Former member of Congress · last served 113th Congress

Tom Harkin

DEMOCRAT U.S. Senator · IowaSenate 1985–2015 · House 1975–1985 (IA-5)

Thomas Harkin was a Democratic U.S. senator from Iowa, first elected to Congress in 1975, who voted with most Democrats on 95% of the 112th Congress’s yes/no votes and sponsored 3 bills that became law (113th–113th Congress).

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60Bills & resolutions sponsored113th–113th Congress (excludes amendments)

5Passed a chamberof 51 substantive bills (excludes resolutions and ceremonial bills)

3Became law2 substantive + 1 ceremonial · 113th–113th Congress

13Broke with partyof 242 yes/no votes, 112th (5.4%)

9Missed votesof 251 roll calls, 112th (3.6%)

—Pork: own shareFY2024 earmarks: not in office

How we count: “Broke with party” is a yes/no roll call where the member voted against most of their own party on that vote (party as recorded; even splits not counted). “Pork: own share” splits each earmark shared by several members evenly among them.

5 most recent votes

NayOn Passage of the Bill — American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012
Jan 1, 2013 · Bill Passed
YeaOn the Nomination — Nomination vote
Dec 30, 2012 · Nomination Confirmed
YeaOn the Nomination — Nomination vote
Dec 30, 2012 · Nomination Confirmed
YeaOn Passage of the Bill — Disaster Relief Appropriations Act, 2013
Dec 28, 2012 · Bill Passed
NayOn the Amendment — Disaster Relief Appropriations Act, 2013
Dec 28, 2012 · Amendment Rejected

5 most recent bills

S. 3020 A bill to establish the composition known as America the Beautiful as the national anthem.
Dec 16, 2014 · Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
S. 2917 Adding Ebola to the FDA Priority Review Voucher Program Act
Dec 16, 2014 · Became Public Law No: 113-233.
S.Res. 595 A resolution recognizing Nobel Laureates Kailash Satyarthi and Malala Yousafzai for their efforts to end the financial exploitation of children and to ensure…
Dec 16, 2014 · Resolution agreed to in Senate with an amendment and an amended preamble by Unanimous Consent. (consideration: CR S6929; text as passed Senate: CR S6929)
S. 2954 Higher Education Affordability Act
Nov 20, 2014 · Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
S. 2889 Universal Home Design Act of 2014
Sep 18, 2014 · Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. (text of measure as introduced: CR S5793-5794)

Top bills sponsored

Laws first, then bills that passed a chamber, were reported from committee, or drew the most cosponsors.

Elections Sen. Harkin has won

Sen. Harkin has won 4 U.S. House elections (1976–1982) and 5 U.S. Senate elections (1984, 1990, 1996, 2002, 2008). Of the contested races, margins ran from 5.1 to 30.7 points.

Democratic winRepublican winseat changed partyunopposed

Elections won9 in the data (1976–2024); losses are not listed

Closest win: 5.1 points1996, IA Senate

Won an open seat or took one from the other party1 of 9 elections (open seat or changed party)

Seat history, Iowa’s 5th districtWinners, most recent three: Frederick Grandy (R) 1992 → Tom Latham (R) 1994–2000 → Steve King (R) 2002–2010. Elections shown, not terms; special elections not included.

Seat history, Iowa Senate (class 2)Winners in regular elections, most recent three: Roger Jepsen (R) 1978 → Tom Harkin (D) 1984–2008 → Joni Ernst (R) 2014–2020. The seat is next on the ballot in 2026.

Full election history for this seat →

Source: MIT Election Data and Science Lab, U.S. House V15 / U.S. Senate V8 (CC0), retrieved 2026-10-18; winners matched to member records by seat and term. Results run through the 2024 elections; nothing from 2026 is shown until it is certified. A margin is a fact about one election, never a score of how well a member represents anyone, and PORKER does not rank members by it.

How has Iowa done while Sen. Harkin served?

2005 to 2014 in Iowa: typical household income was about the same after inflation, the share of people below the poverty line was up 1.4 points, and the share of workers looking for a job was down 0.7 points.

Typical household income · after inflation

Iowa: $70.4K in 2005 → $71.4K in 2014

Iowa about the sameU.S. down 4%

Share of people below the poverty line

Iowa: 10.9% in 2005 → 12.2% in 2014

Iowa up 1.4 pointsU.S. up 2.2 points

Share of workers looking for a job

Iowa: 5.1% in 2005 → 4.4% in 2014

Iowa down 0.7 pointsU.S. up 0.3 points

Each mini chart has its own scale, fitted to its lines (it does not start at zero), so compare the numbers, not the heights. Oxblood = state, grey = U.S.

While they served, not because of them. This shows what happened in Iowa during Harkin’s time representing it (1985 to 2015). It does not say what the member did or caused. It is not a score, and PORKER never ranks members on it.

Survey years start at 2005. The yearly estimates for Iowa begin in 2005, so 1985 to 2004 are not shown. No 2020 yearly estimate exists.

See the full 20-year record →Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 1-year estimates (tables B19013, B17001, B23001) and BLS CPI-U-RS for inflation, retrieved October 18, 2026. “About the same” means the change is inside the 90% margins of error. Who held the seat: Congress.gov member service records, year level.

Official records on bills this member sponsored

113th Congress. What Congress.gov lists for the 60 bills sponsored.

Record	Bills	Source
Bills sponsored	60	Source: Congress.gov member record, PORKER copy of October 26, 2026 ↗ See them →
With a CBO cost estimate listed	9	See the 9 →
With a committee report listed	2	See the 2 →
With a Congress.gov note	3	See the 3 →

Evidence

How counted: Bills where this member is the lead (first-listed) sponsor in the 113th Congress, read from the stored Congress.gov bill records
Fields: cboCostEstimates, committeeReports, constitutionalAuthorityStatementText, notes
PORKER copy refreshed: October 26, 2026 (nightly)

Read this first. These are counts of records Congress.gov lists. Many bills never get a CBO estimate or a report, so a zero is not a mark against a member. We never show this as a score.

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Data as of Oct 26, 2026 · latest recorded Senate vote Sep 30, 2026 · Sources: Congress.gov, Senate.gov, House Clerk, Appropriations Committee earmark tables. PORKER is non-partisan.