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Mariannette Miller-Meeks
American physician & politician (born 1955) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Mariannette Jane Miller-Meeks (born September 6, 1955) is an American physician and politician who has served as a U.S. representative from Iowa since 2021. A member of the Republican Party, she represents the state's 1st congressional district. Her district, numbered as the 2nd district in her first term, includes most of Iowa's southeastern quadrant, including Davenport, Bettendorf, Burlington, and Iowa City. Miller-Meeks previously served as the Iowa state senator from the 41st district from 2019 to 2021.
Miller-Meeks ran three unsuccessful campaigns for the U.S. House against Dave Loebsack. When Loebsack retired in 2020, she ran again and defeated Rita Hart by a margin of six votes. She was reelected in 2022 by a margin of nearly seven percentage points, and won a third term in a very close race in 2024.
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Early life and education
Mariannette Jane Miller-Meeks[2] was born in Herlong, California[3] on September 6, 1955.[4]
A first-generation college student, Miller-Meeks earned[when?] a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Texas Christian University, a Master of Science in education[when?] from the University of Southern California, and a Doctor of Medicine from University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.[5]
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Career before politics
Miller-Meeks enlisted in the United States Army at the age of 18, in 1974, serving as a nurse until 1982. Starting in 1983, she became a member of the United States Army Reserve and retired at the rank of lieutenant colonel in 2000.[1]
Miller-Meeks operated [when?] a private ophthalmology practice in Ottumwa, Iowa, until 2008.[citation needed] She served[when?] as the first female president of the Iowa Medical Society.[citation needed] She was the first woman on the faculty of the University of Iowa's department of ophthalmology and visual sciences, and worked as a representative from Iowa to the American Academy of Ophthalmology.[5]
In 2010, Republican Governor Terry Branstad appointed Miller-Meeks director of the Iowa Department of Public Health which she led until 2013; she resigned in 2014 to run for Congress.[5][6]
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Iowa State Senate
When Mark Chelgren announced he was not running for reelection, Miller-Meeks ran for Iowa Senate, District 41 in 2018, defeating Democratic nominee Mary Stewart.[7] Miller-Meeks served in the Iowa Senate from 2019 to 2020.[4]
U.S. House of Representatives
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Elections
2008, 2010, 2014
Miller-Meeks was the Republican nominee for Iowa's 2nd congressional district in 2008, 2010, and 2014, losing to Dave Loebsack in all three races.[8]
In her 2014 campaign, Miller-Meeks opposed the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare).[3] She also stated her opposition to legalized abortion except in cases of rape, incest, or harm to the mother.[3] She opposed same-sex marriage.[3] She criticized EPA regulation of waterways and coal plants, saying it creates uncertainty for farmers.[3]
2020
Miller-Meeks ran to represent Iowa's 2nd congressional district again in 2020, following Loebsack's retirement.[9] She won the June 2 Republican primary election, defeating former Illinois Congressman Bobby Schilling.[8]
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Miller-Meeks said she "practices social distancing, wears a mask in public and sanitizes her hands" but does not support face mask mandates.[10]
Miller-Meeks faced the Democratic nominee, former state Senator Rita Hart, in the November general election.[8] After Loebsack announced his retirement, journalists and election forecasters labeled the 2nd congressional district a swing district.
The initial count in the election showed Miller-Meeks with a 47 vote victory. Hart asked for a recount which shrunk the lead to just 6 votes, which was certified by the State Canvassing Board.[11] The Iowa Board of Canvass certified the result.[12][13]
Hart chose not to contest the results in the courts because there was insufficient time. The election was not certified until November 30th and election challenges in Iowa had to be completed by Dec. 8th.[14][13]
Hart contested the certified result through a petition with the Committee on House Administration under the 1969 Federal Contested Elections Act, which sets forth procedures for contesting state election results in the House under the Constitution.[14][15] In her petition, Hart contended that 22 legally cast votes were not counted.[16] Had they been counted, per her petition, she would have won the race by nine votes.[17][18]
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi provisionally seated Miller-Meeks on January 3, 2021, pending adjudication of Hart's petition.[17][19] The Committee on House Administration reviewed Hart's petition, and Pelosi claimed the House had the authority to expel Miller-Meeks,[20][21] but on March 31, Hart withdrew her challenge.[22]
2022
After redistricting, Miller-Meeks' district was renumbered as the 1st district, effective with the 2022 elections.[23] Miller-Meeks defeated Democratic state Representative Christina Bohannan in the November 2022 general election by 53% to 47%.[24]
2024
In 2024, Miller-Meeks again faced off against Christina Bohannan. The race was extremely close, with Miller-Meeks ahead by 801 votes after the initial count.[25][26] A recount confirmed that Miller-Meeks had been elected to a third term by 799 votes.[27]
2026
