Staci Lynn Appel (born April 19, 1966) is an

American politician The politics of the United States function within a framework of a constitutional federal republic and presidential system, with three distinct branches that share powers. These are: the U.S. Congress which forms the legislative branch, a bic ...

from the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

. She served in the

Iowa Senate The Iowa Senate is the upper house of the Iowa General Assembly, United States. There are 50 seats in the Iowa Senate, representing 50 single-member districts across the state of Iowa with populations of approximately 60,927 per constituency, . ...

as the Assistant Majority Leader from 2007 to 2011 representing the 37th district. A

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, in 2014 she unsuccessfully ran for a seat in 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 house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

for

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 to ...

Early life

Appel was born in Waterloo, Iowa. She grew up in

Iowa City, Iowa Iowa City, offically the City of Iowa City is a city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States. It is the home of the University of Iowa and county seat of Johnson County, at the center of the Iowa City Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the time ...

, and attended

Iowa City West High School Iowa City West High School is a public high school in Iowa City, Iowa. It serves grades 9-12 for the Iowa City Community School District. Athletics The Trojans compete in the Mississippi Valley Conference in the following sports: *Cross Coun ...

Career

Appel worked for 12 years as a financial consultant with

Merrill Lynch Merrill (officially Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated), previously branded Merrill Lynch, is an American investment management and wealth management division of Bank of America. Along with BofA Securities, the investment bank ...

and

UBS Paine Webber UBS Group AG is a multinational investment bank and financial services company founded and based in Switzerland. Co-headquartered in the cities of Zürich and Basel, it maintains a presence in all major financial centres as the largest Sw ...

. Appel served on several committees in the Iowa Senate: the Agriculture committee; the State Government committee; the Ways and Means committee; and the Education committee, where she was vice chair. She also served as vice chair of the Administration and Regulation Appropriations Subcommittee. Appel was elected in 2006 with 12,827 votes (50%), defeating

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 ...

opponent Julian B. Garrett by 772 votes. Appel's first bill in the Senate was a proposal to raise the minimum wage in Iowa to $7.25. During her time in the State Senate Appel favored the Equal Pay For Equal Work Act As a member of the Iowa Senate, Appel was appointed Assistant Majority Leader. Appel lost her bid for reelection to state Representative

Kent Sorenson Kent Sorenson (born March 29, 1972) is a former Iowa state legislator who resigned after pleading guilty to obstruction of justice and other felonies related to campaign finances. Sorenson graduated from Indianola High School in 1990. He was ...

in 2010, 58% to 40%.

Political positions

Appel is pro-choice and supports same-sex marriage. She has stated her support for the

Affordable Care Act The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and colloquially known as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Presid ...

and would not repeal it. Appel endorsed Senator

Tom Harkin Thomas Richard Harkin (born November 19, 1939) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as a United States senator from Iowa from 1985 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously was the U.S. representative for Iowa' ...

's proposal to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour. On immigration, she has stated her support for increased border security and a pathway for citizenship for the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants currently in the United States. On gun rights, Appel has stated that the gun-show loophole should be closed and that background checks should be required wherever a gun is purchased. On foreign policy, she has stated her opposition to Russia's incursions into Ukraine, though noted that "she said she doesn't hear Iowans talking much about foreign policy."

2014 congressional election

Appel ran for an open congressional seat in

. Incumbent congressman Tom Latham retired. She initially stated she would run for the seat, before announcing that she would not run, citing family obligations, then reversing her decision again to commit to the race. She faced Republican nominee David Young in the general election. David Young won the election with 52.8% of the vote to Appel's 42.2%. Appel was endorsed by

EMILY's List EMILY's List is an American political action committee (PAC) that aims to help elect Democratic female candidates in favor of abortion rights to office. It was founded by Ellen Malcolm in 1985. The group's name is an acronym for "Early Money ...

, a political action committee that supports pro-choice female Democrats, and the

American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) is the largest trade union of public employees in the United States. It represents 1.3 million public sector employees and retirees, including health care workers, correcti ...

. The

Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) is the United States Democratic Party, Democratic Hill committee for the United States House of Representatives, working to elect Democrats to that body. The DCCC recruits candidates, raises ...

added her to their jumpstart program, which provides financial support.

Stuart Rothenberg Stuart Rothenberg is an American editor, publisher, and political analyst. He is best known for his biweekly political newsletter ''The Rothenberg Political Report'', now known as ''Inside Elections''. He was also a regular columnist at ''Roll Ca ...

of ''

Roll Call ''Roll Call'' is a newspaper and website published in Washington, D.C., United States, when the United States Congress is in session, reporting news of legislative and political maneuverings on Capitol Hill, as well as political coverage of c ...

'' rated the race a "Pure Toss Up". In May 2014, a Republican spokesperson accused Appel of plagiarizing text from another candidate's website, something her campaign manager said he takes responsibility for.

Personal life

Appel's husband, Brent R. Appel, serves on the

Iowa Supreme Court The Iowa Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Iowa. The Court is composed of a Chief Justice and six Associate Justices. The Court holds its regular sessions in Des Moines in the Iowa Judicial Branch Building located at 1111 E ...

. The Appels live with their six children in

Ackworth, Iowa Ackworth is a city in Warren County, Iowa, United States. The population was 115 at the 2020 census. History Ackworth was laid out in 1874. The community most likely was named after the Ackworth School, in England. In 1878, the Chicago, Burlin ...

References

External links

Staci Appel for Congress
*
Biography
at

Ballotpedia Ballotpedia is a nonprofit and nonpartisan online political encyclopedia that covers federal, state, and local politics, elections, and public policy in the United States. The website was founded in 2007. Ballotpedia is sponsored by the Lucy Bur ...

Financial information (state office)
at the National Institute for Money in State Politics
Collected news and commentary
at the ''

Des Moines Register ''The Des Moines Register'' is the daily morning newspaper of Des Moines, Iowa. History Early period The first newspaper in Des Moines was the ''Iowa Star''. In July 1849, Barlow Granger began the paper in an abandoned log cabin by the junction ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Appel, Staci Democratic Party Iowa state senators Living people Women state legislators in Iowa Politicians from Waterloo, Iowa 1966 births Politicians from Iowa City, Iowa People from Warren County, Iowa Candidates in the 2014 United States elections 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians