Cynthia Lynne Axne (née Wadle; born April 20, 1965) is an American politician who served as the

U.S. representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from

Iowa's 3rd congressional district Iowa's 3rd congressional district is a List of United States congressional districts, congressional district in the U.S. state of Iowa that covers its southwestern quadrant, which roughly consists of an area stretching from Des Moines, Iowa, Des ...

from 2019 until 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, Axne narrowly defeated incumbent Republican David Young in the

2018 elections The following elections occurred in 2018. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. Africa *2018 Djiboutian parliamentary election 23 February 2018 *2018 Sierra Leonean general election 7 and 31 ...

. The district was anchored in the state capital

Des Moines Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...

; it included much of the state's southwest quadrant, including

Council Bluffs Council Bluffs is a city in and the county seat of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States. The population was 62,799 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the state's List of cities in Iowa, te ...

. Axne ran for reelection to a third term in

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

, but lost to Republican challenger

Zach Nunn Zachary Martin Nunn (born May 4, 1979) is an American politician and United States Air Force officer who has served as the U.S. representative for Iowa's 3rd congressional district since 2023. A member of the Republican Party, he was a member of ...

, a

U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its origins to 1 ...

officer. She is the most recent Democrat to represent Iowa in Congress.

Early life and career

Axne was born in

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is the largest city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, United States. With a population of 198,917 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 200,117 in 2024, Grand Rapids is the List of municipalities ...

, in 1965, the daughter of Terry and Joanne Wadle. She graduated from Valley High School in

West Des Moines, Iowa West Des Moines is a city in Iowa, United States. Most of the city is in Polk County, Iowa, Polk County, some of it is in Dallas County, Iowa, Dallas County, and small portions extend into Warren County, Iowa, Warren and Madison County, Iowa, Madi ...

. She earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

and a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ...

from

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

. After graduating from college, Axne worked in leadership development and strategic planning for the

Tribune Company Tribune Media Company, also known as Tribune Company, was an American multimedia conglomerate headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Through Tribune Broadcasting, Tribune Media was one of the largest television broadcasting companies, owning 39 ...

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. From 2005 to 2014, she worked in the Iowa state government on service delivery in over 20 state agencies in the executive branch.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2018

In 2018, Axne ran for the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

. She won the Democratic primary election with 57.91% of the vote and narrowly defeated incumbent Representative David Young in the general election, becoming, with Abby Finkenauer, one of the first two women from Iowa elected to the House. Young carried 15 of the district's 16 counties, but Axne won Polk County, the district's most populous county and home to Des Moines, by over 30,000 votes, far exceeding the overall margin of 8,000.

2020

In 2020, Axne won the Democratic primary virtually unopposed, facing only write-in candidates. She then defeated David Young in a rematch in the general election, with 48.9% of the vote to Young's 47.6%.

2022

Axne ran for reelection and lost to Republican

state Senator A state senator is a member of a State legislature (United States), state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. History There are typically fewer state senators than there ...

by a margin of 0.7%.

Tenure

Axne took office during the

2018–2019 United States federal government shutdown The United States federal government Government shutdowns in the United States, shutdown from midnight Eastern Time Zone, EST on December 22, 2018, until February 9, 2019 (35 days) was the List of United States federal funding gaps, longest gov ...

and requested that her pay be withheld until the shutdown ended. On January 30, 2019, she co-sponsored a bill, the Shutdown to End All Shutdowns (SEAS) Act, to prevent future federal government shutdowns from happening. In September 2021, Axne was accused of failing to disclose up to $645,000 in stock trades. Reports also found that she had bought and sold stocks in companies she was tasked to oversee as a member of the House Financial Services Committee. In July 2022, The Committee on Ethics voted to clear Axne of any wrongdoing and dismissed previously filed complaints on stock trading. In September 2022, Axne voted for the

Inflation Reduction Act The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA) is a United States federal law which aims to reduce the federal government budget deficit, lower prescription drug prices, and invest in domestic energy production while promoting clean energy. It was ...

by proxy while on vacation in France. As of October 2022, Axne has voted in line with

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

's stated position 100% of the time. In an October 2022 interview, she called Biden "the most impactful president we've seen in this country's history". In 2022, Axne voted for H.R. 1808: Assault Weapons Ban of 2022.

Committee assignments

United States House Committee on Agriculture The United States House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture, or Agriculture Committee is a Standing committees, standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. The House Committee on Agriculture has general jurisdiction o ...

** Subcommittee on Commodity Exchanges, Energy, and Credit ** Subcommittee on Conservation and Forestry *

United States House Committee on Financial Services The United States House Committee on Financial Services, also referred to as the House Banking Committee and previously known as the Committee on Banking and Currency, is the United States congressional committee, committee of the United States ...

** Subcommittee on Housing, Community Development and Insurance ** Subcommittee on Investor Protection, Entrepreneurship and Capital Markets

Caucus memberships

New Democrat Coalition The New Democrat Coalition is a caucus in the House of Representatives of the United States Congress made up of Democrats, primarily liberals and centrists, who take a pro-business stance and a liberal-to-moderate approach to fiscal matte ...

Electoral history

Post-congressional career

On June 7, 2023, Axne was appointed as Senior Advisor for Rural Engagement, Delivery and Prosperity to the

U.S. Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is an executive department of the United States federal government that aims to meet the needs of commercial farming and livestock food production, promotes agricultural trade and production ...

under the

Biden Administration Joe Biden's tenure as the List of presidents of the United States, 46th president of the United States began with Inauguration of Joe Biden, his inauguration on January 20, 2021, and ended on January 20, 2025. Biden, a member of the Democr ...

Personal life

Axne and her husband, John, operate a digital design firm. They have two sons and live in the Hill East neighborhood of Washington, D.C.. They are members of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in West Des Moines. Axne is tall.

References

External links

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Axne, Cindy 1965 births 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century Roman Catholics Candidates in the 2018 United States elections Catholics from Michigan Catholic politicians from Iowa Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Iowa Female members of the United States House of Representatives Kellogg School of Management alumni Living people People from West Des Moines, Iowa Politicians from Grand Rapids, Michigan University of Iowa alumni Biden administration personnel 21st-century members of the United States House of Representatives