Iowa's 4th congressional district

Iowa's 4th congressional district
Iowa's congressional districts for 2012-2022.
Current Representative		Steve King (R–Kiron)
Distribution	50.58% urban, 49.42% rural
Population (2000)	585,305
Median income	$38,242
Ethnicity	95.8% White, 0.8% Black, 1.1% Asian, 2.5% Hispanic, 0.2% Native American
Cook PVI	R+4

Iowa's 4th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Iowa that covers the northwest part of the state. The district includes Sioux City, Mason City, and Boone.

The district is currently represented by Republican Steve King.

The district from 2003 to 2013

History

Since the 1880s, there have been major changes in the location or nature of Iowa's 4th Congressional District. From 1886 until 1941, the district was made up of largely rural counties in northeastern Iowa, including the easternmost five counties in the northernmost two rows (and, during the 1930s, Buchanan and Delaware counties from the third row). During that era, the district included areas from Mason City east to the Mississippi River.

In 1941, Iowa's 5th Congressional District (made up of rural counties in southern Iowa) was renumbered as Iowa's 4th Congressional District, and counties in the old 4th District were placed in the 3rd District and the 2nd District. (In 1942, 4th District incumbent, Henry O. Talle, would defeat the 2nd District incumbent William S. Jacobsen in the new 2nd Congressional District). From 1941 until 1960 the 4th Congressional District included the central five counties of each of the two southernmost tiers, plus four counties between Des Moines and Iowa City (Mahaska, Keokuk, Jasper and Poweshiek). Because the new 4th Congressional District was identical to the old 5th Congressional District, 5th District incumbent Republican U.S. Representative Karl M. LeCompte, was elected in 1942 and in the next seven races. In 1958, when LeCompte did not run, Democrat Steven V. Carter defeated Republican John Kyl. A recurrence of cancer would claim Carter's life before the end of his only term, and Kyl won the special election and next general election. In 1961 the 4th Congressional District was expanded to include five central Iowa counties - Warren, Marion, Marshall, Tama and Benton - but retained its rural character. Except for the 1964 election, Kyl won each race during this period.

The rural character of the district was changed when Polk County (location of Des Moines and its suburbs) was added in 1971, and many of the rural counties were taken out. In 1972, Kyl was defeated by a Democratic incumbent from Des Moines, Neal Smith. The district became even less rural in 1981, when Story County (home of Ames) was added, and other rural counties were taken out. Smith would hold the seat until his 1994 defeat by Republican Greg Ganske.

Polk County remained in the district until 2001, when the current configuration was adopted. Like its character before 1971, it is predominantly rural. In its current configuration, it includes none of the nine largest cities in Iowa, and only four of the twenty largest Iowa cities.

On June 22, 2001, the Iowa Legislature passed a plan to redistrict the state of Iowa. The plan went into effect in 2003 for the 108th U.S. Congress. The prior redistricting plan was effective from 1993-2003.

For the 2012 elections, the Iowa Legislature passed a plan to redistrict the state of Iowa. The plan went into effect in 2013 for the 113th U.S. Congress. The prior redistricting plan was effective from 2003-2013. The district now covers the northwest corner of the state.

List of representatives

Representative	Party	Term	District Residence	Note
District created		March 4, 1863
Josiah B. Grinnell	Republican	March 4, 1863 – March 3, 1867
William Loughridge	Republican	March 4, 1867 – March 3, 1871
Madison M. Walden	Republican	March 4, 1871 – March 3, 1873
Henry O. Pratt	Republican	March 4, 1873 – March 3, 1877
Nathaniel C. Deering	Republican	March 4, 1877 – March 3, 1883
Luman H. Weller	Greenback	March 4, 1883 – March 3, 1885
William E. Fuller	Republican	March 4, 1885 – March 3, 1889
Joseph H. Sweney	Republican	March 4, 1889 – March 3, 1891
Walter H. Butler	Democratic	March 4, 1891 – March 3, 1893
Thomas Updegraff	Republican	March 4, 1893 – March 3, 1899
Gilbert N. Haugen	Republican	March 4, 1899 – March 3, 1933
Fred Biermann	Democratic	March 4, 1933 – January 3, 1939
Henry O. Talle	Republican	January 3, 1939 – January 3, 1943		Redistricted to the 2nd district
Karl M. Le Compte	Republican	January 3, 1943 – January 3, 1959		Redistricted from the 5th district
Steven V. Carter	Democratic	January 3, 1959 – November 4, 1959		Died
Vacant		November 4, 1959 - December 15, 1959
John H. Kyl	Republican	December 15, 1959 – January 3, 1965
Bert Bandstra	Democratic	January 3, 1965 – January 3, 1967
John H. Kyl	Republican	January 3, 1967 – January 3, 1973
Neal E. Smith	Democratic	January 3, 1973 – January 3, 1995		Redistricted from the 5th district
Greg Ganske	Republican	January 3, 1995 – January 3, 2003
Tom Latham	Republican	January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2013		Redistricted to the 3rd district
Steve King	Republican	January 3, 2013 – Present	Kiron	Redistricted from the 5th district

