Cynthia Lynne Axne (née Wadle; born April 20, 1965) is an American politician who is the U.S. representative from Iowa's 3rd congressional district since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, she narrowly defeated incumbent Republican 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 elec ...

. The district is anchored in the state capital Des Moines; it includes much of the state's southwest quadrant, including Council Bluffs. 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 but lost to Republican 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 (Unite ...

, a U.S. Air Force 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 th ...

, 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 ...

. 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 co ...

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 accounti ...

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 in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

. 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 ...

in Iowa's 3rd congressional district. 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, Fin ...

, 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, 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 en ...

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 ...

** 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 committee of the United States House of Representatives that oversees ...

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

Caucus memberships

* New Democrat Coalition

Electoral history

Personal life

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