votes. Congressional level Iowa Democrats were largely locked out of power at the national level until the 1930s. No Iowa Democrat served more than one term in the U.S. Senate until Guy Mark Gillette was elected in 1936. Following Gillette's defeat in 1944, Iowa Democrats did not control a U.S. Senate seat until the election of Harold Hughes in 1969. From 1985 to 2015, Democrat Tom Harkin and Republican Chuck Grassley each held a U.S. Senate seat. State level In 1957 Herschel C. Loveless broke nearly two decades of Republican control when he was elected as governor.by being elected governor. Two years later he was reelected to a second term. In 1963 Harold Hughes was elected Governor of Iowa; he was twice re-elected, serving a total of three two-year terms, from 1963 to 1969. On January 1, 1969 Hughes resigned to take the U.S. Senate seat he had just won. Lieutenant governor, Robert D. Fulton, succeeded as governor. As Republicans became more successful in the Midwest, Fulton was the last Democratic governor of Iowa until Tom Vilsack was elected in 1999. See also Political party strength in Iowa Republican Party of Iowa Libertarian Party of Iowa Constitution Party of Iowa References External links Iowa Democratic Party Democratic Party (United States) by state Democratic