The 1938 Iowa State Senate elections took place as part of the biennial 1938 United States elections. Iowa voters elected state senators in 22 of the state senate's 50 districts. State senators serve four-year terms in the Iowa State Senate.
A statewide map of the 50 state Senate districts in the 1938 elections is provided by the Iowa General Assembly here.
The primary election on June 6, 1938, determined which candidates appeared on the November 8, 1938 general election ballot.
Following the previous election, Republicans had control of the Iowa state Senate with 28 seats to Democrats' 22 seats. Following a special election in 1937 in district 1, Republicans flipped the first district to their party. Therefore, on election day in November 1938, Republicans held 29 seats to Democrats' 21.
To claim control of the chamber from Republicans, the Democrats needed to net 5 Senate seats.
Republicans maintained control of the Iowa State Senate following the 1938 general election with the balance of power shifting to Republicans holding 38 seats and Democrats having 12 seats (a net gain of 9 seats for Republicans).
Summary of Results Note: The 28 holdover Senators not up for re-election are not listed on this table.
State Senate DistrictIncumbent PartyElected Senator Party 1st Stanley Lawrence Hart Rep Stanley Lawrence Hart Rep 7th Paul Lambert Millhone Rep Carl Oscar Sjulin Rep 9th James M. Bell Dem Frederick P. Cromwell Rep 10th Arthur Claire Dewey Rep Arthur Claire Dewey Rep 12th Eugene Irving Mason Dem John Edwin Talbott Rep 13th Roy E. Stevens Dem Elmer K. Bekman Rep 18th Frank Pelzer Rep Frank Pelzer Rep 20th Elmer Primer Corwin Rep Elmer Primer Corwin Rep 21st David W. Kimberly Rep Frank D. Martin Rep 22nd Harold L. Irwin Dem Otto H. Henningsen Rep 29th John W. Billingsley Rep Ross Rutledge Mowry Rep 30th James J. Gillespie Dem George M. Faul Rep 32nd Tom Ellis Murray Dem Linus Forsling Rep 34th Andrew Bell Dem Robert W. Harvey Rep 35th Howard C. Baldwin Dem Howard C. Baldwin Dem 37th George Raymond Hill Rep George Raymond Hill Rep 38th John Peter Berg Rep John Peter Berg Rep 42nd Samuel D. Goetsch Dem Edward Henry Vrba Dem 44th Edward P. Donohue Rep Edward P. Donohue Rep 45th Henry Julius Grunewald Dem Richard V. Leo Rep 48th I. G. Chrystal Dem Ralph E. Benson Rep 50th Albert Josiah Shaw Rep Albert Josiah Shaw Rep
Source:
Detailed Results NOTE: The 28 districts that did not hold elections in 1938 are not listed here. District 1 • District 7 • District 9 • District 10 • District 12 • District 13 • District 18 • District 20 • District 21 • District 22 • District 29 • District 30 • District 32 • District 34 • District 35 • District 37 • District 38 • District 42 • District 44 • District 45 • District 48 • District 50__NOTOC__ Note: If a district does not list a primary, then that district did not have a competitive primary (i.e., there may have only been one candidate file for that district).
District 1
District 7
District 9
District 10
District 12
District 13
District 18
District 20
District 21
District 22
District 29
District 30
District 32
District 34
District 35
District 37
District 38
District 42
District 44
District 45
District 48
District 50
See also United States elections, 1938 United States House of Representatives elections in Iowa, 1938 Elections in Iowa
References