DES MOINES, Iowa – State Senator Amanda Ragan, D-Mason City, announced on Monday that she will not run for re-election in the newly drawn Iowa Senate District 30.
“I want to thank the people of North Iowa for giving me the opportunity to represent them in the Iowa Senate. With their support, I have worked in a bi-partisan manner with Republicans and Democrats to make Iowa a great place to live, work and raise a family,” Ragan said in a released statement.
“One of the joys of my service in the Senate was working to help my constituents. There are times when the forest of government bureaucracy can be quite dense. I was always grateful when I could help people find the correct answers or contacts. I consider that the heart of my work,” she added.
“My hope is for even greater legislation to be enacted based on the foundation we have set over the last two decades. There are many wonderful things about our beautiful state. My goal has always been to make Iowa better and better,” Ragan stated.
Ragan was first elected to the Iowa Senate in 2002 following a special election. She currently serves Iowa Senate District 27 that consists of the western two-thirds of Cerro Gordo County, Franklin County, and the northern half and southwest corner of Butler County.
She serves as the Minority Whip, a leadership position she has held since 2016, and serves on the Agriculture, Appropriations, Human Resources, Rules and Administrations, and Veteran affairs committees. She is the ranking member of the Health and Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee.
“Senator Amanda Ragan has been a hard-working public servant during her 20 years in the Iowa Senate. From leading the effort to expand access to health care to tens of thousands of Iowans, to improving the lives of seniors and Iowans with disabilities, to honoring and protecting service members and veterans, and standing up for the rights of hard-working Iowans across the state, Amanda has been a tireless advocate for the residents of North Iowa. She is often the first one in the Senate chamber in the morning and the last one to leave the Capitol during the legislative session. Her advocacy on behalf of the communities she has represented is an example of how all legislators should serve. I congratulate Amanda on her well-earned retirement — from the Iowa Senate, as well as her recent departure from the Community Kitchen of North Iowa and Meals on Wheels in Mason City — and I wish her and Jim all the best,” Iowa Senate Minority Leader Zach Wahls, D-Coralville, said in a released statement.
Ragan was drawn into the new Iowa Senate District 30 with State Senator Waylon Brown, R-Osage, that consists of Worth, Cerro Gordo, and Mitchell counties and the northwest corner of Floyd County.
Ragan faced a 2800 registered voter deficit in her current district and narrowly defeated now State Rep. Shannon Latham, R-Sheffield, by 501 votes out of 25,160 cast in 2018. While the Iowa Secretary of States’s office has not yet released the voter registration numbers for the new districts, the new district favors Brown who has not yet formally announced re-election plans.
