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Sonya Heitshusen
Sonya Heitshusen (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Iowa House of Representatives to represent District 28. She lost in the general election on November 8, 2022.
Heitshusen completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Sonya Heitshusen was born in Marengo, Iowa. She earned a bachelor's degree from Iowa State University in 1992. Her career experience includes working as a communications director for the Iowa Auditor of State and a television anchor and investigative reporter. Heitshusen has been affiliated with the Leukemia Lymphoma Society, Team Run Free, the Central Iowa Shelter and Services, One Iowa, the Muscular Dystrophy Association, the Ankeny YMCA, and the Alzheimers Association.[1]
Elections
2022
See also: Iowa House of Representatives elections, 2022
General election
General election for Iowa House of Representatives District 28
David Young defeated Sonya Heitshusen in the general election for Iowa House of Representatives District 28 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | David Young (R) | 53.1 | 7,566 |
 | Sonya Heitshusen (D)  | 46.7 | 6,659 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.2 | 25 | ||
| Total votes: 14,250 | |||
| = 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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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Iowa House of Representatives District 28
Sonya Heitshusen defeated Tom Walton in the Democratic primary for Iowa House of Representatives District 28 on June 7, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Sonya Heitshusen | 71.7 | 1,346 |
 | Tom Walton | 28.2 | 529 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 2 | ||
| Total votes: 1,877 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Iowa House of Representatives District 28
David Young advanced from the Republican primary for Iowa House of Representatives District 28 on June 7, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | David Young | 99.1 | 1,627 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.9 | 14 | ||
| Total votes: 1,641 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Endorsements
To view Heitshusen's endorsements in the 2022 election, please click here.
Campaign themes
2022
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Sonya Heitshusen completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Heitshusen's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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Sonya graduated from Iowa State University with a degree in Journalism. She quickly established herself as a fact-driven, truth-seeking anchor and investigative reporter devoted to giving a voice to the voiceless and uncovering injustices. She is the recipient of numerous Emmy, Edward R. Murrow, and Eric Sevareid awards.
Sonya is most proud of her investigative work that resulted in real change for Iowans. Like the time she advocated for a boy with autism whose insurer refused to cover his ABA therapy. Sonya went to bat for him, eventually securing the treatment he needed and legally deserved. Sonya was also instrumental in shutting down an organization that mistreated and neglected individuals with intellectual and physical disabilities. By following the money, she also exposed the state’s failure to track the tax dollars given to that organization. Sonya is now the Director of Communications for the Auditor of State Office and assists on performance and investigative reports conducted by the Auditor’s Office. Sonya believes in giving back to the community, serving on the Boards of Directors for the Alzheimer’s Association and the Ankeny YMCA, and being active in numerous philanthropic organizations, such as the Leukemia Lymphoma Society, Team Run Free, and One Iowa to name a few.- We need to invest in our teachers, our public schools and most importantly our kids. Iowa was once first in the nation in education. We’re now middle of the pack, in large part because lawmakers have underfunded education for a decade. On average, Iowa's public schools have received less than a 2.5% increase over the last decade. I will support our educators and appropriate the necessary funds to keep quality teachers in Iowa and attract new educators to the state. Education is the foundation for every child’s future. We shouldn’t skimp on it. Offering world-class education will strengthen our families, our communities, our workforce, and our state. I also oppose vouchers for private schools. Public money should stay in public schools,
- We need to fight for laws and programs that protect working families and put them first – and not big corporations. Poverty in America estimates the livable wage in Iowa is $23.88 per hour. That’s for a family of four with both adults working. The minimum wage in our state remains $7.25 per hour – the lowest of any neighboring state while Illinois's minimum wage is $12 per hour and Minnesota's is $10 per hour. I would raise the minimum wage to help struggling families, boost wages for all workers, and help combat the workforce crisis our state is facing. We also need to find innovative solutions to the childcare crisis. Lack of childcare is preventing women in particular from joining the workforce.
- We need to ensure women maintain reproductive rights. I will fight to keep reproductive healthcare between a woman and her doctor. Anything less will endanger the lives of women and harm already marginalized families and communities. While Iowa women currently have a constitutional right to an abortion, Republicans have started the process of passing a constitutional amendment that would take away that right. I will fight any legislation to further restrict access to abortion. I will also fight to close the gender pay gap. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Iowa dropped to 40th in the country in pay equity in 2020. Iowa women deserve better. We need to address systemic biases holding women back .
a report for the Auditor’s Office that showed an 890% increase in illegal denials of care by Managed Care Organizations in Iowa post-privatization. I’ve listened to disabled Iowans who can’t find caregivers to help them out of bed or make their meals. This is unacceptable. A society is judged by how it treats its most vulnerable. We must raise the bar, and we can do that by adequately paying healthcare providers for the essential services they deliver to people in their homes, hospitals, and long-term care facilities. We must hold the owners of long-term care facilities accountable. They should not be allowed to amass huge profits, largely from our tax dollars, while jeopardizing the health and wellbeing of residents. We must also provide incentives to attract healthcare providers to underserved areas in our state. That includes investments in affordable housing, reliable internet access, and student loan forgiveness for healthcare providers who commit to residing in underserved communities for a specified period. We also need to take measures to restore and protect Iowa’s land and natural resources for our farmers, our children, and future generations. We must finally put money into the Iowa Natural Resources and Outdoor
The late former Governor Robert Ray, a champion of these core, Iowa values, made the case for bipartisanship and hope in his inaugural address in 1975, a time when the Governor and the legislature, and much of the country were politically divided.
“We have a chance now to show people everywhere, that Republicans and Democrats can work constructively together for the broad interests of our state,” Ray said. “We have a capacity for openness and candor in this state. The American people are fed up with untruths and lies. We will lead them by telling them the truth and entrusting them with it.”
This election is another opportunity for Iowans to bridge divides and support leaders who are open and honest, leaders who will do the right thing despite the political fallout, and leaders who will put in the time and effort to reach thoughtful, enduring solutions to long-standing, complex problems.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
See also
2022 Elections
External links
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Candidate Iowa House of Representatives District 28 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on May 27, 2022
