Iowa's 4th congressional district

Iowa's 4th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Iowa that covers its northwestern part. The district includes Sioux City, Ames, Mason City, Fort Dodge, Boone and Carroll; it is currently represented by Republican Steve King, who has been in office since 2013. In 2020 King lost his primary to Republican Randy Feenstra.

Iowa's 4th congressional district
Iowa's 4th congressional district since January 3, 2013
Representative	Steve King R–Kiron
Distribution	50.58% urban 49.42% rural
Population (2018 est.)	754,936
Median income	$56,622[1]
Ethnicity	87% white[2] 7% Hispanic 2% Asian 2% black 1% other 0% Native American
Cook PVI	R+11[3]

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[4] (and, during the 1930s, Buchanan and Delaware counties from the third row).[5] 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.[6] (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).[6] 5th District incumbent Republican U.S. Representative Karl M. LeCompte was reelected in the reconfigured 4th District in 1942, and was reelected in the next seven races. In 1958, when LeCompte did not run for reelection, 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[7] - but retained its rural character. Kyl held this seat until he was swept out in the massive Democratic landslide of 1964. However, he regained his old seat in 1966, and was reelected two more times.

The rural character of the district was changed when most of its territory was merged with the Des Moines-based 5th District of Democratic incumbent Neal Smith after the 1970 census. Polk County (home to Des Moines and most of its suburbs) was added, while most of the rural counties were taken out.[8] Smith defeated Kyl in the 1972 congressional election. The district became even less rural in 1981, when Story County (home of Ames) was added, and other rural counties were taken out.[9] The district was significantly altered after the 1990 census, when it was reconfigured to take in the southwest quadrant of the state from Des Moines to Council Bluffs. Smith was reelected in 1992, but defeated in 1994 by Republican Greg Ganske.

The 2001 remap made the 4th district a north-central Iowa district. It could not be said to be the successor of any of the previous districts. It was a primarily rural district, though it included Ames and Mason City. It did not include any of the state's nine largest cities, and only four of the twenty largest Iowa cities.[10] The plan went into effect in 2003 for the 108th U.S. Congress.[11] The 5th's incumbent congressman, Tom Latham, had his home in Alexander drawn into the 4th, and was elected from this district five times.

For the 2012 elections, the Iowa Legislature passed a plan that went into effect in 2013 for the 113th U.S. Congress. The district now covers the northwest corner of the state, and essentially merged the northern half of the old 5th District with the western third of the old 4th. The new map placed Latham and 5th District incumbent Steve King in the same district. Although the new 4th was geographically more Latham's district, he opted to move to the redrawn 3rd District, leaving King to take the seat.

In June 2020, Steve King was defeated in the Republican House primary by challenger Randy Feenstra.

Presidential voting since 2000

Year	Office	Results
2000	President	Bush 49% – Gore 48%
2004	President	Bush 51% – Kerry 48%
2008	President	Obama 53% – McCain 45%
2012	President	Romney 53% – Obama 45%
2016	President	Trump 61% – Clinton 34%

List of members representing the district

Member	Party	Term	Cong ress	Electoral history
District created		March 4, 1863
Josiah B. Grinnell	Republican	March 4, 1863 – March 3, 1867	38th 39th	[data unknown/missing]
William Loughridge	Republican	March 4, 1867 – March 3, 1871	40th 41st	[data unknown/missing]
Madison M. Walden	Republican	March 4, 1871 – March 3, 1873	42nd	[data unknown/missing]
Henry O. Pratt	Republican	March 4, 1873 – March 3, 1877	43rd 44th	[data unknown/missing]
Nathaniel C. Deering	Republican	March 4, 1877 – March 3, 1883	45th 46th 47th	[data unknown/missing]
Luman H. Weller	Greenback	March 4, 1883 – March 3, 1885	48th	[data unknown/missing]
William E. Fuller	Republican	March 4, 1885 – March 3, 1889	49th 50th	[data unknown/missing]
Joseph H. Sweney	Republican	March 4, 1889 – March 3, 1891	51st	[data unknown/missing]
Walter H. Butler	Democratic	March 4, 1891 – March 3, 1893	52nd	[data unknown/missing]
Thomas Updegraff	Republican	March 4, 1893 – March 3, 1899	53rd 54th 55th	[data unknown/missing]
Gilbert N. Haugen	Republican	March 4, 1899 – March 3, 1933	56th 57th 58th 59th 60th 61st 62nd 63rd 64th 65th 66th 67th 68th 69th 70th 71st 72nd	[data unknown/missing]
Fred Biermann	Democratic	March 4, 1933 – January 3, 1939	73rd 74th 75th	[data unknown/missing]
Henry O. Talle	Republican	January 3, 1939 – January 3, 1943	76th 77th	[data unknown/missing] Redistricted to the 2nd district.
Karl M. LeCompte	Republican	January 3, 1943 – January 3, 1959	78th 79th 80th 81st 82nd 83rd 84th 85th	Redistricted from the 5th district. [data unknown/missing]
Steven V. Carter	Democratic	January 3, 1959 – November 4, 1959	86th	Elected in 1958. Died.
Vacant		November 4, 1959 – December 15, 1959
John H. Kyl	Republican	December 15, 1959 – January 3, 1965	86th 87th 88th	Elected to finish Carter's term. Lost re-election.
Bert Bandstra	Democratic	January 3, 1965 – January 3, 1967	89th	[data unknown/missing]
John H. Kyl	Republican	January 3, 1967 – January 3, 1973	90th 91st 92nd	Elected in 1966. Lost re-election.
Neal E. Smith	Democratic	January 3, 1973 – January 3, 1995	93rd 94th 95th 96th 97th 98th 99th 100th 101st 102nd 103rd	Redistricted from the 5th district. [data unknown/missing]
Greg Ganske	Republican	January 3, 1995 – January 3, 2003	104th 105th 106th 107th	[data unknown/missing]
Tom Latham	Republican	January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2013	108th 109th 110th 111th 112th	Redistricted from the 5th district. Redistricted to the 3rd district.
Steve King	Republican	January 3, 2013 – present	113th 114th 115th 116th	Redistricted from the 5th district. Lost re-nomination.

