Samy El-Baroudi

Samy El-Baroudi is the Democratic candidate for Iowa State Senate District 17 in the November 3, 2026 general election, after defeating Grace Van Cleave in the June 2 Democratic primary.[1] According to his campaign website, he is a third-generation educator who taught in Des Moines Public Schools for more than 30 years and served as treasurer of the Des Moines Education Association.[2]

Samy El-Baroudi's campaign website says he was born in Alexandria, Egypt, and returned to the United States with his family at age five.[2] He began working in education in 1995 serving special needs students at North High School, taught for 21 years at East High School, and then spent 10 years at Scavo and the Virtual Campus before retiring in June 2026, according to the site.[2] The site says he served as treasurer of the Des Moines Education Association from 2011 to 2026 and founded the National Education Association's MENA Arab-American Educators Caucus.[2]

El-Baroudi was a candidate in the 2024 Democratic primary for Iowa House District 34, where Rob Johnson received 42.7 percent of the vote to his 40.1 percent, according to Ballotpedia.[1] In 2026 he won the Democratic primary for the Senate seat with 53.2 percent of the vote.[1] His site lists support for public education, raising the minimum wage, abortion rights and affordable health care among his priorities.[2]

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