Des Moines, Iowa — The 2023 Iowa legislature will convene next Monday, with Republicans holding a supermajority in the Senate and Republicans in 64 percent of the seats in the House.
The minority leaders in the legislature started meeting with State Auditor Rob Sand after Democrats had a disappointing 2022 Election. Jennifer Konfrst of Windsor Heights is the minority leader in the Iowa House.
Sand, who will start his second term as state auditor next week, was the only Democrat running for statewide office who won in November.
Sand says a lot of people are hungry for public officials who do things differently.
With Republicans in charge of the legislative AND executive branches of state government, Konfrst says the goal is to make it clear what Democrats would do differently.
Senate Minority Leader Zach Wahls of Coralville says turning down the volume on political rhetoric and finding solutions is important.
“We’ll work with anybody — Republican, Democrat, independent — who wants to move Iowa forward,” Wahls says. “We know that there are a lot of challenges facing our state.”
There will be 16 Democrats in the Iowa Senate next year — with Republicans holding a 34-seat supermajority. In the House, Democrats will hold 36 of the 100 seats.
