Austin Baeth (born 1984) is an American politician and physician who has represented the 36th district in the

Iowa House of Representatives The Iowa House of Representatives is the lower house of the Iowa General Assembly, the upper house being the Iowa Senate. There are 100 seats in the Iowa House of Representatives, representing 100 single-member districts across the state, forme ...

since January 2023, which consists of parts of west-central

Des Moines Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moine ...

Polk County Polk County is the name of twelve counties in the United States, all except two named after president of the United States James Knox Polk: * Polk County, Arkansas * Polk County, Florida * Polk County, Georgia * Polk County, Iowa * Polk County, ...

. He is a member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

Early life and education

Baeth was born in 1984 in

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moine ...

, where he raised. He graduated from Herbert Hoover High School. He received a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

and

Doctor of Medicine Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degre ...

from the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a 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 into 12 coll ...

in 2007 and 2012, respectively, and completed his

residency Residency may refer to: * Domicile (law), the act of establishing or maintaining a residence in a given place ** Permanent residency, indefinite residence within a country despite not having citizenship * Residency (medicine), a stage of postgrad ...

at the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University o ...

in 2015.

Political career

Baeth announced his candidacy for the open 36th district seat in the Iowa House of Representatives following decennial redistricting in 2021. He won the Democratic primary on June 7, 2022, with over 49 percent of the vote, and ran unopposed in the general election on November 8, winning with over 97 percent of the vote. Baeth is a member of the Health and Human Services, State Government, and Environmental Protection committees, the lattermost of which he is the

ranking member In United States politics, a ranking member is the most senior member of a congressional or state legislative committee from the minority party. On many committees the ranking minority member, along with the Chair, serve as '' ex officio'' member ...

. In 2024, Baeth filed to run for reelection. He won the Democratic primaries unopposed on June 4, 2024, and will run in the general election unopposed on November 5, 2024.

Personal life

Baeth specializes in internal medicine and also owns a pizza restaurant in Des Moines. He has a wife, Stephanie, whom he met during his residency in Denver, and with whom he has two children. He resides with his family in the Sherman Hill neighborhood of Des Moines.

Electoral history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baeth, Austin Date of birth missing (living people) Living people 1984 births Democratic Party members of the Iowa House of Representatives 21st-century members of the Iowa General Assembly Physicians from Iowa 21st-century American physicians American restaurateurs Businesspeople from Des Moines, Iowa Politicians from Des Moines, Iowa University of Iowa alumni University of Colorado alumni