Special elections to the Iowa Senate are called by the Governor of Iowa when a vacancy arises within the State Senate. If there is a vacancy in the Iowa General Assembly (i.e., the Iowa state legislature), the vacant seat must be filled by special election. If the vacancy occurs while the General Assembly is in session, the Governor must call within five days of the occurrence of the vacancy for an election as expeditiously as feasible, with a minimum 18-day notice. If the vacancy happens while the General Assembly is out of session, the special election must follow a 45-day notice, as long as the election does not coincide with a school election. All special elections must be held on a Tuesday.[1]
| width=50 | District | width=150 | Election Date | width=200 | Predecessor | width=200 | Special Election Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 39th | February 17, 1913 | Charles Gates (R) | F. P. Hagemann (D) | ||||
| 37th | March 31, 1923 | Daniel Cady Chase (R) | William Schmedika (D) | ||||
| 4th | February 1, 1933 | John Henry Judd (D) | Joseph E. Doze (D) | ||||
| 29th | March 24, 1933 | Oliver Perry Myers (D) | D. Myron Tripp (D) | ||||
| 35th | August 22, 1933 | Matt D. Cooney (D) | Howard C. Baldwin (D) | ||||
| 45th | October 3, 1933 | Harry Cook White (D) | Richard V. Leo (R) | ||||
| 2nd | January 17, 1944 | Sanford Zeigler (R) | Charles W. Wade (R) | ||||
| 5th | January 17, 1944 | Stephen Ray Emerson (R) | T. M. Thompson (R) | ||||
| 28th | January 26, 1945 | Benjamin Chase Whitehill (R) | Robert A. Rockhill (R) | ||||
| 37th | January 6, 1947 | George Raymond Hill (R) | Rex R. Bateson (R) | ||||
| 15th | January 10, 1963 | L. C. Shivvers (R) | Vera H. Shivvers (R) | ||||
| 18th | June 20, 1969 | Kenneth Benda (R) | Joann Yessler Orr (D) | ||||
| 1st | September 9, 1969 | Seeley G. Lodwick (R) | Wilson L. Davis (R) | ||||
| 45th | October 28, 1969 | Walter B. Hammer (R) | S. J. Brownlee (R) | ||||
| 14th | November 15, 1969 | David M. Stanley (R) | W. R. Rabedeaux (R) | ||||
| 6th | November 18, 1969 | Charles Vernon Lisle (R) | Earl Bass (R) | ||||
| 12th | December 16, 1969 | Joseph Flatt (R) | Glen E. Bortell (R) | ||||
| 22nd | December 1970 | J. Donald Weimer (D) | Cloyd E. Robinson (D) | ||||
| 47th | December 1972 | James B. Turner (R) | Richard R. Ramsey (R) | ||||
| 10th | November 5, 1974 | Mike Blouin (D) | Robert M. "Bob" Carr (D) | ||||
| 15th | November 2, 1976 | Steve Sovern (D) | Bob Rush (D) | ||||
| 11th | December 28, 1976 | Richard John Norpel (D) | Steve Bisenius (R) | ||||
| 41st | December 28, 1976 | Bill Gluba (D) | Forrest F. Ashcraft (R) | ||||
| 36th | November 8, 1983 | Michael R. Lura (R) | John Soorholtz (R) | ||||
| 45th | September 10, 1985 | Norman Rodgers (D) | James R. Riordan (D) | ||||
| 34th | December 17, 1985 | John A. Neighbour (D) | John A. Peterson (D) | ||||
| 31st | January 7, 1986 | Lowell Junkins (D) | Gene Fraise (D) | ||||
| 13th | January 28, 1986 | Thomas A. Lind (R) | Jim Lind (R) | ||||
| 18th | September 26, 1989 | Robert M. Carr (D) | Mike Connolly (D) | ||||
| 12th | December 18, 1990 | Joy Corning (R) | Harry G. Slife (R) | ||||
| 44th | December 17, 1991 | Jack Nystrom (R) | Albert Sorensen (D) | ||||
| 12th | August 31, 1993 | Harry G. Slife (R) | Donald Redfern (R) | ||||
| 5th | February 22, 1994 | Linn Fuhrman (R) | Mary Lou Freeman (R) | ||||
| 25th | February 22, 1994 | Richard J. Varn (D) | Robert Dvorsky (D) | ||||
| 26th | December 20, 1994 | Paul Pate (R) | Mary Lundby (R) | ||||
| 13th | April 1997 | Jim Lind (R) | Patricia M. "Pat" Harper (D) | ||||
| 8th | February 3, 1998 | James E. Black (R) | E. Thurman Gaskill (R) | ||||
| 46th | January 12, 1999 | Patty Judge (D) | John Judge (D) | ||||
| 43rd | June 12, 2001 | Derryl McLaren (R) | Hubert Houser (R) | ||||
| 39th | February 19, 2002 | Jo Ann M. Johnson (R) | David G. Lord (R) | ||||
| 10th | March 12, 2002 | Merlin Bartz (R) | Amanda Ragan (D) | ||||
| 26th | January 14, 2003 | Steve King (R) | Steve Kettering (R) | ||||
| 30th | February 3, 2004 | Mary Kramer (R) | Pat Ward (R) | ||||
| 48th | January 4, 2011 | Kim Reynolds (R) | Joni Ernst (R) | ||||
| 35th | January 18, 2011 | Larry Noble (R) | Jack Whitver (R) | ||||
| 18th | November 8, 2011 | Swati Dandekar (D) | Liz Mathis (D) | ||||
| 22nd | December 11, 2012 | Pat Ward (R) | Charles Schneider (R) | ||||
| 13th | November 19, 2013 | Kent Sorenson (R) | Julian Garrett (R) | ||||
| 12th | December 30, 2014 | Joni Ernst (R) | Mark Costello (R) | ||||
| 45th | December 27, 2016 | Joe Seng (D) | Jim Lykam (D) | ||||
| 3rd | December 12, 2017 | Bill Anderson (R) | Jim Carlin (R) | ||||
| 25th | April 10, 2018 | Bill Dix (R) | Annette Sweeney (R) | ||||
| 30th | March 19, 2019 | Jeff Danielson (D) | Eric Giddens (D) | ||||
| 41st | January 26, 2021 | Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R) | Adrian Dickey (R) |
| align=center | 1913: District 39 • 1923: District 37 • 1933: District 4 • 1933: District 29 • 1933: District 35 • 1933: District 45 • 1944: District 2 • 1944: District 5 • 1945: District 28 • 1947: District 37 • 1963: District 15 • 1970: District 22 • 1972: District 47 • 1974: District 10 • 1976: District 15 • 1976: District 11 • 1976: District 41 • 1983: District 36 • 1985: District 45 • 1985: District 34 • 1986: District 31 • 1986: District 13 • 1989: District 18 • 1990: District 12 • 1991: District 44 • 1993: District 12 • 1994: District 5 • 1994: District 25 • 1994: District 26 • 1998: District 8 • 1999: District 46 • 2001: District 43 • 2002: District 39 • 2002: District 10 • 2003: District 26 • 2004: District 30 • 2011: District 48 • 2011: District 35 • 2011: District 18 • 2012: District 22 • 2014: District 12 • 2016: District 45 • 2017: District 3 • 2018: District 25 • 2019: District 30 • 2021: District 41 |