Cynthia Lynne Axne (née Wadle; born April 20, 1965) is an American politician who is the

U.S. representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from

Iowa's 3rd congressional district Iowa's 3rd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Iowa that covers its southwestern quadrant, which roughly consists of an area stretching from Des Moines to the borders with Nebraska and Missouri. From 2013 t ...

since 2019. A member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

, she narrowly defeated incumbent

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

David Young in the

2018 elections The following elections are scheduled to occur in 2018. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. Africa *2018 Djiboutian parliamentary election 23 February 2018 * 2018 Sierra Leonean general ele ...

. The district is anchored in the state capital Des Moines; it includes much of the state's southwest quadrant, including

Council Bluffs Council Bluffs is a city in and the county seat of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States. The city is the most populous in Southwest Iowa, and is the third largest and a primary city of the Omaha-Council Bluffs Metropolitan Area. It is loc ...

. Axne is the only Democrat in the United States House delegation from Iowa, of which she also serves as the dean. Axne ran for reelection in

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...

but lost to

challenger

Zach Nunn Zachary Martin Nunn (born May 4, 1979) is an American politician and former member of the Iowa Air National Guard who has served as the U.S. representative for Iowa's 3rd congressional district since 2023. A member of the Republican Party, he w ...

, a

U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sign ...

officer.

Early life and career

Axne was born in

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the second most-populated city in the state after Detroit. Grand Rapids is the ...

, in 1965, the daughter of Terry and Joanne Wadle. She graduated from Valley High School in

West Des Moines, Iowa West Des Moines is a city in Polk, Dallas, Warren, and Madison counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. A majority of the city is located in Polk County, a minority of the city is located in Dallas County, and small portions extend into Warren and M ...

. She earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 12 col ...

and a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accoun ...

from

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

. After graduating from college, Axne worked in leadership development and strategic planning for the

Tribune Company Tribune Media Company, also known as Tribune Company, was an American multimedia conglomerate headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Through Tribune Broadcasting, Tribune Media was one of the largest television broadcasting companies, owning 39 ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. From 2005 to 2014, she worked in the Iowa state government on service delivery in over 20 state agencies in the executive branch.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2018

In 2018, Axne ran for the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

. She won the Democratic primary election with 57.91% of the vote and defeated incumbent Representative David Young in the general election, becoming, with

Abby Finkenauer Abby Lea Finkenauer (born December 27, 1988) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for Iowa's 1st congressional district from 2019 to 2021. She is a member of the Democratic Party. Before being elected to Congress, Fi ...

, one of the first two women from Iowa elected to the House. Young carried 15 of the district's 16 counties, but Axne won

Polk County Polk County is the name of twelve counties in the United States, all except two named after president of the United States James Knox Polk: * Polk County, Arkansas * Polk County, Florida * Polk County, Georgia * Polk County, Iowa * Polk Count ...

, the district's most populous county and home to Des Moines, by over 30,000 votes, far exceeding the overall margin of 8,000.

2020

In 2020, Axne won the Democratic primary virtually unopposed, facing only write-in candidates. She then defeated David Young in a rematch in the general election, with 48.9% of the vote to Young's 47.6%.

2022

Axne ran for reelection and lost to Republican nominee

by a margin of 0.7%.

Tenure

Axne took office during the

2018–2019 United States federal government shutdown The United States federal government shutdown from midnight EST on December 22, 2018, until January 25, 2019 (35 days) was the longest U.S. government shutdown in history and the second and final federal government shutdown involving furlough ...

and requested that her pay be withheld until the shutdown ended. On January 30, 2019, she co-sponsored a bill, the Shutdown to End All Shutdowns (SEAS) Act, to prevent future federal government shutdowns from happening. In September 2021, Axne was accused of failing to disclose up to $645,000 in stock trades. Reports also found that she had bought and sold stocks in companies she was tasked to oversee as a member of the House Financial Services Committee. In September 2022, Axne voted for the

Inflation Reduction Act The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA) is a landmark United States federal law which aims to curb inflation by reducing the deficit, lowering prescription drug prices, and investing into domestic energy production while promoting clean ener ...

by proxy while on vacation in France. As of October 2022, Axne has voted in line with Joe Biden's stated position 100% of the time. In 2022, Axne voted for H.R. 1808: Assault Weapons Ban of 2022.

Committee assignments

United States House Committee on Agriculture The U.S. House Committee on Agriculture, or Agriculture Committee is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. The House Committee on Agriculture has general jurisdiction over federal agriculture policy and oversight of s ...

** Subcommittee on Commodity Exchanges, Energy, and Credit ** Subcommittee on Conservation and Forestry *

United States House Committee on Financial Services The United States House Committee on Financial Services, also referred to as the House Banking Committee and previously known as the Committee on Banking and Currency, is the United States congressional committee, committee of the United States H ...

** Subcommittee on Housing, Community Development and Insurance ** Subcommittee on Investor Protection, Entrepreneurship and Capital Markets

Caucus memberships

New Democrat Coalition The New Democrat Coalition is a caucus in the House of Representatives of the United States Congress made up of Democrats, primarily centrists, who take a pro-business stance and a moderate-to-conservative approach to fiscal matters. As of ...

Electoral history

Personal life

Axne and her husband, John, operate a digital design firm. They have two sons and live in

West Des Moines West Des Moines is a city in Polk, Dallas, Warren, and Madison counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. A majority of the city is located in Polk County, a minority of the city is located in Dallas County, and small portions extend into Warren and Ma ...

. They are members of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in West Des Moines. Axne is tall.

References

External links

Congresswoman Cindy Axne
official U.S. House website
Cindy Axne for Congress
campaign website * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Axne, Cindy 21st-century American politicians Candidates in the 2018 United States elections Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Iowa Female members of the United States House of Representatives Living people Northwestern University alumni People from West Des Moines, Iowa University of Iowa alumni 1965 births Catholics from Michigan Catholics from Iowa Politicians from Grand Rapids, Michigan 21st-century American women politicians