Before being elected to Congress, Finkenauer served in the Iowa House of Representatives for the 99th district from 2015 to 2019. On November 6, 2018, Finkenauer and fellow Democrat Cindy Axne became the first women from Iowa elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. Finkenauer also became the second-youngest woman to ever be elected to the U.S. House. She lost reelection in 2020 and lost a primary election for the United States Senate in 2022.
Finkenauer ran for Murphy's old seat in 2014 and won. In the Democratic primary, Finkenauer defeated defense attorney Steve Drahozal, receiving 57.8% of the vote.[7] In the general election, she faced lawyer Daniel Dlouhy and defeated him, receiving 60.8% of the vote.[8][9] She was 25 when first elected to the Iowa House of Representatives.
In May 2017, Finkenauer announced her candidacy for Iowa's 1st congressional district, which was held by Republican and Dubuque resident Rod Blum.[11] Blum had unexpectedly defeated her former boss, Murphy, in 2014.
On June 5, 2018, she won the Democratic primary, defeating former congressional staffer Thomas Heckroth, engineer Courtney Rowe and retired military officer George Ramsey. She received 66.9% of the vote.[12]
As of September 2018, her race was classified as Lean Democratic or Tilt Democratic by 3 major rating firms.[13] On October 1, 2018, former President Barack Obama endorsed Finkenauer.[14] She defeated Blum with 50.9% of the vote, a margin of 5%.[15][16]
In 2020, Finkenauer ran again without any Democratic primary opposition. She was defeated in the general election by Republican state RepresentativesAshley Hinson, 51.3% to 48.7%.[17]
On July 22, 2021, Finkenauer announced her candidacy in the Democratic primary for the 2022 U.S. Senate election in Iowa, for the seat held by Chuck Grassley.[24] On April 11, 2022, a judge ruled that she was ineligible for the Democratic primary because her nominating petitions did not have enough verified signatures. Finkenauer said she would appeal the ruling, and four days later on April 15, the Iowa Supreme Court unanimously reversed the decision and allowed Finkenauer to appear on the primary ballot.[25][26]
On November 21, 2022, Finkenauer was appointed the United States Special Envoy for Global Youth Issues.[29] She took office on December 1, 2022, and has completed numerous international visits on behalf of the United States, including to Australia, New Zealand, Qatar, and Thailand. She participated in the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative in Bali from May 1 to 5, 2023.[30]
Electoral history
2014
Iowa House of Representatives 99th district election, 2014[9]
Finkenauer has discussed her experiences with endometriosis and has worked to pass an amendment that would double endometriosis research funding.[36] She is the founder of the Congressional Endometriosis Caucus.[37]
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