2006 Iowa Senate election

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States. Founded in 1828, it was predominantly built by Martin Van Buren, who assembled politicians in every state behind war hero Andrew Jackson, making it the world's oldest active political party. Its main political rival has been the Republican Party since the 1850s, with both parties being big tents of competing and often opposing viewpoints. Modern American liberalism — a variant of social liberalism — is the party's majority ideology. The party also has notable centrist, social democratic, and left-libertarian factions.

Steven Henning "Steve" Warnstadt was the Iowa State Senator from the 1st District. A Democrat, he has served in the Iowa Senate from 2003 until 2011. He received his BA from Drake University and his MA from Temple University, and is serving as an adjunct instructor with Western Iowa Tech Community College and as an intelligence officer with the Iowa Army National Guard.

The Republican Party, also referred to as the GOP, is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States. The GOP was founded in 1854 by anti-slavery activists who opposed the Kansas–Nebraska Act, which allowed for the potential expansion of chattel slavery into the western territories. It has been the main political rival of the Democratic Party since the mid-1850s. Like them, the Republican Party is a big tent of competing and often opposing ideologies. Presently, the Republican Party contains prominent conservative, centrist, populist, and right-libertarian factions.

In political science, voter turnout is the participation rate of a given election. This is typically either the percentage of registered voters, eligible voters, or all voting-age people. According to Stanford University political scientists Adam Bonica and Michael McFaul, there is a consensus among political scientists that "democracies perform better when more people vote."

David Johnson was the Iowa State Senator from the 1st District and served as assistant minority leader. A former Republican and currently independent, he served in the Iowa Senate from 2003 to 2019 and served in the Iowa House of Representatives from 1999 to 2003. He received his B.A. in History from Beloit College.

Richard Warren "Rich" Olive was an American realtor and politician from Iowa. A Democrat, he served the Fifth District in the Iowa Senate from 2007 until 2011.

Amanda Ragan is an Iowan State Senator from the 27th District. A member of the Democratic Party, she has served in the Iowa Senate since 2002. In 2016 Ragan was appointed Iowa Senate Democratic Whip. She has also served as the Executive Director of Meals on Wheels and of Community Kitchen of Northern Iowa.

William Michael Heckroth is an American politician. He is a former Iowa State Senator from the 9th District, who as a Democrat served in the Iowa Senate from 2007 to 2011. He owns and is a financial consultant for Financial Architects.