Historical election results

Year[12]	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%
2012	Republican	Steve King	200,831	Democrat	Vilsack	168,323	53% - 45%
2014	Republican	Steve King	169,141	Democrat	Mowrer	104,873	62% - 38%
2016	Republican	Steve King	226,719	Democrat	Weaver	142,993	61% - 39%

Recent election results

2002

Iowa's 4th Congressional District Election (2002)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	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
Total votes			210,774	100.00
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	%
	Republican	Tom Latham*	181,294	60.93
	Democratic	Paul W. Johnson	116,121	39.02
	No party	Others	151	0.05
Total votes			297,566	100.00
Turnout
	Republican hold

2006

Iowa's 4th Congressional District Election (2006)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Tom Latham*	121,650	57.19
	Democratic	Selden Spencer	90,982	42.77
	No party	Others	98	0.05
Total votes			212,730	100.00
Turnout
	Republican hold

2008

Iowa's 4th Congressional District Election (2008)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Tom Latham*	185,458	60.53
	Democratic	Becky Greenwald	120,746	39.41
	No party	Others	197	0.06
Total votes			306,401	100.00
Turnout
	Republican hold

2010

Iowa's 4th Congressional District Election (2010)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	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
Total votes			232,519	100.00
Turnout
	Republican hold

2012

Iowa's 4th Congressional District Election (2012)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	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
Total votes			387,079	100.00
Turnout
	Republican hold

2014

Iowa's 4th Congressional District, 2014[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Steve King (Incumbent)	169,834	61.6
	Democratic	Jim Mowrer	105,504	38.3
	Write-ins		295	0.1
Total votes			275,633	100
	Republican hold

2016

Iowa's 4th Congressional District, 2016[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Steve King (Incumbent)	226,719	61.23
	Democratic	Kim Weaver	142,993	38.62
	Write-ins		547	0.15
Total votes			370,259	100
	Republican hold

2018

U.S. House election, 2018:[15] Iowa District 4

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Republican	Steve King (Incumbent)	157,275	50.33	-10.9
	Democratic	J. D. Scholten	146,737	46.96	+8.34
	Libertarian	Charles Aldrich	6,315	2.02	+2.02
	Independent	Edward Peterson	1,940	0.62	+0.62
	Write-ins		201	0.06	- 0.09
Majority			10,538	3.37
Turnout			312,468	100
	Republican hold		Swing	-19.24

Historical district boundaries

2003 - 2013

See also

• Iowa's congressional districts
• List of United States congressional districts

References

1. Center for New Media & Promotion (CNMP), US Census Bureau. "My Congressional District". www.census.gov.
2. https://censusreporter.org/profiles/50000US1904-congressional-district-4-ia/
3. "Partisan Voting Index – Districts of the 115th Congress" (PDF). The Cook Political Report. April 7, 2017. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
4. "The Congressional Districts," Waterloo Courier, 1886-04-14 at 4; Iowa's Official Register (1930).
5. Iowa's Official Register, 1933-34, at 6.
6. Iowa's Official Register, 1943-1944, at 15.
7. "Another redrawing," Ames Daily Tribune, 1970-07-07 at 4.
8. Iowa Official Register, 1973-74, at 30.
9. Iowa Official Register, 1983-84, at 46.
10. Iowa League of Cities,Population of Iowa Cities of 8,000 or More Archived 2008-05-11 at the Wayback Machine, accessed 2008-07-27.
11. "2001 Iowa Redistricting Plan,". 2001. Archived from the original on 2006-10-16. Retrieved 2006-11-10.
12. "Election Statistics,". 2005. Archived from the original on 2007-07-25.
13. "Iowa General Election 2014". Iowa Secretary of State. 2014-11-04. Archived from the original on 2014-12-13. Retrieved 2014-12-19.
14. "Iowa General Election 2014". Iowa Secretary of State. 2014-11-04. Archived from the original on 2016-12-24. Retrieved 2014-12-19.
15. "Iowa General Election 2018". Iowa Secretary of State. Retrieved November 11, 2018.

• 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