| Pat Ward | |
| State Senate: | Iowa |
| District: | 30 |
| Term Start: | 2004 |
| Term End: | 2012 |
| Preceded: | Mary Kramer |
| Succeeded: | Charles Schneider |
| Birth Date: | 17 June 1957 |
| Birth Place: | Clinton, Missouri |
| Death Place: | Des Moines, Iowa |
| Party: | Republican |
| Spouse: | John |
| Children: | 2 children |
| Residence: | West Des Moines, Iowa |
| Alma Mater: | Central Missouri State University (B.S.) |
| Occupation: | Former Public and Government Relations Executive |
| Website: | Ward's website |
Petricia S. "Pat" Ward (June 17, 1957[1] - October 15, 2012) was an Iowa State Senator from the 30th District. A Republican, her service in the Iowa Senate began in 2004, when she won a special election to fill the vacancy left when Mary Kramer was appointed to be U.S. Ambassador to Barbados. It ended with her death in 2012.[2] She had a B.S. in Business and Legal Studies from Central Missouri State University.
Ward served on several committees in the Iowa Senate - the Commerce committee; the Environment and Energy Independence; the Judiciary committee; the Ways and Means committee; the Government Oversight committee, where she was the ranking member; and the Labor and Business Relations committee, where she was the ranking member.
Ward ran unopposed in the Iowa Senate District 30 Republican Primary on June 8, 2004,[3] and she took 62% of the vote in the general election November 2, 2004, defeating both Satro Narayan (Democrat) and Sean Edward Martin (Libertarian).[4]
Ward was last re-elected in 2008 with 21,842 votes, running unopposed.[5] Ward was running for re-election when she died and remained on the November 2012 ballot. At the time of her death, she was serving as the Assistant Minority Leader of the Iowa Senate.[6] As ballots for the 2012 election were already printed, she remained on the ballot for the election. State law mandated a special election be held to determine Ward's successor,[7] which was held on December 11, 2012.[8] [9]
On October 15, 2012, Iowa state officials announced that Ward had died at the age of 55 following a battle with breast cancer.[10]