Democrats have retained control of the Iowa Legislature, while Associated Press results show at least three Iowa Senate incumbents -- two Democrats and one Republican -- appear to have lost their bids for re-election.

Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal, D-Council Bluffs said Democrats have won 53 seats in the House, and could get up to 56. They currently hold a 53-47 majority in the House.

Meanwhile, he predicted that Democrats will increase their advantage in the Senate to 32 or 33 seats, although some races are very close and may involve recounts. Democrats currently have a 30-20 advantage.

"We're pretty confident as we said from the start that we're going to be at a new record in the Iowa Senate," Gronstal said.

Three incumbents have been upset, according to unofficial results from the Associated Press:

* Democrat Mary Jo Wilhelm of Cresco, a Realtor and certified residential appraiser, defeated incumbent state Rep. Mark Zieman, R-Postville, by 52 to 48 percent in Senate District 8.

* State Sen. Frank Wood, D-Eldridge, was defeated by 1,329 votes in Senate District 42 by Republican challenger Shawn Hamerlinck.

* Sen. Jeff Danielson, D-Cedar Falls, in Senate District 10 lost his re-election by just 90 votes to Republican Walt Rogers. This is one of the close races that Gronstal predicted a recount.

Meanwhile, state Rep. Swati Dandekar won her race for Senate District 18, which is being vacated by former Republican leader Mary Lundby. She defeated Republican Joe Childers, 54 to 46 percent. She had a tremendous cash advantage and was aided by out-of-state contributions.

Democrat Steve Sodders of State Center defeated Republican Jarret Heil, 55 to 45 percent, in Senate District 22. And former state Sen. Merlin Bartz, a Grafton Republican, will make a comeback to the Iowa Senate in District 6. He defeated Democrat Doug Thompson, 49 to 43 percent.

As for the big picture on whether an increased margin in the Senate would make a difference, Gronstal said: "Expanding our numbers in the Senate is a sign that some of the politically tough times that we've had to deal with, like the smoking ban and making significant investments that do involve spending more money in higher education and teacher pay ... expanding our majority is a sign that the public feels those were good things that we did. We are on the right track."

In the tied House race between state Rep. Jamie Van Fossen and Democratic challenger Phyllis Thede, Gronstal said absentee ballots have yet to be counted. And Democrats have been ahead in the race for early ballots. "That plays to our advantage," he said.

Labels: 2008_election