Christina Bohannan (born July 2, 1971) is an American politician, law professor, and former engineer who served as the Iowa State Representative for the 85th district from 2021 to 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, she was elected in

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

, succeeding Vicki Lensing who served ten terms in the Iowa House of Representatives. Bohannan was the Democratic nominee for

Iowa's 1st congressional district Iowa's 1st congressional district is a List of United States congressional districts, congressional district in the U.S. state of Iowa that covers its southeastern part, bordering the states of Illinois and Missouri, and the Mississippi River. ...

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 ...

, losing to incumbent Republican U.S. Representative

Mariannette Miller-Meeks Mariannette Jane Miller-Meeks (born September 6, 1955) is an American physician and politician who has served as a U.S. representative from Iowa since 2021. A member of the Republican Party, she represents the state's 1st congressional distric ...

. In a

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

rematch, she narrowly lost once more. She will be a candidate again in 2026.

Background

Bohannan was born in 1971 and grew up in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in environmental engineering from the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

in Gainesville and a J.D. from the University of Florida

Fredric G. Levin College of Law The University of Florida Levin College of Law (UF Law) is the law school of the University of Florida located in Gainesville, Florida. Founded in 1909, it is the oldest operating public law school in Florida and second oldest overall in the stat ...

Career

Bohannan began her career as an environmental engineer for the

Florida Department of Environmental Protection The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) is the Florida government Government agency, agency responsible for environmental protection. History By the mid-1960s, when the Federal government of the United States, federal governm ...

in the 1990s. She moved to Iowa in 2000, where she became a professor of law at the

University of Iowa College of Law The University of Iowa College of Law is the law school of the University of Iowa, located in Iowa City, Iowa. It was founded in 1865. History The law school was founded in 1865 by George Grover Wright and Chester C. Cole as an independent la ...

. While teaching at 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 ...

Iowa City Iowa City is the largest city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. At the time of the 2020 census the population was 74,828, making it the state's fifth-most populous city. The Iowa City metropolitan area, which enc ...

, Bohannan served as president of the faculty senate. She began her campaign for the 85th district seat of 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 ...

in October 2019. She defeated incumbent legislator Vicki Lensing by 32 points in the Democratic primary and won in an uncontested general election. Bohannan 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 ...

in the 2022 election. She was the Democratic nominee but lost in the general election to incumbent Republican

. In August 2023, Bohannan announced another campaign for the same seat in the 2024 election but was unsuccessful after a close race with Miller-Meeks which was decided after a recount. She announced a third run for the seat in the 2026 election on June 17, 2025.

References

External links

Representative Christina Bohannan
official legislative website {{DEFAULTSORT:Bohannan, Christina 1971 births 20th-century American engineers 20th-century American women engineers 21st-century American women politicians American women academics Candidates in the 2022 United States House of Representatives elections Fredric G. Levin College of Law alumni Engineers from Florida American environmental engineers Iowa lawyers Living people Democratic Party members of the Iowa House of Representatives 21st-century members of the Iowa General Assembly University of Iowa College of Law faculty American women legal scholars American legal scholars Women state legislators in Iowa Candidates in the 2024 United States House of Representatives elections