Iowa legislators approve new political boundaries
Iowa lawmakers approved the new redistricting maps that will impact political boundaries for the next decade.
On Thursday, Democrats and Republicans agreed that the second set of maps were fair, nonpartisan and met all constitutional requirements.
If approved, the new maps would contain major changes.
On the congressional front, Wapello County would fall in Iowa's third district which would trigger a faceoff between the district's current representatives: Democrat Rep. Cindy Axne and Republican Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks.
This change also means Republican Rep. Ashley Hinson of Marion would reside in Iowa's second district, but she currently represents the first district.
The maps also redraw Iowa's House and Senate district. These boundaries place 58 current lawmakers into a district with another incumbent. They will have to decide whether to run again or retire.
The process leading up to the map's approval is supposed to be free of political influence. However, now that the Senate has approved the maps, Republican Sen. Jack Whitver said he thinks they're very favorable to Republicans.
"Politically, I think this is a really good map for us as well," Whitver said. "I believe that we can keep our Senate Republican majority for a decade under this map. Again, this is a nonpartisan process. I think we would have kept our majority under the first map too, but when you're looking at those specific things we think this is a better map."
"Redistricting has an immense impact on our Democracy," said Democratic Sen. Pam Jochum. "It influences who wins elections and what laws actually pass."
Now that the new district maps have been drawn, campaigns can begin in full swing.
However, both Democrats and Republicans are months behind schedule after COVID-19 delayed the release of Census data that starts this process.
Gov. Kim Reynolds released the following statement about the new maps, “Today’s decision by the Iowa Legislature to approve the second draft of the legislative and congressional redistricting maps is very encouraging. I am confident in how the process played out—just as the law intended, and I believe these new districts will fairly and accurately represent the citizens of Iowa for the next decade.”
Iowa Democrat Party's Chair Ross Wilburn released the following statement, "Iowans made their voices heard and stopped Iowa Republicans from tampering with our gold-standard redistricting process. I’m grateful to Senate Democratic Leader Zach Wahls and Iowa House Democratic Leader Jennifer Konfrst for bringing together Iowans from every corner of the state to fight back against any attempts to undermine our nonpartisan process. Today was not just a win for Iowans, but a win for our democracy."
Iowa GOP Chairman Jeff Kaufmann said in part, "Despite Iowa Democrats' attempts to politicize our nonpartisan redistricting process, Iowans can rest assured that legislative Republicans did their due diligence and passed a fair map that meets the highest standard of the law. The Republican Party of Iowa remains laser-focused on the 2022 election and the passage of these maps just gets us closer to sweeping victories. We have dedicated staff already in place, across the state, active local county parties, robust fundraising, and fired up voters. Republicans are organized and united to defend and elect freedom-loving conservatives, up and down the ballot."