Iowa’s first round of redistricting maps would create significant changes in the state’s congressional and legislative districts and potentially reset some 2022 campaigns.
The nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency presented new congressional and legislative maps to lawmakers Thursday, setting the ball rolling on a long-delayed redistricting process.
Editor’s Note- Under these plans, Wright County would still be in the 4th District, with no changes.
Congressional map swaps First and Second districts
Iowa won’t lose any House seats in this round of redistricting, but the first proposed map includes some major changes to district boundaries, especially in eastern Iowa.
U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, a Wapello County resident, currently presides over a Second District that includes the southeastern corner of the state. In the new map, the Second District instead extends upward from Wapello County to the Wisconsin border.
The First District would also see a major shift. It would be geographically much smaller under the proposal, covering the southeastern border of the state instead of the northeast corner. The district would include population-dense Linn, Johnson and Scott counties.
Dave Wasserman, senior editor of the Cook Political Report, tweeted that this could shift the First District toward Democrats, based on 2020 election results.
Currently, Republican Rep. Ashley Hinson represents the First District. She lives in Linn County.
The new boundaries could also shake up the 2022 race. Iowa Rep. Christina Bohannan announced a challenge to Miller-Meeks in Iowa’s Second District, but Bohannan is a Johnson County resident. Johnson County would be in Iowa’s First District under the new proposal, not the Second.
Bohannan has not made a statement about whether the new maps would change her candidacy. According to guidance from the Iowa Secretary of State, congressional candidates do not technically need to live in the district they’re running for — they just need to be residents of the state.
Lawmakers consider Statehouse boundaries
The LSA also released new maps for the state House and Senate. Lawmakers saw the maps for the first time Thursday morning.
House Speaker Pat Grassley, R-New Hartford, promised that lawmakers would “do our due diligence and review it thoroughly to ensure it is a fair set of maps for the people of Iowa.” Senate Minority Leader Zach Wahls, D-Coralville, said legislators were reviewing the plan, and he encouraged Iowans to do the same.
Detailed maps of each district are available on the LSA website. Iowans can also use this tool to find what district they would live in, if the maps are approved.
Under Iowa law, state lawmakers must live in their district for at least 60 days before a general election. That means that, if two incumbents end up in one new district together, one will have to retire or move to avoid facing off in an election. The Associated Press reported that 62 lawmakers — 24 senators and 38 House members — would have conflicting districts under the proposal. Included in that number is Grassley, who lives in the same new district as Rep. Shannon Latham, R-Sheffield.
In a call with Iowa reporters, Democrats emphasized the importance of using a nonpartisan process to draw the new maps. House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst, D-Windsor Heights, said she plans to vote in favor of the first proposal, then deal with any district-level strife that comes with it.
“It’s really not about politics,” she said. “It’s about representation.”
