Dave Dawson

Dawson was born in Cherokee, Iowa, and says he grew up in Washta, where he graduated in the last class of Willow Community High School.[1][2][6] He earned an undergraduate degree from Iowa State University in 1996 and a law degree from UCLA School of Law in 1999.[1][2] He worked at a Chicago law firm for three years before returning to Iowa to become a Woodbury County prosecutor specializing in child abuse cases; Iowa Public Radio describes about 20 years in the county attorney's office. He ran a private practice in Sioux City from 2010 and rejoined the county attorney's office in 2015, according to Wikipedia.[1][2][6]

Dawson was elected to the Iowa House of Representatives from District 14 in 2012 and 2014 and served from 2013 to 2017, with committee assignments including Commerce, Human Resources, Judiciary, Transportation, and Public Safety.[1][2][3] In 2016 the Iowa State Sheriffs' and Deputies' Association gave him its Gold Star Award for legislative leadership on law enforcement and public safety issues.[1] He lost the 2018 general election for Iowa Senate District 3 to Republican incumbent Jim Carlin.[1][6]

Dawson has served on the board of the Community Action Agency of Siouxland, where he is also legal counsel, and has been president of Siouxland CARES and the Siouxland Council on Child Abuse and Neglect. He is a former coach at Sioux City West High School and a former church elder, and says he has been an AFSCME union member for over 20 years.[1][3] He announced his congressional campaign on August 27, 2025, and won the June 2, 2026 Democratic primary.[3][1][7] During the campaign, he described himself as focused on health care access, rural investment, and raising incomes.[1][2][3] He received 40.9% of the vote to Chris McGowan's 59.1%, according to unofficial results reported by NBC News.[4] Dawson lives in Lawton, Iowa, with his wife and three children.[1][3][6]