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Iowa State Senate District 7

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Iowa State Senate District 7
Incumbent
Assumed office: January 3, 2023

Iowa State Senate District 7 is represented byKevin Alons (R).

As of the 2020 Census, Iowa state senators represented an average of63,848 residents. After the 2010 Census, each member represented61,076 residents.

About the chamber

Members of theIowa State Senate servefour-year terms and are not subject toterm limits. Half of the senate is up for re-election every two years. Iowa state senators assume office on the first day of January which is not a Sunday or legal holiday.[1][2]

Qualifications

See also:State legislature candidate requirements by state

TheIowa Constitution states, "Senators shall be chosen for the term of four years, at the same time and place as representatives; they shall be twenty-five years of age, and possess the qualifications of representatives as to residence and citizenship."[3]


Salaries

See also:Comparison of state legislative salaries
State legislative salaries, 2025[4]
SalaryPer diem
$25,000/year$201/day for legislators who live outside of Polk County. $150.75/day for legislators who live within Polk County.

Vacancies

See also:How vacancies are filled in state legislatures

If there is a vacancy in theIowa General Assembly, the vacant seat must be filled by a special election. Thegovernor of Iowa is required within five days of a vacancy in theGeneral Assembly to call for a special election. If the vacancy happens in session or within 45 days of the session convening, the governor must call for an election as soon as possible with at least an 18-day notice. All other special elections require a 40-day notice as long the election does not happen on the same day as a school election within the district.[5]

DocumentIcon.jpgSee sources:Iowa Code § 69.14


District map

Redistricting

2020 redistricting cycle

See also:Redistricting in Iowa after the 2020 census

On November 4, 2021, Iowa Gov.Kim Reynolds (R) signed new congressional and state legislative maps into law after the state's Legislative Services Agency had proposed them on October 21, 2021. The Iowa legislature approved the maps on October 28, 2021, by a vote of 48-1 in thestate Senate and 93-2 in thestate House.[6] The legislature could only vote to approve or reject the maps and could not make any amendments. These maps took effect for Iowa's 2022 congressional and legislative elections.

How does redistricting in Iowa work? The Legislative Services Agency prepares redistricting plans for approval by theIowa State Legislature. According toAll About Redistricting, the Legislative Services Agency (LSA) consists of "civil servants committed to nonpartisanship and otherwise charged with tasks like legal and fiscal analysis of state legislation and state government oversight." The LSA is assisted by a commission, which consists of the following members:[7]

  1. one member selected by the majority leader of theIowa State Senate
  2. one member selected by the majority leader of theIowa House of Representatives
  3. one member selected by the minority leader of theIowa State Senate
  4. one member selected by the minority leader of theIowa House of Representatives
  5. one member selected by the first four members

The members of this commission cannot "hold partisan public office or an office in a political party, and none may be a relative or employee of a federal or state legislator (or the legislature as a whole)."[7]

Working with this commission, the LSA drafts congressional and state legislative district lines. The maps are presented as a single bill to the state legislature, which may approve or reject the bill without altering it (the legislature can provide feedback). If the legislature rejects the plan, the LSA must draft a second proposal. If the legislature rejects the second proposal, the LSA must draft a third, and final, set of maps. If the legislature rejects this plan, it may then approve its own maps. Since the implementation of this process in 1980, the state legislature has never chosen not to approve an LSA proposal. Redistricting plans are also subject to gubernatorial veto. In addition, the legislature may repeal or revise the maps at any time, though it has never done so.[7]

State law establishes the following criteria for both congressional and state legislative districts:[7]

  1. Districts must be "convenient and contiguous."
  2. Districts must "preserve the integrity of political subdivisions like counties and cities."
  3. Districts must "to the extent consistent with other requirements, [be] reasonably compact–defined in terms of regular polygons, comparisons of length and width, and overall boundary perimeter."

In addition, state House districts are required to be contained within state Senate districts "where possible, and where not in conflict with the criteria above." It is explicit in state law that district lines cannot be drawn "to favor a political party, incumbent, or other person or group."[7]

Iowa State Senate District 7
until January 2, 2023

Click a district to compare boundaries.

Iowa State Senate District 7
starting January 3, 2023

Click a district to compare boundaries.

Elections

2026

See also: Iowa State Senate elections, 2026


There are noofficial candidates yet for this election.


2022

See also:Iowa State Senate elections, 2022

General election

General election for Iowa State Senate District 7

Kevin Alons won election in the general election for Iowa State Senate District 7 on November 8, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Kevin Alons
Kevin Alons (R)
 
98.0
 
18,470
 Other/Write-in votes
 
2.0
 
379

Ballotpedia Logo

There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 18,849
Candidate Connection = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Iowa State Senate District 7

Kevin Alons advanced from the Republican primary for Iowa State Senate District 7 on June 7, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Kevin Alons
Kevin Alons
 
99.4
 
4,271
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.6
 
26

Ballotpedia Logo

There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 4,297
Candidate Connection = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team.

