Iowa Senate Dems choose Janet Petersen as new minority leader

Iowa Senate Democrats ousted Minority Leader Rob Hogg in a party caucus meeting Sunday, electing in his place Des Moines Sen. Janet Petersen.

Sen. Tony Bisignano, D-Des Moines, confirmed the leadership change to The Des Moines Register outside the state Capitol shortly after the meeting, and the caucus later sent a press release making the announcement official.

The move represents a dramatic leadership change in the middle of a legislative term, and comes as the party looks to rebuild after devastating losses in 2016. Several senators declined to address the decision on Sunday afternoon, deferring to Petersen.

In an interview, Petersen called Hogg a "dear friend" who has put the caucus in a "very good spot" heading into the next legislative session and election campaign.

"Sen. Hogg has laid amazing groundwork, in terms of candidate recruitment and fundraising. Our caucus made a decision to have me move us forward and build on his progress," she said. "He’s still a really important part of our team and a good friend and so, while it’s an unusual time, maybe, for a leadership change, it’s going to be a good one for our caucus and Democrats."

Petersen, 47, was elected to the Senate in 2012 and previously served six terms in the Iowa House. She’s the first woman to hold the top Democratic leadership post in the Senate.

In the statement released by the caucus, Petersen said she was "honored to have the support of my fellow Democratic Senators."

"Senate Democrats are focused on helping Iowans get ahead. It’s time to get our state moving in a direction that reflects real Iowa values," she said in the statement. "Senate Democrats are united in supporting hard working families, students, seniors and Iowa’s quality of life."

Democrats are currently the minority in the Senate, holding just 20 of the chamber’s 50 seats. As leader, Petersen will head the party’s legislative strategy inside the Capitol and during the lawmaking session that begins next January.

But the leader is also responsible for the party’s campaign efforts. Twenty-five seats are up for election, including 14 currently held by Democrats. They would have to hold all of those and win six of the remaining 11 to retake the majority.  

Hogg, of Cedar Rapids, was selected as caucus leader just last November, after an election in which the Democrats lost their majority in the chamber and Republicans won control of the Legislature, in addition to the governor’s office.

In an interview Sunday afternoon, Hogg said he was "proud" of the work done so far to position Democrats for the coming election.  

"I am proud of the tremendous efforts that we have made over the last 11 months to recruit great candidates, raise money and put ourselves in a position so that we can compete in 2018 and give Iowans a chance to return Democrats to the majority," Hogg told the Register. "I wish Sen. Petersen good luck and expect that she will do an able job leading Senate Democrats to the biggest political comeback in Iowa’s history in 2018."

The vote to replace Hogg happened at a meeting of the Democratic caucus shortly after noon on Sunday at the Statehouse. Hogg was the first to emerge from that meeting, exiting the Capitol around 1:30 p.m. while the rest of the caucus remained inside. 

He declined to initially comment when approached by a reporter and spent the next hour packing boxes from his office into his car.

He succeeded long-time leader Michael Gronstal, D-Council Bluffs, who served as minority or majority leader for 20 years until losing his seat in 2016.

The situation is somewhat similar to a Senate Republican changeover in 2011. In that case, the sitting minority leader, Paul McKinley, of Russell, stepped down after the party lost a mid-term special election, and he was replaced by Sen. Jerry Behn, R-Boone. Behn lasted about a year before being replaced after the 2012 election by Sen. Bill Dix, R-Shell Rock, who’s now the Senate's majority leader.