Historical Election Results

Year	Party Affiliation	Winner	Number of Votes	Party Affiliation	Loser	Number of Votes	Percentage of Votes
1920	Republican	Gilbert N. Haugen	53,083	Democrat	Carl Evans	18,104	75% - 25%
1922	Republican	Gilbert N. Haugen	32,586	Democrat	A. M. Schanke	24,532	57% - 43%
1924	Republican	Gilbert N. Haugen	50,850	Democrat	J. M. Berry	20,636	71% - 29%
1926	Republican	Gilbert N. Haugen	30,611	Democrat	Frank E. Howard	20,076	60% - 40%
1928	Republican	Gilbert N. Haugen	50,488	Democrat	Erwin Larson	31,968	61% - 39%
1930	Republican	Gilbert N. Haugen	29,224	Democrat	Wilbur L. Peck	20,236	59% - 41%
1932	Democrat	Fred Bierman	62,598	Republican	Gilbert N. Haugen	42,207	59% - 41%
1934	Democrat	Fred Bierman	49,504	Republican	C. A. Benson	43,794	52% - 46%
1936	Democrat	Fred Bierman	56,308	Republican	Henry O. Talle	51,805	51% - 47%
1938	Republican	Henry O. Talle	48,640	Democrat	Fred Bierman	44,601	52% - 48%
1940	Republican	Henry O. Talle	66,691	Democrat	Morgan J. McEnaney	51,558	56% - 44%
1942	Republican	Karl M. LeCompte	52,258	Democrat	Thomas L. Curran	28,745	65% - 35%
1944	Republican	Karl M. LeCompte	59,658	Democrat	Harold J. Fleck	49,098	55% - 45%
1946	Republican	Karl M. LeCompte	43,753	Democrat	A. E. Augustine	31,203	58% - 42%
1948	Republican	Karl M. LeCompte	53,384	Democrat	Steven V. Carter	49,894	52% - 48%
1950	Republican	Karl M. LeCompte	51,168	Democrat	Steven V. Carter	38,649	57% - 43%
1952	Republican	Karl M. LeCompte	73,317	Democrat	Earl E. Glassburner	44,900	62% - 38%
1954	Republican	Karl M. LeCompte	49,608	Democrat	Herschel C. Loveless	39,652	56% - 44%
1956	Republican	Karl M. LeCompte	58,024	Democrat	Steven V. Carter	56,406	51% - 49%
1958	Democrat	Steven V. Carter	42,479	Republican	John Kyl	39,233	52% - 48%
1960	Republican	John Kyl	65,016	Democrat	C. Edwin Gilmour	49,918	57% - 43%
1962	Republican	John Kyl	65,538	Democrat	Gene W. Glenn	51,810	56% - 44%
1964	Democrat	Bert Bandstra	85,518	Republican	John Kyl	73,898	54% - 46%
1966	Republican	John Kyl	65,259	Democrat	Bert Bandstra	61,074	52% - 48%
1968	Republican	John Kyl	83,259	Democrat	Bert Bandstra	71,134	54% - 46%
1970	Republican	John Kyl	59,396	Democrat	Roger Blobaum	49,369	55% - 45%
1972	Democrat	Neal Smith	123,431	Republican	John Kyl	85,156	59% - 41%
1974	Democrat	Neal Smith	91,755	Republican	Chuck Dick	53,756	61% - 35%
1976	Democrat	Neal Smith	145,343	Republican	Charles E. Minor	65,013	69% - 31%
1978	Democrat	Neal Smith	88,526	Republican	Charles E. Minor	48,308	65% - 35%
1980	Democrat	Neal Smith	117,896	Republican	Donald C. Young	100,335	54% - 36%
1982	Democrat	Neal Smith	118,849	Republican	Dave Readinger	60,534	66% - 34%
1984	Democrat	Neal Smith	136,922	Republican	Robert R. Lockard	88,717	61% - 39%
1986	Democrat	Neal Smith	107,271	Republican	Robert R. Lockard	49,641	68% - 32%
1988	Democrat	Neal Smith	157,065	Republican	Paul Lunde	62,056	72% - 28%
1990	Democrat	Neal Smith	127,812	Republican	N/A	2,778	98% - 2%
1992	Democrat	Neal Smith	158,610	Republican	Paul Lunde	94,045	62% - 37%
1994	Republican	Greg Ganske	111,935	Democrat	Neal Smith	98,824	53% - 46%
1996	Republican	Greg Ganske	133,419	Democrat	Connie McBurney	119,790	52% - 47%
1998	Republican	Greg Ganske	129,942	Democrat	Jon Dvorak	67,550	65% - 34%
2000	Republican	Greg Ganske	169,267	Democrat	Michael L. Huston	101,112	61% - 37%
2002	Republican	Tom Latham	115,430	Democrat	John Norris	90,784	55% - 43%
2004	Republican	Tom Latham	181,294	Democrat	Paul W. Johnson	116,121	61% - 39%
2006	Republican	Tom Latham	120,512	Democrat	Selden Spencer	89,994	57% - 43%
2008	Republican	Tom Latham	184,529	Democrat	Becky Greenwald	119,927	60% - 39%
2010	Republican	Tom Latham	152,588	Democrat	Bill Maske	74,300	64% - 31%

