Liz Mathis
Liz Mathis (Democratic Party) was a member of the Iowa State Senate, representing District 34. She assumed office on January 3, 2011. She left office on January 2, 2023.
Mathis (Democratic Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Iowa's 2nd Congressional District. She lost in the general election on November 8, 2022.
Biography
Mathis' professional experience includes working as a television news anchor, reporter and producer, Board Director for Ohnward Bank, and Chief Information Officer at Four Oaks.[1]
Committee assignments
Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at: editor@ballotpedia.org.
2021-2022
Mathis was assigned to the following committees:
- Senate Agriculture Committee
- Senate Appropriations Committee
- Senate Commerce Committee
- Senate Human Resources Committee (decommissioned), Ranking member
- Senate Veterans Affairs Committee
2019-2020
Mathis was assigned to the following committees:
- Senate Agriculture Committee
- Senate Appropriations Committee
- Senate Commerce Committee
- Senate Ethics Committee
- Senate Human Resources Committee (decommissioned), Ranking Member
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| Iowa committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| • Appropriations |
| • Commerce |
| • Education |
| • Human Resources |
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Mathis served on the following committees:
| Iowa committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Appropriations |
| • Commerce |
| • Economic Growth |
| • Education |
| • Human Resources, Chair |
| • Veterans Affairs, Vice chair |
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Mathis served on the following committees:
| Iowa committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Appropriations |
| • Commerce |
| • Economic Growth/Rebuild Iowa |
| • Education |
| • Human Resources |
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2022
See also: Iowa's 2nd Congressional District election, 2022
General election
General election for U.S. House Iowa District 2
Incumbent Ashley Hinson defeated Liz Mathis in the general election for U.S. House Iowa District 2 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Ashley Hinson (R) | 54.1 | 172,181 |
 | Liz Mathis (D) | 45.8 | 145,940 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 278 | ||
| Total votes: 318,399 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. House Iowa District 2
Liz Mathis advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Iowa District 2 on June 7, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Liz Mathis | 99.6 | 40,737 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.4 | 150 | ||
| Total votes: 40,887 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Joseph Kerner (D)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House Iowa District 2
Incumbent Ashley Hinson advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Iowa District 2 on June 7, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Ashley Hinson | 99.3 | 39,897 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.7 | 284 | ||
| Total votes: 40,181 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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2020
See also: Iowa State Senate elections, 2020
General election
General election for Iowa State Senate District 34
Incumbent Liz Mathis won election in the general election for Iowa State Senate District 34 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Liz Mathis (D) | 96.5 | 29,342 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 3.5 | 1,066 | ||
| Total votes: 30,408 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Iowa State Senate District 34
Incumbent Liz Mathis advanced from the Democratic primary for Iowa State Senate District 34 on June 2, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Liz Mathis | 99.6 | 7,641 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.4 | 33 | ||
| Total votes: 7,674 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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2016
- See also: Iowa State Senate elections, 2016
Elections for the Iowa State Senate were held in 2016. The primary election took place on June 7, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was March 18, 2016.
Incumbent Liz Mathis defeated Rene Gadelha in the Iowa State Senate District 34 general election.[2][3]
| Iowa State Senate, District 34 General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Liz Mathis Incumbent |
56.07% | 20,008 | |
| Republican | Rene Gadelha | 43.93% | 15,673 | |
| Total Votes | 35,681 | |||
| Source: Iowa Secretary of State | ||||
Incumbent Liz Mathis ran unopposed in the Iowa State Senate District 34 Democratic primary.[4][5]
| Iowa State Senate, District 34 Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic | Liz Mathis Incumbent (unopposed) | |
Rene Gadelha ran unopposed in the Iowa State Senate District 34 Republican primary.[4][5]
| Iowa State Senate, District 34 Republican Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Republican | Rene Gadelha (unopposed) | |
2012
- See also: Iowa State Senate elections, 2012
Mathis ran for re-election to the Iowa State Senate in 2012. Due to redistricting, she ran in district 34. Mathis ran unopposed in the Democratic primary on June 5, 2012, and defeated Ryan Flood (R) in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[6][7]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Liz Mathis Incumbent |
61.2% | 21,178 | |
| Republican | Ryan Flood | 38.8% | 13,401 | |
| Total Votes | 34,579 | |||
2011
Mathis defeated Cindy Golding (R) in the November 8 special election.[8][9]
Pre-election polling
According to a poll of 878 likely voters, 52% favor Mathis while 46% favor Golding--the poll had a 3.3 margin of error. Mathis also led in absentee ballots and fundraising. Gov. Terry Branstad (R) acknowledged that the race was an "uphill battle," attributing the disadvantage to Mathis' name recognition as a former television anchor. The poll was conducted by Public Policy Polling between November 4 and November 6. Details of the poll can be found here.[10]
Campaign themes
2022
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Liz Mathis did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