2018

See also:Iowa State Senate elections, 2018

General election

General election for Iowa State Senate District 7

Jackie Smith defeated incumbentRick Bertrand in the general election for Iowa State Senate District 7 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Jackie Smith
Jackie Smith (D)
 
51.2
 
9,125
Image of Rick Bertrand
Rick Bertrand (R)
 
48.7
 
8,676
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.1
 
26

Ballotpedia Logo

Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 17,827
Candidate Connection = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Iowa State Senate District 7

Jackie Smith advanced from the Democratic primary for Iowa State Senate District 7 on June 5, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Jackie Smith
Jackie Smith
 
100.0
 
2,217

Ballotpedia Logo

There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified.

Total votes: 2,217
Candidate Connection = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Iowa State Senate District 7

Steven Stokes advanced from the Republican primary for Iowa State Senate District 7 on June 5, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Steven Stokes
 
100.0
 
1,344

Ballotpedia Logo

There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified.

Total votes: 1,344
Candidate Connection = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team.

2014

See also:Iowa State Senate elections, 2014

Elections for theIowa State Senate took place in 2014. A primary election took place on June 3, 2014. The general election was held onNovember 4, 2014. Thesignature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was March 14, 2014.Jim France defeatedMaria Rundquist in the Democratic primary, while incumbentRick Bertrand was unopposed in the Republican primary. France, Bertrand and Rundquist (I) faced off in the general election after Rundquist filed to run as an Independent on July 29, 2014.[8][9] Incumbent Bertrand defeated both challengers, Rundquist and France, in the general election.[10]

Iowa State Senate, District 7 General Election, 2014
PartyCandidateVote %Votes
    RepublicanGreen check mark transparent.pngRick BertrandIncumbent57.1%8,766
    Democratic Jim France37.4%5,738
    Independent Maria Rundquist5.4%832
    Write-in Write-in0.1%16
Total Votes15,352
Iowa State Senate, District 7 Democratic Primary, 2014
CandidateVote %Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngJim France55.4%599
Maria Rundquist44.6%483
Total Votes1,082

2010

See also:Iowa State Senate elections, 2010

Elections for the office ofIowa State Senate consisted of a primary election on June 8, 2010, and a general election onNovember 2, 2010. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was March 19, 2010. IncumbentAmanda Ragan (D) defeatedJames Mills (R) in the general election. Neither candidate faced opposition in their primary.[11][12]

Iowa State Senate, District 7, General Election, 2010
PartyCandidateVote %Votes
    DemocraticGreen check mark transparent.pngAmanda RaganIncumbent60.4%12,908
    Republican James Mills39.6%8,452
Total Votes21,360

Campaign contributions

From 2000 to 2022, candidates for Iowa State Senate District 7 raised a total of $1,104,736. Candidates who raised money in contributions earned $55,237 on average. All figures come fromFollow the Money

Campaign contributions, Iowa State Senate District 7
YearAmountCandidatesAverage
2022$25,6991$25,699
2018$234,2202$117,110
2014$181,2263$60,409
2012$238,6283$79,543
2010$198,8182$99,409
2008$45,2592$22,630
2006$25,7811$25,781
2004$106,1222$53,061
2002$16,0091$16,009
2000$32,9743$10,991
Total$1,104,73620$55,237


See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. JUSTIA US Law, "Iowa Code, Section 39.8 - Term of office," accessed November 1, 2021
  2. Iowa Secretary of State, "Terms of Offices for Elected Officials," accessed November 1, 2021
  3. Iowa Constitution, "Article 3, Section 5," accessed May 21, 2025
  4. National Conference of State Legislatures, "2025 Legislator Compensation," December 2, 2025
  5. Iowa General Assembly, "Iowa Code - 2021," accessed February 9, 2021(Statute 69.14)
  6. Des Moines Register, "Iowa lawmakers accept second redistricting plan, setting up next decade of politics," October 28, 2021
  7. 7.07.17.27.37.4All About Redistricting, "Iowa," accessed April 21, 2015
  8. Iowa Secretary of State, "Official primary election candidate list," accessed March 18, 2014
  9. Iowa Secretary of State, "Official primary election results," accessed June 30, 2014
  10. Iowa Secretary of State, "Official general election results," accessed December 1, 2014
  11. "2010 Iowa Primary Results," October 16, 2013
  12. "Official Iowa State Senate November 2, 2010 Election Results," accessed October 16, 2013


Current members of theIowa State Senate
Leadership
Senate President:Amy Sinclair
Majority Leader:Michael Klimesh
Minority Leader:Janice Weiner
Senators
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
District 5
District 6
District 7
District 8
District 9
District 10
District 11
District 12
District 13
District 14
District 15
District 16
District 17
District 18
District 19
District 20
District 21
District 22
District 23
District 24
District 25
District 26
District 27
District 28
District 29
District 30
District 31
District 32
District 33
District 34
District 35
District 36
District 37
District 38
District 39
District 40
District 41
District 42
District 43
District 44
District 45
District 46
District 47
District 48
District 49
District 50
Republican Party (33)
Democratic Party (17)


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