Lindsay James

James was born in Portland, Oregon, and graduated from West Linn High School in 1999. She earned a communications degree from Santa Clara University in 2003 and a Master of Divinity from Fuller Theological Seminary in 2007.[2][3][4]

Her ministry began at Menlo Park Presbyterian Church, where she served from 2007 to 2010, and continued as an interfaith chaplain at Endicott College (2012-2015) and an associate pastor at Westminster Presbyterian Church (2016-2017).[3] She has taught as an adjunct instructor at the University of Dubuque since 2015, and in 2017 she co-founded the Loras College Peace Institute, which she directed.[2][3] She has also served on the board of the Children of Abraham Interfaith Council, as chair of religious affairs for the NAACP Dubuque Chapter, and as chair of the Dubuque Community Development Advisory Commission.[2]

James won an open Iowa House seat in District 99 in 2018, with about 60% of the vote, after Abby Finkenauer left it to run for Congress. She was re-elected in 2020, in 2022 (after redistricting, in District 71), and in 2024.[3] She was elected minority whip of the House Democratic leadership team in 2022 and has held that role since taking office in 2023.[3][4] Her committee assignments in 2023-2024 included Government Oversight (as ranking member) and Judiciary; in 2025-2026 they are Commerce, Environmental Protection, Judiciary, and Ways and Means.[2]

James announced her campaign for Iowa's 2nd District on August 19, 2025, saying she would focus on health care and housing costs, and defeated Clint Twedt-Ball and Kathryn Dolter in the June 2, 2026 Democratic primary.[3][8] According to Wikipedia, she lives in Dubuque with her husband and their two children.[3] She won the November 3, 2026 general election with 49.5% of the vote to Joe Mitchell's 45.6%, Rick Stewart's 2.7% and Dave Bushaw's 2.2%, according to unofficial results reported by NBC News.[1]