2008Flipped from RepublicanFinal resultsIncumbent defeated
2008 election for Iowa House District 81
Iowa House of Representatives · Iowa
Phyllis Thede (D) won with 55.7% of the vote, defeating James Vanfossen (R) by 11.4 points, a seat Republicans won last time.
Phyllis ThedeDemocrat · winner
55.7%8,736
James VanfossenRepublican · incumbent
44.3%6,951
15,687 votes
Source: Harvard Dataverse / Carl KlarnerUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:29 AM ET
The seat over time
D − R margin in this seat's races around 2008
Races before and after
Source: Harvard Dataverse / Carl KlarnerUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:29 AM ET