Campaign website
Mathis' campaign website stated the following:
| “ |
HEALTH CARE All Iowans deserve access to high-quality, affordable health care – not just those who can afford it. Like so many Iowans, I’ve served as a dual caregiver for my parents and children. I understand the worry about how to pay for serious health issues affecting our loved ones and navigating insurance issues and red tape. Building a health care system that delivers quality care at reasonable prices for everyone must be one of Congress’ most urgent priorities. That starts with protecting the Affordable Care Act and its critical benefits for Iowans, including its ban on lifetime caps, preventing insurance companies from denying care or charging Iowans with pre-existing conditions higher rates, and protections for maternal care, mental health and substance abuse treatment coverage. But nearly 200,000 Iowans remain uninsured, and countless others who do have insurance are faced with rising premiums and high costs that make it too difficult to afford care.1 We must guarantee every Iowan access to a high-quality, affordable health care plan through the introduction of a public option that will lower rates by increasing competition in the insurance marketplace and expand consumer choice, while allowing Iowans on private insurance to keep their plans if they choose. And we can’t stop there. We need to lower prescription drug costs and hold pharmaceutical companies accountable for price gouging by allowing Medicare to negotiate with drugmakers for cheaper drugs – then extending those savings across the private marketplace as well. We must work to strengthen health care services in underserved communities, particularly our rural areas, by protecting Critical Access Hospitals and incentivizing providers to serve areas that currently lack medical professionals. And we need to protect critical programs like Medicare and the Children’s Health Insurance Program from attempts to cut their funding. We also need to recognize and solve the healthcare worker shortage. COVID has laid bare the troubles we have finding healthcare workers and making sure the worker pipeline is robust – especially as baby-boomers grow older and health care needs are at an all time high. As an Iowa state senator, I have fought for working families who have struggled with the state’s Medicaid program. In Congress, I will work to
As we recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, we must build an Iowa economy that offers good jobs at fair wages, a level playing field, and a strong climate for growth to everyone. Our small businesses – and small business owners – are the heart of our communities, from Main Street businesses, tech start-ups/incubators and fourth-generation family farms. There are 270,484 small businesses in Iowa which employ 48% of our workforce. We need leadership in Washington that will respect the role that small businesses play in Iowa’s overall employment, diversity and trade.1 We need to keep reinvesting in our communities and not leave our small businesses behind. Let’s make it easier to start a business, grow it and encourage that entrepreneurial spirit. Businesses need tools to reach markets and that means a good partnership with government to provide solid infrastructure like good roads, bridges, and river ports. It also means improving broadband access throughout the state, so an Iowan can start a successful business just as easily in Waukon or Cresco as Cedar Rapids or Waterloo. It means investing in technical education, job training, and apprenticeships so we prepare workers with the skills they need to fill jobs in growth industries. And it means ensuring businesses of any size have access to the capital they need to grow, while ensuring the biggest corporations don’t unfairly use their market share to crowd out competition and stifle innovation. In Congress, I will work to:
Climate change is real. I have had eye-opening weather experiences – as a journalist reporting on natural disasters, as well as personal hardships. Our environment is changing and we must focus both on the future for our children and grandchildren – who should be free from extreme heat and destructive floods and have a right to clean air, clean water and a healthy environment – and also protecting Iowans now. The science is clear – Iowa is already experiencing the damaging effects of climate change today. From worsening storms to hotter temperatures to more frequent flooding events along our rivers, communities across our state are dealing with the effects of climate in more extreme ways each year. You don’t need to read a scientific study to know that; just ask any Iowa farmer. This crisis affects every single one of us, but instead of tackling these challenges head on, Washington continues to be plagued by partisan fighting and too little action. Year after year, we’ve failed to make the necessary investments in clean energy to put our state, our nation, and the world on a path to success. Yet there’s some good news right here in Iowa that shows a path forward. By 2020, over half of our electricity as a state was produced by wind turbines, the highest share of any state in the country.1 And we are the largest ethanol and biodiesel producer in the nation, producing one-fifth of the country’s biodiesel despite having less than one-hundredth of the country’s population. Iowa is already at the forefront of our clean energy transformation, and we must continue this focus over the coming decades – creating thousands of good-paying jobs right here in our own backyard along the way. In Congress, I will fight to:
