State Rep. Kent Sorenson, R-Indianola

Sorenson, a freshman representative, defeated former Rep. Mark Davitt (D-Indianola) in an election that took many Democrats by surprise. He is a conservative Republican with ties to Campaign for Liberty, the organization that was spawned by libertarian U.S. Rep. Ron Paul’s (R-Texas) presidential campaign.

Earlier this year, Sorenson made a splash by writing an audacious open letter to U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, the senior-most Republican official in Iowa, criticizing several of his positions. He also used Twitter to disseminate false information about national health care reform.

At this point, Sorenson’s chances of winning in Senate District 37, which spans Warren and Madison Counties just south of Des Moines, are unclear. He currently represents Warren County in the Iowa House, and that half of the district is slightly more Democratic than the Madison County half, which has been represented by Republican Rep. Jodi Tymeson for years.

But Appel, who has represented the area in the Iowa Senate since 2006, has proven herself to be an aggressive campaigner and a very successful fundraiser. Unlike Davitt, some Democrats say, Appel will be ready for the challenge.

Even before Sorenson announced his senate candidacy, Democrats were preparing for the chance to win back his seat in the House. Veteran Democratic operative Scott Ourth is actively considering an entry into the race, and, without an incumbent, he would likely become the favorite to win.

I can respect McKinley’s desire to get in on the back-and-forth about errors on Web sites, but that was a pretty cheap shot. Anyone who is savvy enough for Twitter should probably be savvy enough to look in a site’s navigation bar before concluding that a page doesn’t exist. (I should also note that the link that McKinley cited as being broken now redirects to the correct page.)

On a vote of 30-19, lawmakers gave approval to Senate File 477, which would allow the state to issue bonds totaling $100 million for vertical infrastructure improvements and $5 million for alternative energy projects.

The bill is expected to be debated by the Iowa House today.

The measure is one of several bonding bills passed last night. Both the House and Senate passed a $115 million to help University of Iowa rebuild flood-ravaged areas of the Iowa City campus, and the House passed an amended version of a $545 million bonding bill passed by the Senate last month.

All told, legislators are expected to approve more than $800 million in bonding bills this weekend with the hopes of adjourning early next week.

A UCLA law school study last year estimated that allowing same-sex marriage in Iowa would bring in an additional $5.3 million in state revenue each year. Iowa does not require residency for the purposes of granting a marriage license.

McKinley ran for the post last year, but Wieck defeated him.  Shortly after his victory last year, Wieck told the Iowa Independent that he planned to contrast Republican and Democratic positions on property taxes and social issues, among other things, during the 2008 legislative session.

More recently, however, Wieck was known for setting a low bar for GOP State Senators on election day, hoping only to keep Democrats from picking up enough seats to achieve a supermajority.

The chambers of the Iowa Senate.

Democrats already have a 30-to-20 advantage, and in five battleground districts identified earlier this year by The Iowa Independent, Democratic candidates have an overwhelming advantage in cash on hand, with $224,732 compared to $20,071 for the Republicans. Two of those five seats are currently held by retiring Republicans, meaning the Democrats are in good position to expand their majority in the Senate.

Here is a look at fund-raising totals for the five battleground districts, according to the most recent filings with the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board.

District 16

Incumbent Tom Hancock, D-Epworth, narrowly defeated Republican Julie Hosch in 2004, causing some to believe he was ripe for an upset this year. He faces off with Dave McLaughlin, a car dealer from Cascade. Hancock has $16,903 cash on hand compared with $3,125 for McLaughlin.

District 18

The retirement of incumbent Mary Lundby, R-Marion, caused Democrats to immediately put this district on its list for a possible pickup. District demographics lean Republican, but Democratic candidate Rep. Swati Dandekar has a huge cash advantage over her opponent, William Childers, a banker from Marion. Dandekar has $92,941 cash on hand to Childers’ $4,456.

District 22

This is another district where an incumbent Republican is retiring and opening the door to a Democratic pickup. Larry McKibben, R-Marshalltown, is stepping down after three terms. Republican Jarret Heil, a former staffer for U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley and U.S. Rep. Tom Latham, will face off with Democrat Steve Sodders, a Marshall County deputy sheriff from State Center. Sodders has $48,391 cash on hand. Heil has only $8,116.

District 38

Incumbent Tom Rielly, D-Oskaloosa, will face off with Republican Michael Hadley, a fire chief from Richland. Long considered a GOP district, Rielly won in 2004 with the help of a large majority of votes out of Grinnell. He has $54,129 cash on hand compared to $3,536 for Hadley.

