DES MOINES, Iowa – State Senator Liz Mathis, D-Hiawatha, said that she is seriously considering challenging U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Marion, in Iowa’s 1st Congressional District race in 2022.
“I am seriously considering a run for US House in the First District. I will officially announce my plans at the end of July,” Mathis said, in a statement, KCRG-TV 9 reports. She is not up for re-election in the Iowa Senate until 2024.
Mathis was first elected to the Iowa Senate in 2011 and represents Iowa Senate District 34 that includes Robins, Marion, Cedar Rapids, Hiawatha, Bertram, Ely, and southern Linn County. She serves on the Senate Agriculture, Appropriations, Commerce, Human Resources, and Veterans Affairs committees. She also serves on the Agriculture and Natural Resources Appropriations Subcommittee.
She grew up on her family’s farm near DeWitt, attended Central Community High School, and graduated from the University of Iowa.
Mathis worked as a journalist for 22 years, including working as a reporter, anchor, and producer for KCRG-TV 9 in Cedar Rapids where Hinson also worked for a time. Mathis currently serves as the chief community officer for Four Oaks, a child welfare and behavioral health agency that helps troubled kids and their families.
Mathis and her husband, Mark, live in Hiawatha. They own a marketing and advertising company and have two adult children.
Hinson is serving her first term in the U.S. House of Representatives after unseating incumbent Congresswoman Abby Finkenauer, D-Dubuque, in 2020. She previously served in the Iowa House of Representatives representing Iowa House District 67.
