulte (bio), first elected in 2008 from district 37, covering part of Cedar Rapids in Linn County
Dave Deyoe (bio), first elected in 2006 from district 10, covering most of Story County outside Ames and part of Hamilton
Steve Lukan (bio), first elected in 2002 from district 32, covering parts of Dubuque and Delaware counties
House committee chairs
Appropriations Committee: Scott Raecker (bio) first elected in 1998 from district 63, covering most of Urbandale in Polk County
Administration and Regulation Appropriations Subcommittee: Ralph Watts (bio), first elected in 2002 from district 47, covering most of Dallas County and a small part of Boone
Agriculture and Natural Resources Appropriations Subcommittee: Jack Drake (bio), first elected in 1992 from district 57, covering Shelby County and parts of Cass and Pottawattamie
Economic Development Appropriations Subcommittee: Jason Schultz (bio), first elected in 2008 from district 55, covering Ida County and parts of Woodbury, Crawford and Monona
Education Appropriations Subcommittee: Cecil Dolecheck (bio), first elected in 1996 from district 96, covering Montgomery, Adams, Taylor and Ringgold counties and part of Union
Health and Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee: Dave Heaton (bio), first elected in 1994 from district 91, covering Henry County and part of Lee
Justice Systems Appropriations Subcommittee: Gary Worthan (bio), first elected in 2006 in district 52, covering Buena Vista County and part of Sac
Transportation, Infrastructure and Capitals Appropriations Subcommittee: Dan Huseman (bio), first elected in 1994 in House district 53, covering Cherokee county and parts of Plymouth and Woodbury
Agriculture Committee: Annette Sweeney (bio), first elected in 2008 from district 44, covering Hardin County and most of Marshall outside Marshalltown
Commerce Committee: Chuck Soderberg (bio), first elected in 2004 from district 3, covering parts of Plymouth and Sioux Counties
Economic Growth/Rebuild Iowa Committee: Pat Grassley (bio), first elected in 2006 from district 17, covering Butler County and part of Bremer
Labor Committee: Lance Horbach (bio), first elected in 1998 from district 40, covering Grundy County and most of Tama
State Government Committee: Peter Cownie (bio), first elected in 2008 from district 60, covering part of West Des Moines
Transportation Committee: David Tjepkes (bio), first elected in 2002 from district 50, covering Calhoun and Greene Counties and part of Webster
Ways and Means Committee: Tom Sands (bio), first elected in 2002 from district 87, covering Louisa County and part of Des Moines County
Government Oversight Committee: Chris Hagenow (bio), first elected in 2008 from district 59, covering some of the western Des Moines suburbs in Polk County
Judiciary Committee: Rich Anderson (bio), first elected in 2004 from district 97, covering Page and Fremont Counties and much of Mills
Education Committee: Greg Forristall (bio), first elected in 2006 from district 98, covering parts of Pottawattamie and Mills Counties
Administration and Rules: Renee Schulte (bio), first elected in 2008 from district 37, covering part of Cedar Rapids in Linn County
Environmental Protection: Steve Olson (bio), first elected in 2002 from district 83, including parts of Scott and Clinton counties
Ethics: Kevin Koester (bio), first elected in 2008 from district 70, covering Ankeny in Polk County
Human Resources: Linda Miller (bio), first elected in 2006 from district 82, covering part of Bettendorf in Scott County
Local Government: Nick Wagner (bio), first elected in 2008 from district 36, covering Marion and some rural areas of Linn County
Natural Resources: Henry Rayhons (bio), first elected in 1996 from district 11, covering Winnebago and Worth Counties and part of Hancock
Public Safety: Clel Baudler (bio), first elected in 1998 from district 58, covering Guthrie, Audubon and Adair Counties and part of Cass
Veterans Affairs: Royd Chambers (bio), first elected in 2002 from district 5, covering Osceola and O’Brien Counties and parts of Clay and Sioux
Administrative Rules Review: Dawn Pettengill, (bio), first elected in 2004 as a Democrat before switching parties in 2007; represents district 39, covering Benton County and part of Iowa
Note on experience: seven committee chairs were elected to the House for the first time in 2008; four were elected for the first time in 2006. Some of those legislators had plenty of relevant work experience prior to running for office, but others are only in their 20s or early 30s.
Of the 60 incoming House Republicans, 34 are either on Paulsen’s leadership team or will chair a committee or appropriations subcommittee. Another 22 were just elected for the very first time. These four relatively experienced state representatives were left behind:
Dwayne Alons (bio), first elected in 1998 from district 4, covering Lyon County and most of Sioux. Bleeding Heartland readers may recall Alons’ remarkably ill-informed views on climate change.
