Nathan Willems is a Democrat representing the 29th 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 2009. He holds a

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

Foreign Service Foreign Service may refer to: * Diplomatic service, the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country * United States Foreign Service, the diplomatic service of the United States government **Foreign Service ...

from

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

's Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service (2001) and a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from the University of Iowa College of Law (2007). In September 2011, Willems served on Iowa House committees for Education (

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'' members ...

), Labor, and Ways and Means. He also sat on the Education Appropriations Subcommittee. He was elected in 2008, defeating Republican opponent Emma Nemencek and was re-elected in 2010. Willems was a field organizer for Congressman Leonard Boswell's 1998 reelection campaign. He managed two Iowa House races in 2000. In 2001 he worked on the unsuccessful United States House campaigns of John Norris and Julie Thomas. He was a legislative clerk for Iowa Representative Ro Foege, whom he later succeeded in the Iowa House. He was a regional director for

Howard Dean Howard Brush Dean III (born November 17, 1948) is an American physician, author, consultant, and retired politician who served as the 79th governor of Vermont from 1991 to 2003 and chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) from 2005 to 20 ...

Iowa caucus The Iowa caucuses are quadrennial electoral events for the Democratic and Republican parties in the U.S. state of Iowa. Unlike primary elections, where registered voters cast ballots at polling places on election day, Iowa caucuses are ...

campaign. He worked one summer in the legal department of Iowa Union of Operating Engineers Local 49 before taking his current job as an attorney at Rush & Nicholson, P.L.C., practicing

labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

and

employment law Labour laws (also spelled as labor laws), labour code or employment laws are those that mediate the relationship between workers, employing entities, trade unions, and the government. Collective labour law relates to the tripartite relationship be ...

. Willems is active in the Linn County Democratic Central Committee, the Lisbon Lincoln Highway Lions Club, the Mount Vernon Athletic Boosters, and is First Vice President of the Iowa Federation of Teachers. In 2025, Willems announced he was running for

attorney general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

, challenging incumbent Republican

Brenna Bird Brenna Bird (née Findley; born 1976) is an American lawyer and politician who has served as Iowa Attorney General since 2023. She is a member of the Republican Party. Early life and education Bird grew up on a farm near Dexter, Iowa. She ea ...

.https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2025/05/07/democrat-nate-willems-launches-campaign-for-iowa-attorney-general-brenna-bird-2026/83392661007/

Electoral history

*incumbent

References

External links

Representative Nathan Willems
''official Iowa General Assembly site''
Nathan Willems State Representative
''official constituency site'' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Willems, Nathan Democratic Party members of the Iowa House of Representatives Living people Walsh School of Foreign Service alumni University of Iowa College of Law alumni Iowa lawyers People from Anamosa, Iowa People from Linn County, Iowa Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century members of the Iowa General Assembly