Cindy Axne

Cynthia Lynne Axne (/ˈæksni/;[1] née Wadle; born April 20, 1965) is an American businesswoman and politician serving as the U.S. Representative from Iowa's 3rd congressional district since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, she defeated incumbent Republican David Young in the 2018 elections. The district is anchored in the state capital, Des Moines; it includes much of the state's southwest quadrant, including Council Bluffs. Following the departure of Abby Finkenauer and Dave Loebsack from Congress, Axne became the sole Democrat in Iowa's delegation.

Cindy Axne
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Iowa's 3rd district
Assumed office
January 3, 2019
Preceded byDavid Young
Personal details
Born
Cynthia Lynne Wadle

(1965-04-20) April 20, 1965
Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)John Axne
Children2
EducationUniversity of Iowa (BA)
Northwestern University (MBA)
WebsiteHouse website

Early life and career

Axne was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1965, the daughter of Terry and Joanne Wadle.[2] She graduated from Valley High School in West Des Moines, Iowa. She earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Iowa and a Master of Business Administration from Northwestern University.[3]

After graduating from college, Axne worked in leadership development and strategic planning for the Tribune Company in Chicago. From 2005 through 2014, she worked in Iowa state government on service delivery in over 20 state agencies in the executive branch.[3]

U.S. House of Representatives

2018
Main article: 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Iowa § District 3

During the 2018 elections, Axne ran for the United States House of Representatives in Iowa's 3rd congressional district.[4][5]

Axne won the primary election with 57.91% of the vote.[6] She defeated incumbent Representative Young in the general election and became, along with Abby Finkenauer, one of the first women from Iowa elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.[7] Young carried 15 of the district's 16 counties, but Axne won Polk County, the most populous county in the district and home to Des Moines, by over 30,000 votes, far exceeding the overall margin of 8,000.[8]

Tenure

Axne took office amid the 2018–19 United States federal government shutdown and requested that her pay be withheld until the shutdown ended.[9] On January 30, 2019, Axne co-sponsored a bill to prevent future federal government shutdowns from happening; the bill was titled Shutdown to End All Shutdowns (SEAS) Act.[10]

Axne is currently serving on the United States House Committee on Agriculture. After Republican Steve King, representing Iowa's 4th congressional district, was removed from all his committee assignments by Republican leadership for making racist remarks, Axne became the only Iowan on the committee.[11]

Committee assignments

Caucus memberships

Electoral history
Cindy Axne speaking to 2019 Women's March attendees in the rotunda of the Iowa State Capitol in Des Moines
2018 Iowa 3rd Congressional District Democratic Primary[13]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Cindy Axne 32,070 57.91
Democratic Eddie J. Mauro 14,582 26.33
Democratic Pete D'Alessandro 8,595 15.52
Democratic Write-ins 136 0.25
Total votes 55,383 100

2018 Iowa 3rd Congressional District General Election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Cindy Axne 175,642 49.3
Republican David Young (incumbent) 167,933 47.1
Libertarian Bryan Holder 7,267 2.0
Legal Marijuana Now Mark Elworth Jr. 2,015 0.6
Green Paul Knupp 1,888 0.5
Independent Joe Grandanette 1,301 0.4
n/a Write-ins 195 0.1
Total votes 356,241 100.0
2020 Iowa 3rd Congressional District Democratic Primary[14]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Cindy Axne (incumbent) 76,681 99.2
n/a Write-ins 623 0.8
Total votes 77,304 100.0
2020 Iowa 3rd Congressional District General Election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Cindy Axne (incumbent) 219,205 48.9
Republican David Young 212,997 47.6
Libertarian Bryan Jack Holder 15,361 3.4
n/a Write-ins 384 0.1
Total votes 447,947 100.0

Personal life

Axne and her husband, John, currently operate a digital design firm. They have two teenage sons and live in West Des Moines.[3] Axne and her family are members of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in West Des Moines.

At a height of 6 feet (1.83 m),[15] Axne is the tallest female U.S. representative in political history and she is among the tallest women in Congress. The others are fellow Rep. Katherine Clark of Massachusetts and former Sen. Kelly Loeffler of Georgia.[16][17]

See also

References
  1. Axne, Cindy [@axne4congress] (September 16, 2020). "Protecting Iowans' health care should be a top priority for #IA03. That's not rhetoric, that's my record. In Congress, I've fought to lower costs of care, protect rural hospitals, expand telehealth, and I've NEVER voted to repeal protections for pre-existing conditions" (Tweet). Retrieved September 17, 2020 – via Twitter.
  2. "Candidate Conversation - Cindy Axne (D)". Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales. August 31, 2018.
  3. "Three takeaways on Cindy Axne, 3rd District Democrat running for Congress". The Des Moines Register. May 1, 2018. Retrieved October 21, 2018.
  4. Mike Brownlee (June 2, 2017). "Democrat Cindy Axne looking to unseat David Young in Iowa congressional race | Politics". Omaha World-Herald. Retrieved October 21, 2018.
  5. William Petroski (May 26, 2018). "What are the key issues for Cindy Axne, Democratic candidate for the 3rd District?". The Des Moines Register.
  6. "Iowa's 3rd District: Cindy Axne wins primary, will vie against GOP Rep. David Young". The Des Moines Register. June 5, 2018. Retrieved October 21, 2018.
  7. "Iowa voters elect female governor, 2 female U.S. representatives, record number of female lawmakers". Des Moines Register. November 7, 2018. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
  8. "IA District 03". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
  9. Peterson, Mike (January 11, 2019). "Axne axes salary during shutdown". KMAland.com. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
  10. Peterson, Mike (January 30, 2019). "Axne pushes government shutdown ban bill". KMAland.com. Retrieved January 30, 2019.
  11. "Cindy Axne will serve on House agriculture committee, again giving Iowa a spot after Steve King removed". Des Moines Register. January 17, 2019. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
  12. "Members". New Democrat Coalition. Archived from the original on February 8, 2018. Retrieved February 5, 2018.
  13. "June 5, 2018 Primary Election". Iowa Secretary of State. Retrieved August 29, 2018.
  14. "Primary Election June 2, 2020 | United States Representative District 3 – Democratic". Iowa Secretary of State.
  15. "Cindy Axne tells how she fought off would-be rapist in speech to Des Moines business leaders". The Des Moines Register. October 2, 2018. Retrieved December 24, 2020. A former West Des Moines Valley basketball player who stands six feet tall...
  16. "Nancy Pelosi isn't the only woman in House leadership anymore. Meet incoming Assistant Speaker Katherine Clark". ampgoo.com. November 26, 2020. Retrieved December 24, 2020. ...the second tallest woman in Congress.
  17. Vlahos, Nick (January 7, 2020). "Nick in the AM: Olympia High School grad Kelly Loeffler becomes U.S. Senator". Woodford Times. Archived from the original on December 22, 2020. Retrieved December 24, 2020. The 5-foot-11 [1.8-meter] Loeffler also is co-owner of the Atlanta Dream, a WNBA franchise.
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by
David Young		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Iowa's 3rd congressional district
2019–present		 Incumbent
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by
Kelly Armstrong		 United States Representatives by seniority
303rd		 Succeeded by
Jim Baird
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