116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Iowa state Sen. Liz Mathis considers bid for Congress
Democrat to decide next month on challenging Republican Ashley Hinson
The 2022 race for Congress in Iowa’s 1st District could be a battle of former TV anchors.
State Sen. Liz Mathis, D-Hiawatha, said Tuesday she is “seriously considering” a bid next year for the congressional seat currently held by U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson, 37, a Republican who ousted Democrat Abby Finkenauer in the 2020 election to earn her first term.
“I’ll announce my plans at the end of July,” said Mathis, 63, currently serving in her third full term in the Iowa Senate.
Mathis, who formerly worked as an evening anchor for both the KWWL and KCRG television stations, initially won a special state Senate election in 2011 and was reelected in 2012, 2016 and 2020. She is not the only Democrat to express interest in making a run in a potential 2022 primary for the 1st District.
Like Mathis, Hinson has significant name recognition in the 1st District that makes up Iowa’s northeast quadrant, having worked at KCRG-TV as a morning anchor before being elected to the Iowa House for two terms from 2017 to 2021 before she was sworn in to Congress.
State Sen. Liz Mathis speaks during a Sept. 19, 2020, vigil to honor deceased U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg outside the federal courthouse in Cedar Rapids. (Andy Abeyta/The Gazette)
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