Recent Election Results

2002

Iowa's 4th Congressional District Election (2002)
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Republican	Tom Latham*	115,430	54.77%
	Democratic	John Norris	90,784	43.07%
	Libertarian	Terry L. Wilson	2,952	1.40%
	Independent	Jim Hennager	1,544	0.73%
	No party	Others	64	0.03%
Totals			210,774	100.00%
Voter turnout			%
	Republican hold

• NOTE: Jim Hennager ran on the Earth Federation Party platform on the ballot.

2004

Iowa's 4th Congressional District Election (2004)
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Republican	Tom Latham*	181,294	60.93%
	Democratic	Paul W. Johnson	116,121	39.02%
	No party	Others	151	0.05%
Totals			297,566	100.00%
Voter turnout			%
	Republican hold

2006

Iowa's 4th Congressional District Election (2006)
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Republican	Tom Latham*	121,650	57.19%
	Democratic	Selden Spencer	90,982	42.77%
	No party	Others	98	0.05%
Totals			212,730	100.00%
Voter turnout			%
	Republican hold

2008

Iowa's 4th Congressional District Election (2008)
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Republican	Tom Latham*	185,458	60.53%
	Democratic	Becky Greenwald	120,746	39.41%
	No party	Others	197	0.06%
Totals			306,401	100.00%
Voter turnout			%
	Republican hold

2010

Iowa's 4th Congressional District Election (2010)
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Republican	Tom Latham*	152,588	65.62%
	Democratic	Bill Maske	74,300	31.95%
	Independent	Dan Lensing	5,499	2.37%
	No party	Others	132	0.06%
Totals			232,519	100.00%
Voter turnout			%
	Republican hold

2012

Iowa's 4th Congressional District Election (2012)
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Republican	Steve King*	200,063	51.69%
	Democratic	Christie Vilsack	169,470	43.78%
	Independent	Martin James Monroe	8,124	2.10%
	No party	Others	226	%
Totals			387,079	100.00%
Voter turnout			%
	Republican hold

References

• Martis, Kenneth C. (1989). The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company. 
• Martis, Kenneth C. (1982). The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company. 
• Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present