Essential Estrogen

Roughly a week before the final primary filing period ended, the state legislative races were number-crunched in relation to gender. At that snapshot in time, it seemed that Iowa might, at best, maintain its mediocre record in terms of percentage of women serving in Des Moines. What a difference a week can make.

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