Patti Ruff (born 1972) is a former Democratic member 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 ...

, representing the 56th district. Before serving in the legislature, Ruff worked for Bunge North American, helping farmers sell and transport grain down the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

. She lost her seat in the 2016 general election. In a 2022 interview with NBC news, Ruff stated that the reason she lost her re-election bid was because she "had a D next to her name" on the ballot, and her opponent ran an ad with Ruff standing with

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...

Personal life

Ruff was born in

Richardson, Texas Richardson is a city in Dallas and Collin counties in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 United States census, the city had a total population of 119,469. Richardson is an inner suburb of the city of Dallas. It is home to the Universit ...

, and raised in

McGregor, Iowa McGregor is a city in Clayton County, Iowa, United States. The population was 742 at the time of the 2020 census. McGregor is located on the Mississippi River across from Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. Pike's Peak State Park is located just sou ...

. She graduated from MarMac High School and earned a degree in history from

Loras College Loras College is a private Catholic college in Dubuque, Iowa, United States. It has an enrollment of approximately 1,600 students and is the oldest post-secondary institution in the state of Iowa. Loras offers both undergraduate and graduat ...

. Ruff and her husband Dan have three sons.

References

External links

Patti Ruff
at

Iowa Legislature The Iowa General Assembly is the legislative branch of the state government of Iowa. Like the federal United States Congress, the General Assembly is a bicameral body, composed of the upper house Iowa Senate and the lower Iowa House of Represe ...

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Biography
at

Ballotpedia Ballotpedia is a nonprofit and nonpartisan online political encyclopedia that covers federal, state, and local politics, elections, and public policy in the United States. The website was founded in 2007. Ballotpedia is sponsored by the Lucy Bur ...

1972 births Date of birth unknown Living people Democratic Party members of the Iowa House of Representatives People from Richardson, Texas People from McGregor, Iowa Women state legislators in Iowa Loras College alumni 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century members of the Iowa General Assembly {{Iowa-politician-stub