Iowa Dem who touted ‘strong work ethic’ misses more than half of her House votes

Lindsay James, a state legislator and Democratic candidate for Congress in Iowa, missed over half of her votes in the state’s House of Representatives this past year, records show.

In 2026, James missed 177 of 342 votes, according to the legislature’s records, accounting for 51.7% of the whole.

The absences clash with assurances James made about how her campaign might impact her legislative duties and has opened her up to Republican-led criticisms that she has prioritized her potential role instead of the one she has now.

“Lindsay James promised Iowans that campaigning wouldn’t distract her from the job she was elected to do. That didn’t last long,” Emily Tuttle, a spokesperson for the National Republican Congressional Committee, said.

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“James chose her own political ambitions over showing up for work, proving that when given the choice between serving constituents and serving herself, she puts herself first,” Tuttle continued.

James’ campaign said that she has a track record of representing constituents well.

“Lindsay has always fought for Iowa families, taking on corporate greed and predatory landlords and writing the bill to cap the cost of insulin,” Jackson Smith, a spokesperson for the campaign, said in a statement to Fox. 

“While Lindsay listens to and works for the Iowans making impossible economic choices caused by Joe Mitchell and his Washington allies, Mitchell has been using his campaign cash to party with Washington insiders and will be a rubber stamp for the policies raising Iowa families’ costs,” Smith said, referring to Joe Mitchell, a former state representative and a Republican candidate for the seat.

At the outset of her campaign, James told viewers in an interview that she would continue to prioritize her work in the House of Representatives despite intentions to campaign “full-time.”

“Full-time campaigning and, of course, fulfilling my important work in the Iowa legislature,” James said when asked whether she would also continue working as a minister.

“You know me, I have a pretty strong work ethic at the capitol, early, very late, providing for my constituents. That will never stop. That’s just who I am and how I’m wired,” James said.

Even so, James, who first joined the Iowa House in 2019, has missed several key votes in the chamber.

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Instead of voting on a bill to limit screen time for students in schools, she held a campaign event in Cedar Rapids on April 20, roughly two hours from Des Moines.

Just ten days later, James also missed a vote on whether to make animal torture a felony on April 30 to host a meet-and-greet at a brewery in Decorah, Iowa.

In a third case, she also skipped the chamber’s consideration of whether to lower property taxes in order to host another candidate activity in Dubuque — a three-hour drive from the capitol.

James recently won a Democratic primary earlier this month as she wages a campaign to fill the seat currently held by Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa.

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Hinson, who has represented the district since 2021, announced she would not seek reelection as she pursues a Senate seat to replace outgoing Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa.