Joy Corning née Cole (September 7, 1932 – May 20, 2017) was an American politician who served as the Republican 43rd

Lieutenant Governor of Iowa This is a list of lieutenant governors of the U.S. state of Iowa. The state constitution describes the responsibilities of the position: "The lieutenant governor shall have the duties provided by law and those duties of the governor assigned to ...

Early life

Corning was born in 1932, the only daughter of three children born to Perry Aaron Cole and Ethel (née Sullivan) Cole, in Bridgewater. She graduated from Bridgewater Highschool in 1949. She then attended and graduated from the

University of Northern Iowa The University of Northern Iowa (UNI) is a public university in Cedar Falls, Iowa, United States. UNI offers more than 90 majors across five colleges. The fall 2024 total enrollment was 9,283 students. The university was initially founded in 1 ...

, with

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 ...

in Elementary Education. She then became a teacher. On June 19, 1955, she married Burton Corning in Bridgewater. They had three daughters and nine grandchildren.

Early political career

Corning served as a state senator representing then Senate District 12 in Black Hawk County from 1985 to 1991. She also served as the president of the Cedar Falls School Board, and worked as the director of the Iowa Housing Finance Authority from 1981 to 1984.

1998 gubernatorial race

Corning entered the 1998 Republican gubernatorial primary, making history as the first woman to run for the Republican nomination to the office of governor in the state’s history. After an abbreviated gubernatorial campaign, she was forced to drop out due in large part to a lack of financial support. She subsequently became Governor Branstad's Lieutenant Governor from 1991 to 1999.

Political positions

Corning has long been recognized as a leader among moderates and social liberals within the Republican Party. Corning was state Captain of the

Republican Leadership Council The Republican Leadership Council (RLC or RLC-PAC) was founded in 1993 as the Committee for Responsible Government. It was a United States political advocacy group and political action committee that promoted Republican candidates who choose a pla ...

. A vocal proponent of abortion rights, Corning served on the Board of Directors for Iowa’s chapter of

Planned Parenthood The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is an American nonprofit organization

and even led that organization’s fundraising drive in 2002. A proponent of gay rights, on May 12, 2009, Corning received the "Interfaith Award" along with the woman who followed her as Lt. Governor, Sally Pederson. The award was presented by the

Interfaith Alliance Interfaith Alliance is a national interfaith organization in the United States founded in 1994 to counteract the religious right. Its stated goal is to protect faith and freedom by respecting individual rights, preserving the boundaries between re ...

of Iowa, and came after a joint letter to the editor of the

Des Moines Register ''The Des Moines Register'' is the daily morning newspaper of Des Moines, Iowa, United States. History Early period The first newspaper in Des Moines was the ''Iowa Star''. In July 1849, Barlow Granger began the paper in an abandoned log cab ...

penned by the pair of former Lieutenant Governors promoting gay marriage.

Death

Corning died May 20, 2017, from a liver condition. She was awarded the 2017 Edward S. Allen Award by the ACLU of Iowa in August 2017.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Corning, Joy 1932 births 2017 deaths Lieutenant governors of Iowa Politicians from Des Moines, Iowa University of Northern Iowa alumni Republican Party Iowa state senators Women state legislators in Iowa People from Adair County, Iowa People from Cedar Falls, Iowa School board members in Iowa 21st-century American women