Representative Cynthia Axne

Cynthia Lynne Axne (née Wadle; born April 20, 1965) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative from Iowa’s 3rd congressional district from January 3, 2019, until January 3, 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, she became, along with Abby Finkenauer, one of the first two women from Iowa elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. During her two terms in Congress, Axne represented a district anchored in the state capital of Des Moines and encompassing much of southwestern Iowa, including the city of Council Bluffs. She is the most recent Democrat to represent Iowa in Congress.

Axne was born Cynthia Lynne Wadle on April 20, 1965. She grew up in Iowa, where she was raised in a family that would later inform her focus on middle-class economic issues and public service. Details of her early life, including her formative years in the state, contributed to her identification with the concerns of Iowa families and communities, which became a central theme in her political career.

Axne pursued higher education before entering public life, though the existing record here does not detail her specific degrees or institutions. Her educational and early professional experiences preceded a career that combined work in the public and private sectors, giving her familiarity with both government operations and business environments. This background helped shape her approach to policy, particularly in areas related to economic development, government efficiency, and support for working families.

Before her election to Congress, Axne built a career that involved engagement with public policy and community issues in Iowa. While the available information does not enumerate all of her pre-congressional positions, her professional trajectory and civic involvement positioned her to seek federal office as a representative voice for the Des Moines metropolitan area and the broader southwest quadrant of the state. Her decision to run for Congress in 2018 reflected both her political alignment with the Democratic Party and her interest in addressing national issues affecting Iowans, including health care, the economy, and agriculture.

In 2018, Axne ran for the United States House of Representatives in Iowa’s 3rd congressional district. She won the Democratic primary election with 57.91 percent of the vote, securing her party’s nomination. In the general election, she narrowly defeated incumbent Republican Representative David Young. Although Young carried 15 of the district’s 16 counties, Axne won Polk County—home to Des Moines and the district’s most populous county—by more than 30,000 votes, a margin that far exceeded her overall districtwide margin of approximately 8,000 votes. Her victory made her, alongside Abby Finkenauer, one of the first two women from Iowa elected to the U.S. House, marking a significant milestone in the state’s political history.

Axne took office on January 3, 2019, and served two terms in the House of Representatives, contributing to the legislative process during a significant period in American history. As a member of the House, she participated in the democratic process and represented the interests of her constituents in a district that included urban, suburban, and rural communities. During her tenure, she aligned with Democratic priorities on issues such as health care access, economic relief, and infrastructure, and she served in Congress through events that included shifting national political dynamics and debates over federal responses to economic and public health challenges.

In 2020, Axne sought a second term and won the Democratic primary virtually unopposed, facing only write-in candidates. In the general election, she faced former Representative David Young in a rematch and again prevailed, winning 48.9 percent of the vote to Young’s 47.6 percent. Her reelection confirmed her continued support in the district’s population centers, particularly in and around Des Moines, and extended her service in the 117th Congress.

Axne ran for reelection to a third term in 2022. In a closely contested race, she was defeated by Republican state senator and U.S. Air Force officer Zach Nunn, losing by a margin of 0.7 percent. Her term concluded on January 3, 2023. Although she left office following the 2022 election, her service from 2019 to 2023 marked an important chapter in Iowa’s political representation, both as a Democratic voice from the state and as one of the first women to represent Iowa in the U.S. House of Representatives.