District 42

Incumbent Frank Wood, D-Davenport, defeated Republican Brian Sievers by only 480 votes in 2004. This year he will face off with Shawn Hamerlinck, R-Davenport. Wood has a sizable cash advantage, with $12,368 compared to $838 for Hamerlinck.

While it’s difficult to craft a political crystal ball in the best circumstances, the primary filings, based on their sheer numbers, are good news for women, and that’s something that has leadership in both political parties optimistic.

A total of 34 women currently serve in the Iowa Legislature. There are 28 women in the House and six in the Senate. Percentagewise, that places Iowa at 23 percent — roughly the national average. In contrast, however, the percentage was the highest in Iowa history.

“Two thousand and six was a historic year for Democratic women in the Iowa House of Representatives,” said Speaker Pro Tempore Polly Bukta, D-Clinton. “A record number were elected, and we saw many firsts. For the 2007-2008 sessions, 40 percent of committee chairs were women — with three of those women chairing the key committees of agriculture, appropriations, and commerce for the first time in the history of the House. Three women also make up 50 percent of the leadership team. We have strong women coming through the ranks who want to serve and are ready to lead.

“We have worked hard this cycle to recruit more women to run this fall. There are presently a record 17 Democratic women serving in the House of Representatives. Fifteen of these women are running for reelection. Two members are running for the Iowa Senate. We could possibly end up with another record breaker if our five women recruits end up in the win column this coming November.”

Initial reports in relation to the 2008 election were not optimistic — retirements and chamber switches alone placed seven seats currently held by women in jeopardy — but a multitude of women filed candidacy papers, many of them at the last moment. If all the women who have filed go on to win their campaigns, Iowa would experience one of the largest surges of female participation in a state Legislature that has ever been witnessed. In fact Iowa has the potential of seating a total of 53 women — 11 in the Senate and 42 in the House. It’s a statistic that would catapult Iowa from middle of the road to one of the top five slots in the national rankings.

“We’re thrilled about the opportunity to build on the diversity within our caucus,” said Speaker of the House Pat Murphy, D-Dubuque. “We set a new record for the number of women in the Iowa House last year at 26 and a new record for the number of minorities with five. We look forward to building on that progress in 2008 and making the Iowa House more reflective of the people of Iowa.”

From the other side of the political aisle, Assistant Minority Leader Linda Upmeyer, R-Garner, echoed the enthusiasm.

“We have several great women running this year — incredibly motivated, strong women who have stepped up to run for office,” Upmeyer said. “I’m very excited about these women, not based on gender, but because they are just great candidates all around.”

For those who like to look at the horse race of politics, there are currently five seats held by women in the Iowa Senate that will most likely be held by women when the 2009 legislative session begins. Four of those seats — three Democratic and one Republican — are not slated to be on the upcoming ballot. One Republican senator — Pat Ward in District 30 — will not have an opponent unless the Democrats hold a special nominating convention.

Similarly, there are nine seats in the Iowa House currently held by women that will mostly likely continue to be held by women. Seven of those seats belong to members of the Democratic Party while two of the seats have both Democratic and Republican women as candidates.

Looking at only the legislative races involving women, the Democratic Party has the potential of picking up 11 seats in the House and two in the Senate. Republicans have the potential of picking up seven seats in the House and one in the Senate. In addition there are two races in each chamber that could go either Republican or Democratic while still being served by a woman.

A likely scenario, given that the vast majority of retirements were Republican women, is fewer women serving on the GOP side. In addition Democratic women candidates outnumber their Republican counterparts by nearly 2-to-1. Most Republican candidates have also committed to challenging incumbents. Historically in Iowa as well as nationally, voters tend to favor incumbents over challengers — regardless of gender or party. The most likely overall scenario, however, is a higher percentage of seats in the hands of female legislators.

When it comes to feminine influence in state legislatures, even a small percentage change can make a huge difference in political tone and discourse. As far back as 1991, then Georgetown University professor Sue Thomas found that women legislators are more likely to introduce bills concerning women, children and families than are men, and that women are more successful in passing such bills. She also found that greater percentages of women in the Legislature (and the presence of women’s caucuses) make it more likely that women legislators will introduce and pass bills involving women, children and family issues. Based on her research, legislatures made up of predominantly men may raise similar issues, but will not provide the same nature of debate and/or character of legislation as would a body with a higher female population.

Thomas’ findings have been repeated by women politicos for nearly two decades. Most recently the sentiments was given a voice by Madeleine May Kunin, a former Democratic governor of Vermont, ambassador to Switzerland and author, as she discussed differences between the results of the 2008 Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary.

