Barbara Kniff McCulla (born 1956) is an American politician and entrepreneur who has represented the
37th 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, formed ...
since January 2023, which consists of most of
Marion County, parts of southern
Jasper County and parts of western
Mahaska County. She is a member of the
Republican Party.
Early life
Kniff McCulla was born in 1956 in
Michigan
Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
, where she was raised. She received a
bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...
from
William Penn University
William Penn University is a private university in Oskaloosa, Iowa, United States. It was founded by members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in 1873 as Penn College. In 1933, the name was changed to William Penn College, and fina ...
.
[
]
Political career
Kniff McCulla announced her candidacy for the 37th district of the Iowa House of Representatives following decennial redistricting in 2021. Endorsed by Governor Kim Reynolds
Kimberly Kay Reynolds (née Strawn, August 4, 1959) is an American politician from Iowa. A Republican, Reynolds has served since 2017 as the 43rd governor of Iowa. She is the first female governor in Iowa history.
Reynolds was elected Clarke ...
, she defeated incumbent Jon Thorup in the Republican primaries on June 7, 2022, with over 70 percent of the vote. She defeated Democrat Mike Overman in the general election on November 8 with over 74 percent of the vote. She assumed office on January 9, 2023.[
Kniff McCulla has said that her priorities include economic growth and small business. She supports ]school choice
School choice is a term for education options that allow students and families to select alternatives to traditional public schools.
School choice options include scholarship tax credit programs, open enrollment laws (which allow students to att ...
and opposes abortion
Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...
.
Personal life
Kniff McCulla has a husband, Greg, four children, and 12 grandchildren. She resides in Pella, Iowa
Pella is a city in Marion County, Iowa, United States, with a population of 10,464 at the time of the 2020 U.S. Census. Founded by immigrants from the Netherlands, it is forty miles southeast of Des Moines. Pella is the home of Central Colleg ...
. She is a former Sunday school teacher and owns a construction company.[
]
Electoral history
* = incumbent
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kniff McCulla, Barb
Date of birth missing (living people)
Living people
1956 births
Republican Party members of the Iowa House of Representatives
21st-century members of the Iowa General Assembly
Women state legislators in Iowa
21st-century American women politicians
21st-century American businesswomen
Businesspeople from Iowa
Businesspeople from Michigan
People from Pella, Iowa
William Penn University alumni