Rich Arnold (bio), first elected in 1994 from district 72, covering Monroe and Lucas Counties and parts of Mahaska and Marion
Betty De Boef (bio), first elected in 2000 from district 76, covering Keokuk County and parts of Iowa, Poweshiek and Tama
Jim Van Engelenhoven (bio), first elected in 1998 from district 71, covering most of Marion Couty and a little bit of Jasper
Democrats (40 state representatives)
Leadership team
Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (bio), first elected in 2002 from district 67, covering the southeast side of Des Moines. He served as House majority leader for the last four years alongside House Speaker Pat Murphy.
Assistant Minority Leaders:
Ako Abdul-Samad (bio), first elected in 2006 from district 66, covering much of central Des Moines in Polk County
Mark Smith (bio), first elected in 2000 from district 43, covering northeastern Marshall County, including Marshalltown
Sharon Steckman (bio), first elected in 2008 from district 13, covering part of Cerro Gordo County, including Mason City
Mary Mascher (bio), first elected in 1994 from district 77, covering part of Iowa City in Johnson County
On December 19, House Democrats voted to create a Rural Caucus “that will focus on giving Iowa’s rural economy a boost by focusing on rural job creation, meeting Iowa’s rural infrastructure needs, and guaranteeing adequate resources for rural schools.”
Rural Caucus Chair: Andrew Wenthe (bio), first elected in 2006 from district 18, covering parts of Fayette, Bremer and Black Hawk Counties
Rural Caucus Vice-Chair: Dan Muhlbauer (bio), first elected in 2010 from district 51, covering Carroll County and parts of Sac and Crawford
Ranking committee members
Appropriations: Tyler Olson (bio), first elected in 2006 from district 38, covering part of Cedar Rapids in Linn County
Administration & Regulation Appropriations Subcommittee: Mary Gaskill (bio), first elected in 2002 from district 93, covering part of Wapello County, including Ottumwa
Agriculture & Natural Resources Appropriations Subcommittee: Chris Hall (bio), first elected in 2010 from district 2, covering the northeast part of Sioux City in Woodbury County
Economic Development Appropriations Subcommittee: Kirsten Running-Marquardt (bio), first elected in 2009 (special election) from district 33, covering part of Cedar Rapids in Linn County
Education Appropriations Subcommittee: Cindy Winckler (bio), first elected in 2002 from district 86, covering part of Davenport in Scott County
Health & Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee: Lisa Heddens (bio), first elected in 2002 from district 46, covering part of Story County, including the north side of Ames, and a small area in Boone County
Justice Systems Appropriations Subcommittee: Todd Taylor (bio), first elected in a 1995 special election from House district 34, covering part of Cedar Rapids in Linn County
Agriculture: Helen Miller (bio), first elected in 2002 from district 49, covering part of Webster County, including Fort Dodge
Commerce: Brian Quirk (bio), first elected in 2000 from district 15, covering Chickasaw and Howard Counties and part of Winneshiek
Economic Growth/Rebuild Iowa: Roger Thomas (bio), first elected in 1996 from district 24, covering Clayton County and parts of Delaware and Fayette
Education: Nate Willems (bio), first elected in 2008 from district 29, covering parts of Linn and Johnson Counties
Environmental Protection: Phyllis Thede (bio), first elected in 2008 from district 81, covering part of Davenport in Scott County
Ethics: Dan Kelley (bio), first elected in 2010 from district 41, covering most of Jasper County, including Newton
Government Oversight: Janet Petersen (bio), first elected in 2000 from district 64, covering part of the west side of Des Moines in Polk County
Human Resources: Beth Wessel-Kroeschell (bio), first elected in 2004 from district 45, covering most of Ames in Story County
Judiciary: Kurt Swaim (bio), first elected in 2002 from district 94, covering Appanoose, Davis and Wayne Counties
Labor: Bruce Hunter (bio), first elected in 2003 (special election) from district 62, covering part of the south side of Des Moines in Polk County
Local Government: John Wittneben (bio), first elected in 2010 from district 7, covering Palo Alto and Emmet Counties and part of Kossuth
Natural Resources: Curt Hanson (bio), first elected in 2009 (special election) from district 90, covering Van Buren County, most of Jefferson and part of Wapello
Public Safety: Bob Kressig (bio), first elected in 2004 from district 19, covering most of Cedar Falls and some rural areas in Black Hawk County
State Government: Vicki Lensing (bio), first elected in 2000 from district 78, covering part of Iowa City in Johnson County
Transportation: Jim Lykam (bio), first elected in 2002 from district 85, covering part of Davenport in Scott County
Veterans Affairs: Jerry Kearns (bio), first elected in 2008 from district 92, covering part of Lee County including Keokuk and Fort Madison
Ways & Means: Dave Jacoby (bio), first elected in 2002 from district 30, covering Coralville and North Liberty in Johnson County