“When researching my forthcoming book, I concluded that electing women is contagious. The more you see, the more you get,” she said. “… These elected women serve as powerful role models for other women, who see them in action and ask themselves, why not? They have the further effect of demonstrating to the voters that the diversity that women bring to the political process has its rewards: new ideas, priorities and leadership styles.”

Democratic races to watch:

• House District 13 — Retired Mason City educator Sharon Steckman is making a bid for an open seat.
• House District 36 — Current stay-at-home mom and former educator Gretchen Lawyer has set her sights on the Marion seat being vacated by Rep. Swati Dandekar. (Dandekar is launching a senatorial campaign for the seat being vacated by Sen. Mary Lundby, a longtime public servant who is hoping for a slot on the newly expanded Linn County Board of Supervisors.) Lawyer will face Marion City Councilman Nick Wagner, who launched an unsuccessful bid for the same seat against Dandekar in 2006.
• House District 81 — Phyllis Thede, who was narrowly defeated in a 2006 senatorial bid, will face Republican incumbent Jamie Van Fossen. An employee of Davenport Community School District and community activist, Thede is expected to do well.
• House District 50 — Community activist and small-business owner Kristin Roberts will work to overthrow Republican incumbent Dave Tjepkes. Roberts earned local respect and name recognition when she raised funds to restore the Dr. George Gallup home in Jefferson.
• House District 71 — Speaking of name recognition, Pat Van Zante has it in droves. She’s a social worker and has been extremely active in the Pella community. Currently, Republican incumbent Jim Van Engelenhoven faces a primary opponent, Mark Held.

Republican races to watch:

• House District 44 — Alden farmer Annette Sweeney battles Tim Hoy for the seat being vacated by retiring Republican Polly Granzow.
• House District 7 — Esterville small-business owner Deb Satern challenges Democratic incumbent Marcella Frevert.
• House District 37 — Mount Mercy College adjunct professor Renee Schulte, who launched a close but unsuccessful bid for Iowa Senate in 2006, challenges incumbent Art Stead.
• House District 43 — Jan Jeck, a Marshalltown Community College trustee, takes on incumbent Mark Smith.
• House District 31 — Dena Hines, an at-large city councilwoman from Monticello, challenges incumbent and Iraq war veteran Ray Zirklebach.

Be sure to keep your eyes focused on our pages as well. In the coming weeks, we will bring you profiles of each of the women candidates.

Table 1 — Current Iowa Legislative Female Representation

Table 2 — Potential Iowa Legislative Female Representation

Table 3 — “Safe” Seats for Women

Table 4 — Potential Seat Pick-Ups

Table 5 — Senate Races

Table 6 — House Races

They refused to come back for the rest of the day and into the night, while Democrats stood on the floor and waited.

The legislator typically adjourns on Thursday, but Republicans remained in a conference room behind the senate chambers for more than a day as a way to slow fast-track legislation that would give labor unions more power to negotiate salary and working conditions.

Party leaders reached an agreement to send the bill to committee on Friday and discuss it Monday. The bill was reviewed in the Labor Committee on Friday afternoon and be debated beginning at noon on Monday. Sen. Majority Leader Michael Gronstal, D-Council Bluffs, said he’ll limit the time allowed to debate the amendment to six hours.

Courtney Greene, press secretary to Gov. Chet Culver, a Democrat, said in a statement that the governor was pleased the two sides had reached an agreement.

“Governor Culver appreciates that the senate leadership on both sides has reached a working agreement that allows for open debate and discussion.  As he said in his Condition of the State address, he believes lawmakers should not be afraid to debate these important issues in a respectful and civil manner.

  “As for the bill itself, he will continue to listen to the debate, and as with all pieces of legislation, he will carefully review and consider it if and when received, and make a decision at that time.”

Below is the original report from Thursday evening:Democrats and Republicans were unable to end a stand-off that has stalled debate over a controversial collective bargaining bill. No action is likely on the Senate floor Thursday evening, Senate Majority Leader Michael Gronstal announced to reporters at about 8:50 p.m. Thursday night. He said the earliest that debate over the bill could occur is 8 a.m. Friday morning and many members of the body are going home for the night.

Gronstal, D-Council Bluffs, said it’s not unlikely that lawmakers will remain at the statehouse through the Easter weekend.

Gronstal said earlier Thursday that he expected debate over the bill to begin at around 5 p.m. But Senate Minority Leader Ron Wieck, R-Sioux City, called his members into caucus just after 4 p.m. Staffers say the Republican senators aren’t coming out until Gronstal agrees to formally delay the vote on collective bargaining until Monday.

Republicans say they want a chance to allow Iowans to learn more about the collective bargaining proposal and to hear from constituents before a final vote is held on the issue.

