Lindsay James

Lindsay James is a Democratic state representative from Dubuque running to flip Iowa’s open 2nd Congressional District, which stretches across northeast Iowa to include Cedar Rapids, Waterloo, Dubuque, and Mason City. She won the June 2026 Democratic primary with a clear majority and faces Republican Joe Mitchell in November for the seat being vacated by Ashley Hinson, who is running for the U.S. Senate. James has represented Dubuque County in the Iowa House since 2019.

Born in Portland, Oregon, James earned a degree in communications from Santa Clara University and a Master of Divinity from Fuller Theological Seminary. An ordained Presbyterian minister, she served as a chaplain on college campuses, co-founded and directed the Loras College Peace Institute, and taught as an adjunct professor at the University of Dubuque. She and her husband, Christopher, are raising their two children, Ginny and Luke, in Dubuque.

First elected to the statehouse in 2018, James was chosen by her colleagues as House Minority Whip in 2022. She co-founded Iowa’s first bipartisan, bicameral caucus, helped expand access to affordable insulin, and fought to protect mobile-home residents from predatory corporate landlords. Refusing corporate PAC money, she has built her campaign on the conviction—rooted in her faith—that government should serve working families, not the powerful and well-connected.

Lindsay James is campaigning to:

• Bring down the cost of living for working families struggling with the price of housing, groceries, child care, and utilities.
• Build a healthcare system that works for all by lowering prescription and out-of-pocket costs, strengthening rural healthcare, and confronting Iowa’s rising cancer rates.
• End corruption in Washington by getting big money out of politics and rejecting corporate PAC influence.
• Stand with Iowa farmers by pushing for a new farm bill and fighting for fair markets and the future of family farms.
• Keep communities safe by advancing common-sense gun safety measures and workable immigration reform.
• Protect public education by fully funding Iowa’s public schools and opposing private-school voucher programs that divert resources from students.

Across every issue, James frames her priorities through the lens of economic justice and her belief that every Iowan deserves a fair shot—promising to listen, build bridges across the aisle, and put people ahead of special interests.