I am the proud daughter of farmers. Growing up on a family farm near DeWitt, Iowa, I learned from my dad and mom what it meant to work hard. I did farm chores, rode along with my dad as he sold seed corn and “walked beans” with my two sisters. My mom wore many hats by holding down the fort at home, working as the town doctor’s nurse and later as a teacher’s aide at our school. Farming is a tough business and the men and women working hard every day to make a living are the backbone of our state. But farmers continue to face uncertain commodity prices, climate change, farm consolidation, declining soil health, high feed prices, and more threats – all while the Covid-19 pandemic has laid bare issues with our food supply chain from top to bottom. We need to ensure the food system is fair and the farmers raising grain and livestock get a good rate of return. And we must make it better for the next generation of farmers who enter the industry. Iowa’s top agricultural exports continue to be corn, soybeans and pork. Agriculture remains an $8 billion industry in Iowa on which communities just like the one I grew up in depend.1 While farming is critical to the strength of our rural communities, it’s also integral to the strength of our towns and cities of all sizes. We need solutions that not only allow our farmers to stay afloat, but that provide the support and infrastructure needed for the entire industry to persevere, and thrive. As a member of the Iowa State Senate’s Agriculture Committee, I’ve worked hard to help Iowa family farmers and farming communities across our great state. In Congress, I will:
|
” |
| —Liz Mathis' campaign website (2022)[12] | ||
2020
Liz Mathis did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
2011
On her 2011 campaign site, Mathis detailed her policy goals:
- Jobs--5 Point Plan:
- "Give Iowa companies the first crack at state and local contracts"
- "Cut property taxes by $300 million for small businesses"
- "Support companies that hire Iowans" (via a tax credit)
- "Putting more Iowans to work" (through worker retraining)
- "Recruit high-tech jobs to Iowa"
Mathis discusses her candidacy. |
- Education plan:
- "Increase the number of children who can read at a third-grade level" (in third grade)
- "Focus on job skills and worker training"
- "Stop cuts to classrooms"
- "Expand access to Science, Technology, Engineering and Math"
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Iowa scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2022
In 2022, the Iowa State Legislature was in session from January 10 to May 24.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to labor issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
2021
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show]. |
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In 2021, the Iowa State Legislature was in session from January 11 to May 19.
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2020
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show]. |
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In 2020, the Iowa State Legislature was in session from January 13 to June 14. The session was suspended from March 16 through June 3.
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2019
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show]. |
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In 2019, the Iowa State Legislature was in session from January 14 through April 27.
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2018
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show]. |
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In 2018, the Iowa State Legislature was in session from January 8 through May 5.
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2017
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show]. |
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In 2017, the Iowa State Legislature was in session from January 9 through April 22.
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2016
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show]. |
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In 2016, the Iowa State Legislature was in session from January 11 through April 29.
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2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
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In 2015, the Iowa State Legislature was in session from January 12 through June 5.
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2014
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show]. |
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In 2014, the 85th Iowa State Legislature was in session from January 13 through May 2.
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2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
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In 2013, the Iowa State Legislature was in session from January 14 to May 23.
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2012
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2012, click [show]. |
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In 2012, the 84th Iowa State Legislature was in session from January 9 to May 9.[15]
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Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Mathis and her husband, Mark, have two children.
See also
2022 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Mathis for State Senate, "Liz Mathis," accessed October 27, 2011
- ↑ Iowa Secretary of State, "General Candidate List, 2016," accessed August 24, 2016
- ↑ Iowa Secretary of State, "2016 General Election Canvass Summary," accessed December 16, 2016
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Iowa Secretary of State, "Candidate Listing by Office," March 21, 2016
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Iowa Secretary of State, "2016 Primary Election Canvass Summary," accessed August 22, 2016
- ↑ Iowa Secretary of State, "Official Primary Results," accessed October 1, 2014
- ↑ Iowa Department of Elections, "2012 Primary Candidates," accessed April 17, 2012
- ↑ Governor Terry Branstad, "Special Election Proclamation," September 19, 2011
- ↑ DesMoines Register, "Democrat Liz Mathis is winner of special Iowa Senate election," November 8, 2011
- ↑ Iowa City Patch, "Liz Mathis Polling Ahead in Senate District 18 Race, but Final Vote Should be Close," November 7, 2011
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Liz Mathis, “Issues,” accessed August 27, 2022
- ↑ ACLU Iowa, "Legislative Report & Civil Liberties Scorecard," accessed July 11, 2017
- ↑ ACLU of Iowa, "Legislative Report & Civil Liberties Scorecard," accessed July 11, 2017
- ↑ StateScape, "Session schedules," accessed August 2, 2014
- ↑ ACLU of Iowa, "Civil Liberties report card," accessed July 11, 2017
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
Iowa State Senate District 34 2011-2023 |
Succeeded by - |
