Spencer Waugh

Spencer Waugh is the Democratic candidate for the Iowa House of Representatives, District 21, in the November 3, 2026 general election, where he faces incumbent Republican Brooke Boden.[1][2] An associate dean and longtime debate coach at Simpson College, he previously taught high school in Indianola and ran for the same seat in 2024.[2][3]

Spencer Waugh was born in Rapid City, South Dakota, and earned a bachelor's degree from Central College in 1998 and a graduate degree from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln in 2007.[2] In a Ballotpedia survey, he said he moved to Iowa from the Black Hills in 1994 to attend Central College and began teaching high school in Indianola in 1998, and that he was named Indianola's Educator of the Year in 2008.[3] He said he coached the Indianola High School debate team to state championships in 2009 and 2010, taught at Dowling Catholic High School, and from 2013 directed speech, debate and mock trial at Simpson College, where he now serves as associate dean and supervises high school student teachers.[3]

Waugh was the Democratic nominee for Iowa House District 21 in 2024, when he lost to Boden, receiving 41.2 percent of the vote, and he advanced from the Democratic primary again on June 2, 2026.[2] In the 2026 survey, he named fully funding public schools, addressing nitrates in water and the state's cancer rates, and affordability as his key messages, and said he opposes balancing the state budget by cutting services.[3] He said he and his wife Sinikka have been married 28 years and are active in the Lutheran Church of Hope in Indianola.[3]

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