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Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Iowa lawmakers 2015: By the numbers
Jan. 13, 2015 9:40 pm, Updated: Jan. 14, 2015 4:49 pm
DES MOINES - They mostly come from the business sector, many are grandparents, and most were born right here in Iowa.
They are the members of Iowa's 86th General Assembly, which gavels in this Wednesday morning at the Capitol.
There will be 149 members in the chambers today; one more representative must be chosen by a special election.
They are mostly men: 86 percent of the Senate and 73 percent of the House. They are mostly white: only five of 149 members are minorities.
Although they range in ages from 24 to 81, most are on the back nine in life: two-thirds of the Senators are 50 years or older, as are almost three-fourths of the House members.
Most members come from business or professional backgrounds. Farmer and retired are the next-most prevalent backgrounds.
A vast majority have children: 92 percent of Senators and 83 percent of House members. Roughly 2 in 5 House members are grandparents.
A similarly vast majority of legislators were born in Iowa: 92 percent of Senators and 79 percent of House members. The non-natives come mostly from Minnesota and Missouri, but others hail from California, Texas, and Washington, D.C.
And while the November elections returned the same party control (Republicans control the Iowa House and Democrats the Iowa Senate), and most of the top leadership remains the same, each chamber has 16 members serving in his or her first term.
Take a deeper dive into the numbers in a look at the makeup of the Iowa Legislature in 2015:
PARTY
Senate: 26 Democrats, 24 Republicans
House: 56 Republicans, 43 Democrats
GENDER
Senate: 43 men, 7 women
House: 72 men, 27 women
MINORITIES
Senate: 0; House: 5
AGE
Senate
Younger than 30 - 0
30-39 - 5
40-49 - 12
50-59 - 14
60-69 - 16
Older than 69 - 3
Youngest - Sen. Jake Chapman, R-Adel, 30
Oldest - Sen. Wally Horn, D-Cedar Rapids, 81
House
Younger than 30 - 6
30-39 - 8
40-49 - 13
50-59 - 33
60-69 - 28
Older than 69 - 11
Youngest - Rep. Jake Highfill, R-Johnston, 24
Oldest - Rep. Jack Drake, R-Griswold, 80
TERMS in office
Includes terms served in both chambers
Senate
First - 16
2-4 - 19
5-7 -10
More than 7 -5
Most terms - Sen. Wally Horn, D-Cedar Rapids, 15 terms (10 in Senate, 5 in House)
House
First - 16
2-4 - 49
5-7 - 22
More than 7 - 12
Most terms - Rep. Dennis Cohoon, D-Burlington, 14 terms (all in House)
OCCUPATIONS
Senate
l Business/professional - 21
l Farmer - 14
l Retired - 7
l Educator - 4
l Legislator - 3
l Lawyer - 1
House
l Business/professional - 44
l Retired - 18
l Farmer - 14
l Lawyer - 9
l Educator - 7
l Legislator - 7
EDUCATION
Senate
l High school diploma - 10
l Some college - 1
l College degree - 22
l Advanced degree - 15
l Not available - 2
House
l High school diploma - 6
l Some college - 7
l College degree - 47
l Advanced degree - 38
l Not available - 1
PARENTS
Senate: 46; House: 82
GRANDPARENTS
Senate: 14; House: 40
NON-IOWA NATIVES
Senate: 4; House: 21
(Note: All counts include 149 total legislators, including 99 Iowa House members. One House seat must be filled with a special election.)
Legislators applaud during Gov. Terry Branstad's Condition of the State address to the a joint session of the legislature at the State Capitol building in Des Moines on Tuesday, January 13, 2015. (Adam Wesley/The Gazette)
Gov. Terry Branstad enters the House chamber to deliver the Condition of the State address to the legislature at the State Capitol building in Des Moines on Tuesday, January 13, 2015. (Adam Wesley/The Gazette)
Gov. Terry Branstad delivers his condition of the state speech to a joint session of the state legislature at the State Capitol building in Des Moines on Tuesday, January 13, 2015. (Adam Wesley/The Gazette)
Iowa Rep. Darrel Branhagan listens to Gov. Terry Branstad's Condition of the State address to the a joint session of the legislature at the State Capitol building in Des Moines on Tuesday, January 13, 2015. (Adam Wesley/The Gazette)
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