Abby Lea Finkenauer is an American politician who is the U.S. Representative from Iowa's 1st congressional district since 2019. She is a member of the Democratic Party. Her district serves much of the northeast quadrant of the state, including Cedar Rapids, Waterloo, Cedar Falls, and her hometown of Dubuque. Before being elected to Congress, Finkenauer served in the Iowa House of Representatives for the 99th district from 2015 to 2019. Her committee assignments included Economic Growth, Labor, Transportation, and Ways and Means. She was also a member of the Economic Development Appropriations Subcommittee. On November 6, 2018, Finkenauer and fellow Democrat Cindy Axne became the first women from Iowa elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. Finkenauer also became the second-youngest woman to ever be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.
Early life and education
Finkenauer grew up in Sherrill, Iowa. Her father is a welder and her mother works at a public school. She graduated from Hempstead High School in Dubuque. In 2011, Finkenauer graduated from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, with a bachelor's degree in public relations.
Murphy gave up his seat in 2014 to make an unsuccessful run for Congress, and Finkenauer ran for Murphy's old seat and won. In the Democratic primary, Finkenauer defeated defense attorney Steve Drahozal, receiving 57.8% of the vote. In the general election, she faced lawyer Daniel Dlouhy and defeated him, receiving 60.8% of the vote. She was 25 when first elected to the Iowa House of Representatives. She was unopposed for reelection in 2016.
U.S. House of Representatives
Elections
2018
In May 2017, Finkenauer announced her candidacy for Iowa's 1st congressional district, which was held by Republican and Dubuque resident Rod Blum. Blum had defeated her former boss, Murphy, in 2014. On June 5, 2018, she won the Democratic primary, defeating former congressional staffer Thomas Heckroth and engineer Courtney Rowe. She received 66.9% of the vote. As of September 2018, her race was classified as Lean Democratic or Tilt Democratic by 3 major rating firms. On October 1, 2018, former President Barack Obama endorsed Finkenauer. She defeated Blum with 50.9% of the vote, a margin of 5%.
Tenure
She and Cindy Axne, elected from the 3rd district, are the first women to represent Iowa in the House. She is the second youngest woman ever elected to the House, being about ten months older than fellow 2018 freshman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez; Finkenauer turned 30 a week before being sworn in in January.
