1. Elizabeth Ann Mathis is an American politician, non-profit executive and former broadcast journalist who has served as an Iowa State Senator since 2011.
18 Facts About Liz Mathis
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Liz Mathis is the legislative liaison to the Iowa Department of Public Health.
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Liz Mathis is the chief community officer for a child welfare and juvenile justice agency, Four Oaks.
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Liz Mathis was born on a farm in rural DeWitt, Iowa, in 1958.
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Liz Mathis's mother, Mary Eleanor Rumann, was a schoolteacher and nurse who served in World War II.
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Liz Mathis's father, James Edward Rumann, was a farmer and school board member who served in the war.
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Liz Mathis received her bachelor's degree in 1980 from the University of Iowa, where she double-majored in broadcasting and film and in journalism.
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Liz Mathis later became chief community officer for Four Oaks.
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Liz Mathis was nominated in September 2011 by the Iowa Democratic Party to run for the state senate seat vacated by Democrat Swati Dandekar.
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Liz Mathis faced Republican candidate Cindy Golding in a special election held on November 8,2011.
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Liz Mathis won the election by 56 to 44 percent and was sworn in on November 21,2011.
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Liz Mathis sat on the Commerce, Economic Growth, Human Resources, and Ways and Means committees.
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Liz Mathis was challenged for re-election in November 2012 by Ryan Flood, a libertarian Super PAC director and financial services representative.
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Liz Mathis ran in the newly drawn 34th district, and largely agreed with her challenger on lowering Iowa's property taxes and opposing a gas tax increase.
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Liz Mathis was elected with around 60 percent of the vote.
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In 2021, Liz Mathis announced her intent to run for Iowa's 2nd congressional district in the 2022 election.
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Liz Mathis lost the general election to incumbent Republican Ashley Hinson.
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Liz Mathis has taught part-time at the University of Iowa's School of Journalism and Mass Communication, and remains a member of the Wartburg Board of Regents.