Rachel Burns

Rachel Burns is the Democratic candidate for Iowa House of Representatives District 7 in the November 3, 2026 general election, running against incumbent Republican Wendy Larson.[1][3] A speech-language pathologist and volunteer firefighter and EMT, she also ran for the seat in the December 2025 special election.[1]

Rachel Burns graduated from Irvine High School and earned a bachelor's degree in 2003 and a graduate degree in 2006 from California State University, Fullerton, and a degree from Western Iowa Tech Community College in 2016.[1] Her career experience includes working as a speech-language pathologist, adjunct instructor at community colleges, volunteer firefighter, volunteer emergency medical technician and medical examiner investigator for multiple counties.[1] She is affiliated with the Kiron Fire Department and holds national certification as a firefighter.[1]

Burns was the Democratic candidate in the December 9, 2025 special general election for Iowa House District 7, losing to Republican Wendy Larson, who received 2,818 votes (70.0 percent) to Burns's 1,201 (29.8 percent).[1] In a Ballotpedia survey, Burns listed healthcare, education and day-to-day economic issues as key messages, including publicly funded single-payer insurance, protecting Medicaid, ending the school voucher program and rebuilding Area Education Agencies.[2]

Researched from the cited sources on 2026-10-21. Not yet independently fact-checked.