Greenfield was born and raised in Bricelyn, Minnesota, a small city near the Iowa–Minnesota border.[4] She was one of five children.[5] Her parents raised hogs and grew crops on a small farm, and her father was also a crop dusting pilot.[6] She helped with farm jobs such as driving tractors and grain trucks, bailing hay, and feeding hogs; and by the age of 16, assisted in negotiating contract terms and demarcating fields for the family crop-dusting business.[7][8]
After graduating from Minnesota State, Greenfield worked as an urban planner and later began working in real estate development.[11]
In 2005, Greenfield took a position at the home building company Rottlund Homes in Roseville, Minnesota, where she was named president of the Iowa division in 2007.[12] In 2012, she became president of the Des Moines commercial real estate firm Colby Interests,[13] based in Windsor Heights, Iowa. She is a member of the board of the American Institute of Certified Planners, Commercial Real Estate Women of Iowa, and the Windsor Heights Chamber of Commerce.[14][failed verification]
In July 2017, Greenfield announced her candidacy for the 2018 Democratic nomination in Iowa's 3rd congressional district. As a female Democratic candidate in 2018, she was featured on the cover of Time along with other female candidates, who were collectively labeled "The Avengers".[15]
She withdrew from the race in March 2018 after learning her campaign manager had falsified some of the 1,790 required signatures to qualify her for the ballot.[16][17] Her campaign tried to collect a new set of signatures in the 24 hours before the filing deadline, but was only able to acquire 1,592 valid signatures.[18][19][20]
On June 3, 2019, Greenfield declared her candidacy for the Senate seat held by first-term senator Joni Ernst.[21][22]
On June 2, 2020, she won the Democratic primary with 47.71% of the vote, defeating three other major candidates, including Michael T. Franken, a retired U.S. Navy admiral and former aide to U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy.[23][24]
Polls conducted after the primary showed a close contest between Greenfield and Ernst.[25][26][27][28] In early September, political handicappers The Cook Political Report and Sabato's Crystal Ball rated the race as a toss-up.[29][30] Major media described the race as one of the most likely to decide control of the Senate after the 2020 election.[31][32] Through June 30, 2020, Greenfield had raised $11.5 million, compared to $14.6 million for Ernst.[33] In the third fundraising quarter, Greenfield's campaign raised $28.7 million, more than any Senate candidate in Iowa history. As of October 2020, the race was expected to be the most expensive in the state's history,[34] and the second most expensive Senate race in the United States, after the 2020 United States Senate election in North Carolina.[35]
In the general election on November 3, 2020, she was defeated by incumbent Ernst, winning only 8 of the state's 99 counties and finishing six points behind the incumbent.[44] Greenfield conceded the race in a speech that night.[45]
Department of Agriculture
Greenfield's official Department of Agriculture portrait
She has called for further federal stimulus to combat the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, including direct payments to individuals, extending expanded unemployment benefits, and expanded Paycheck Protection Program payments for small businesses.[51] She also called for a statewide mask mandate to alleviate the spread of the COVID-19 virus.[52]
Social safety nets
She supports Social Security and other safety net policies, and has referred to her personal experience as part of her reasons for this.[49]
Campaign finance reform
Greenfield supports campaign finance reform and supports the overturning of Citizens United v. FEC, a Supreme Court decision that prohibits the government from restricting independent expenditures for political communications by corporations.[48] She proposed a ban on corporate Political Action Committee money, passing lobbying reforms, and overturning the Supreme Court's decision on Citizens United. She supports the Stop Swaps, Protect Local Jobs Act.[53][failed verification]
Environment
She accepts the scientific consensus on climate change, linking the climate change to the August 2020 Midwest derecho which caused flooding in Iowa. She criticized Senator Joni Ernst for taking money from the oil industry and for denying the scientific consensus on climate change.[54]
^ abWirtjes v. Interstate Power Co. (Minnesota Supreme Court February 7, 1992), Text.
^Crabtree, Susan (July 11, 2020). "Defund-Police Push Has Key Dem Candidates on Defense". RealClearPolitics. Retrieved September 23, 2020. Her husband, Rob, a lineman at the local power company, was killed in workplace accident years ago…
