Sandy Salmon is an American politician, military veteran, and farm manager. Salmon is a Republican member of the

Iowa Senate The Iowa Senate is the upper house of the Iowa General Assembly. There are 50 seats in the Iowa Senate, representing 50 single-member districts across the Iowa, state of Iowa with populations of approximately 60,927 per constituency, . Each Senat ...

from

District 29 A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

and previously served on 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 ...

as the Representative from District 63 from 2013 to 2023.

Early life

On October 23, 1955, Salmon was born in Oklahoma. Salmon's father was Dwight Puttmann, who served in the U.S. military and stationed at Army base in

Fort Sill Fort Sill is a United States Army post north of Lawton, Oklahoma, about 85 miles (137 km) southwest of Oklahoma City. It covers almost . The fort was first built during the Indian Wars. It is designated as a National Historic Landmark a ...

Lawton, Oklahoma Lawton is a city in and the county seat of Comanche County, Oklahoma, Comanche County, in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Located in western Oklahoma, approximately southwest of Oklahoma City, it is the principal city of the Lawton metropolitan ar ...

. Salmon's mother was Sally Puttmann. Salmon has a sister. They have a family farm in northwest Iowa. In 1973, Salmon graduated from Kinsley-Pierson High School.

Education

In 1977, Salmon earned a bachelor's degree in Business Management from

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 ...

Career

In 1977, Salmon served in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

, until 1980. As a home educator, Salmon provided K-12 education to her children. In 2011, Salmon became a legislative clerk in the Iowa State Senate. On November 6, 2012, Salmon's political career began when she won the election and became a member of the

for District 63. Salmon defeated Bill Heckroth with 50.3% of the votes. On November 4, 2014, as an incumbent, Salmon won the election and continued serving as a member of

for District 63. Salmon defeated Teresa Meyer with 58.1% of the votes. On November 8, 2016, as an incumbent, Salmon won the election and continued serving District 63. Salmon defeated Teresa Meyer again. On November 6, 2018, as an incumbent, Salmon won the election and continued serving District 63. Salmon defeated Eric Stromberg. On May 7, 2025, Salmon introduced Senate Concurrent Resolution 3 which asked the Supreme Court to overturn

Obergefell v. Hodges ''Obergefell v. Hodges'', ( ), is a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court which ruled that the fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples by both the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of th ...

, arguing for a restoration of the "natural" definition of marriage, despite broad public support in Iowa for same-sex marriage. Salmon serves as the chairperson of the Veterans Affairs Committee. Salmon also serves as a member of Education Committee, Human Resources Committee, and Public Safety Committee. Salmon manages a farm with her sister.

Electoral history

*incumbent

Personal life

Salmon's husband is Matt Salmon, a helicopter pilot and a retired Army National Guard. They have three children. They received their home-schooled education K-12. Salmon and her family live in

Janesville, Iowa Janesville is a city in Black Hawk and Bremer counties in the U.S. state of Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east ...

References

External links

Sandy Salmon's Official Website

Representative Sandy Salmon at legis.iowa.gov

Sandy Salmon at Submariners Memorial Highway ceremony
{{DEFAULTSORT:Salmon, Sandy Female United States Marine Corps personnel Republican Party members of the Iowa House of Representatives 21st-century members of the Iowa General Assembly Military personnel from Iowa Living people People from Bremer County, Iowa Women state legislators in Iowa People from Janesville, Iowa 1955 births 21st-century American women politicians