Gronstal said he had planned to refer the bill to the Labor Committee on Thursday, allow it to be debated and amended, a call for a final vote on it before the Senate dismissed for the holiday weekend.

“We invite them to debate the issue,” he told reporters at about 6:15 p.m. Thursday night. “This looks to me like a stalling tactic (and) I’m willing to stay here all night.”

Senate pages delivered about two dozen pizzas to the Democratic Caucus room at about 6 p.m. Republican senators are reportedly leaving their caucus in small groups to get dinner and enjoy a change of scenery.

Gronstal said that caucus meetings are traditionally held to discuss legitimate issues among party members and that Democrats have never used the meetings as a stalling method.

“Eleven hours in caucus and not one amendment offered,” Gronstal said. “This is a stalling tactic.”

Women currently occupy 34 of Iowa’s 150 legislative seats — 28 in the House of Representatives and six in the Senate. Five of those have announced retirements at the end of this term:

• Sen. Mary Lundby, R-Marion, District 18
• Rep. Sandy Greiner, R-Keota, District 89
• Rep. Polly Granzow, R-Eldora, District 44
• Rep. Libby Jacobs, R-West Des Moines, District 60
• Rep. Carmine Boal, R-Ankeny, District 70

In addition, two more women — Reps. Pam Jochum, D-Dubuque, and Swati Dandekar, D-Marion — will vacate their House seats to launch bids for open Senate seats.

While highly unlikely, if all the women who have so far filed candidacy papers win their elections, the state would see an increase of six women — three in each branch — when the state Legislature convenes in January 2009. Given Iowa’s track record for supporting incumbents, a far more likely scenario, however, is the addition of one or two women in the Senate and a loss of four or five female legislators in the House.

Because only half of the seats in the Iowa Senate appear on the ballot every two years, the good news is that four seats currently held by women are not up for re-election. Assistant Majority Leader Amanda Ragan, D-Mason City; Assistant Minority Leader Nancy Boettger, R-Harlan; Sen. Becky Schmitz, D-Fairfield; and Sen. Staci Appel, D-Ackworth, will not appear on the 2008 ballot.

There are no safe seats in the Iowa House, since all 100 districts are up for re-election every two years. Twenty-two of the women currently serving in the House — six Republicans and 16 Democrats — intend to stand for re-election. Of those who have had candidates file to run against them, only two — Rep. Jodi Tymeson, R-Winterset, and Marcella Frevert, D-Emmetsburg — are facing a female opponents (Maxine Bussanmas and Deborah Satern, respectively). In the Senate the only female incumbent on the ballot is Sen. Pat Ward, R-West Des Moines. At press time, Ward did not have an opponent.

Although all candidate filings are not in, another bright spot appears in Senate District 48, a seat being vacated by current Assistant Minority Leader Jeff Angelo, R-Creston. Republican Kim Reynolds and Democrat Ruth Smith have each filed candidacy papers for the seat.

So far a total of six women have launched bids against male House incumbents. Democrat Anne Marie Fairchild will face Republican Henry Rayhons in House District 11. Democrat Cayla Baresel of Waverly has announced her intention to face Republican Pat Grassley for House District 17. Republican Renee Schulte, who made an unsuccessful bid for Iowa Senate in 2006, will face Democrat Art Staed in House District 37. Democrat Susan Temere will face Republican Ralph Watts in House District 47. Democrat Pat Van Zante will have to wait until a Republican primary decides her opponent in House District 71. Democrat Phyllis Thede, who made an unsuccessful bid for Iowa Senate in 2006, will face Republican Jamie Van Fossen in House District 81.

In House District 7, Democratic incumbent Marcella Frevert is now slated to face Republican challenger Deborah Satern of Estherville. If there are no other filings, this is a seat that will be filled by a woman.

Democrat Sharon Steckman and two male Democrats have filed candidacy papers for House District 13. Only one male Republican has filed for this seat, which is being vacated by incumbent Rep. Bill Schiekel, R-Mason City. In addition one Republican woman, Annette Sweeney, has filed to run in House District 44 (the seat Granzow is vacating). Although no women have filed candidacy papers in House District 27 (the seat Jochum is vacating for her senatorial run), Gretchen Lawyer, a Marion Democrat, has filed to run in House District 36 (the seat Dandekar is vacating for her senatorial run).

As stated earlier, both Jochum and Dandekar will be making bids for open Senate seats. If no additional candidates file in Senate District 48, then that seat will be held by one of the two women who have launched bids. The only other possible senatorial pickup comes in District 40 where Democrat Sharon Savage has launched a bid against incumbent James Hahn, R-Muscatine.