Miller-Meeks raised over $1 million in the first quarter of 2025. This was the most money raised by any U.S. House incumbent during this time period. In the 2026 election, Miller-Meeks is facing a primary challenge from David Pautsch, who unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination in Iowa's 1st District in 2024.[28] Pautsch is running to the right of Miller-Meeks.[29]
On June 17, 2025, Christina Bohannan announced that she would run for a third time.[30]
Tenure
Miller-Meeks, along with all other Senate and House Republicans, voted against the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.[31]
On May 19, 2021, Miller-Meeks was one of 35 Republicans who joined all Democrats in voting to approve legislation to establish the January 6 commission meant to investigate the storming of the U.S. Capitol.[32]
Following the November 2024 elections, Miller-Meeks ran in the internal House Republican Conference elections for secretary (the sixth-highest ranking post in the conference), but was defeated by Erin Houchin of Indiana.[33]
In April 2025, Miller-Meeks urged lawmakers to act to extend a tax break that benefits small businesses. The Qualified Business Income deduction allows small business owners to deduct up to 20% of their income. It is slated to expire on December 31, 2025.[34]
Infrastructure
In 2020, Miller-Meeks said that an infrastructure bill would be her main priority, suggesting a fuel tax increase to pay for it.[35]
Immigration
On July 21, 2021, Miller-Meeks and Deborah Ross co-sponsored the America's CHILDREN Act.[36] The bill would prevent the children of long-term visa holders who came to the U.S. legally with their parents from having their visas expire the day they turn 21. If they have maintained legal status in the U.S. for 10 years and graduated from an institution of higher education, they are eligible to apply for permanent residency.[36]
LGBT rights
On July 19, 2022, Miller-Meeks and 46 other Republican representatives voted for the Respect for Marriage Act, which codified the right to same-sex marriage in federal law.[37]
Antitrust bill
In 2022, Meeks was one of 39 Republicans to vote for the Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act of 2022, an antitrust package that would crack down on corporations for anti-competitive behavior.[38][39]
Committee assignments
For the 118th Congress (2020-2023):[40]
Caucus memberships
- Conservative Climate Caucus (chair)[41]
- Pandemic Preparedness Caucus (co-chair)[41]
- Congressional Western Caucus (vice chair)[41]
- For Country Caucus (vice chair)[41]
- 5G and Beyond Caucus[41]
- Abraham Accords Caucus[41]
- Aluminum Caucus[41]
- American Canadian Economy and Security (ACES) Caucus[41]
- Appalachian Caucus[41]
- Army Caucus[41]
- Biodefense Caucus[41]
- Biofuels Caucus[41]
- Bus Caucus[41]
- Civil Air Patrol Congressional Squadron[41]
- Climate Solutions Caucus[42]
- Congressional Diabetes Caucus[41]
- Critical Materials Caucus[41]
- Czech Caucus[41]
- Friends of Denmark Caucus[41]
- General Aviation Caucus[41]
- GOP Doctors Caucus[41]
- GOP Healthy Futures Task Force[41]
- Grid Innovation Caucus[41]
- House Energy Action Team[41]
- Main Street Caucus[41]
- Maternity Care Caucus[41]
- Mental Health Caucus[41]
- Motorcycle Caucus[41]
- Pro-Life Caucus[41]
- Public Schools Caucus[41]
- Rare Disease Caucus[41][43]
- Republican Governance Group[41]
- Rural Broadband Caucus[41]
- Small Brewers Caucus[41]
- Small Business Caucus[41]
- Sportsmen's Caucus[41]
- Steel Caucus[41]
- Suburban Caucus[41]
- Taiwan Caucus[41]
- Ukraine Caucus[41]
- Telehealth Caucus[41]
- Western Caucus[41]
- Women, Peace, and Security Caucus[41]
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Personal life
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Miller-Meeks is married to Curt Meeks and has two children.[44] She is a Roman Catholic.[3]
In 2022, after her longtime home in Ottumwa had been drawn out of the district in the 2020 round of redistricting, Miller-Meeks changed her voter registration to a house in LeClaire, near Davenport, owned by state senator Chris Cournoyer. In 2023, she received a homestead credit for her house in Ottumwa, and listed it as her residence both on congressional disclosure reports and campaign forms. Before the 2024 primary, Miller-Meeks rented an apartment in Davenport and registered to vote there. Members of the House are only constitutionally required to live in the state they represent, while Iowa law requires voters to register and vote in the county where they primarily reside. Two months before the 2024 general election, an Iowa citizen filed a complaint with the Office of Congressional Ethics, arguing that Miller-Meeks had violated state law by registering in Scott County, home to Davenport, rather than in Wapello County, home to Ottumwa.[45] In a 2024 election debate, Miller-Meeks defended questions about her residency, saying she had been honest when she said she would not sell her Wapello County property, saying "In Iowa, land is valuable and we hold onto it, so I have a property there." She said she divides her time between an apartment in Washington, D.C., an apartment in Davenport, and her property in Ottumwa.[46] In November 2024, an absentee and special precinct board in Scott County accepted Miller-Meeks' ballot cast in the 2024 election, rejecting the residency challenge.[47]
Miller-Meeks organized a physician recruitment and retention organization to help bring physicians to southeast Iowa and has served as a court-appointed special advocate volunteer for children.[5]
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Electoral history
2008
2010
2014
2018
2020
2022
2024
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See also
References
External links
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