The Republican nomination was decided by a convention after none of the six candidates reached the 35 percent threshold required to make the general election ballot. This was the second time in 50 years that a convention picked a nominee and the first time since 2002. A poll conducted by the conservative website Caffeinated Thoughts of 118 of the 513 delegates was conducted on June 9–10, 2014. Young and Brad Zaun took 27% each. On June 21, 2014, in what was described by the Des Moines Register as a "stunning upset", Young won the nomination on the fifth ballot of the convention. Young went on to defeat Democrat Staci Appel 53% to 42% in the 2014 general election.
2016 election
Young ran for re-election in 2016. He defeated Joe Grandanette in the Republican primary, which took place on June 7, 2016. He then defeated Democrat Jim Mowrer in the general election, winning 54% of the vote.
2018 election
Young ran for reelection in 2018. He was unopposed in the Republican Party primary. In the November 2018 general election, he was defeated by Democrat Cindy Axne of nearby West Des Moines. Axne won 49% of the vote to Young's 47.5%, with four different third-party candidates winning the remaining 3.5% of the vote.
Tenure
Young was sworn into office on January 3, 2015. He was a member of the Republican Main Street Partnership and the Veterinary Medicine Caucus. In April 2015, Young joined the Southwest Iowa Housing Trust Fund to announce over $530,000 in affordable housing grants from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines Strong Communities Fund. The grants would assist nearly 100 residents with key home repairs. During the January 2018 government shutdown, Young remained in Washington, canceled town hall meetings, and, in solidarity with government employees who were going unpaid during the shutdown, refused to accept his own salary. “I'm disappointed and I can't believe that Congress is getting paid during this time right now,” he said. “The people working hard every day in the military, for our federal government, should not be blamed for this.”
In May 2016, he voted to approve a measure aimed at upholding an executive order that bars discrimination against LGBT employees by federal contractors.
Veterans
In 2016, Young sponsored the "No Veterans Crisis Line Call Should Go Unanswered Act" aimed at reducing suicides of veterans. The bill passed the U.S. House unanimously.
Health care
Young voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act in 2015. Young opposed the original March 2017 Republican effort to repeal Obamacare. When the effort ended in March 2017 with the withdrawal of the GOP health-care legislation from further consideration, Young praised Trump and the party leaders for this action and called for everyone to join anew in “a thoughtful and deliberate process that takes the time and input to get this right to achieve accessible, affordable quality healthcare for every American.” Young supported the second 2017 Republican effort to repeal Obamacare. On May 4, 2017, Young voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act. This second repeal effort narrowly passed the House 217-213, but failed in the Senate. The repeal bill that Young voted for would have made it possible for states to allow insurers to raise health care premiums for individuals with preexisting conditions who did not have continuous coverage. At the same time as he sough to repeal the Affordable Care Act, Young pushed for an amendment intended to assist those with preexisting conditions who saw their premiums rise; many public health experts have questioned whether it would have succeeded in doing so. In September 2017, Young supported the refunding of the Children's Health Insurance Program.
Tax reform
Young supports tax reform and voted in favor of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. He said he believed the bill would provide tax relief to Iowans. In April 2018, he voted for a Balanced Budget Amendment. In June 2018, Young voted for H.R. 3, the Spending Cuts to Expired and Unnecessary Programs Act, also known as the rescission package. After its passage, Young said, “Washington has a spending problem and this rescissions package brings back taxpayer dollars which either can't be spent or were unused - this is simply Iowa commonsense.”
Tariffs
In September 2017, Young was part of a six-member bipartisan delegation that traveled to China to discuss agriculture, North Korea, the South China Sea, energy, and cybersecurity with Chinese officials. “The continued potential for growth in exports to China for Iowa’s products is of great importance to job and economic growth for the state,” said Young. In April 2018, Young told an interviewer that while he agreed with President Trump's belief in the need for “regulatory relief and common-sense regulatory reform and tax relief,” he and many of his constituents believe that “tariffs are taxes,” and are therefore “going to hurt consumers, going to hurt employers.”
Immigration
In January 2018, Young reiterated support for permanent legal status for so-called DREAMers, saying that he would vote for a measure giving them residency while also improving border security. “I want to find a way for those people to be here legally and stay here without fear of deportation,” Young said, but added that he was “not quite there on citizenship” for immigrants covered by DACA. He acknowledged that might support a citizenship guarantee if it was tied to enhanced border security or immigration controls.
Young, a strong supporter of Israel, visited that country in August 2017 to meet with Israeli and Palestinian leaders and to tour the nation. Young stated: “I look forward to further understanding the unique challenges the people of Israel, and the entire region, face as we work to pursue and achieve policies which will provide security and stability in a region where we have long prayed for peace.”
Abortion
Young opposes using federal funds to pay for abortions. He does not believe Planned Parenthood should receive federal funding. He does "believes in women’s access to healthcare and contraceptives" with the organization relying on outside funding to achieve these ends.
Drug policy
In 2016, Young received a "C" rating from marijuana legalization advocacy group NORML for his voting history regarding cannabis-related causes.
