EMILYs List Endorses Christina Bohannan and Liz Mathis for Congress

For Immediate Release
December 16, 2021 

EMILYs List Endorses Christina Bohannan and Liz Mathis for Congress 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, endorsed Christina Bohannan to represent Iowa’s 1st District and Liz Mathis to represent Iowa’s 2nd District in the U.S. House of Representatives. Laphonza Butler, president of EMILYs List, released the following statement:

“EMILYs List is thrilled to endorse Christina Bohannan and Liz Mathis to represent the great state of Iowa in the House of Representatives. For too long, Iowans have been left behind by leaders who prioritize partisanship over policies that would benefit families. With Bohannan and Mathis in Washington, Iowa’s families will gain fearless leaders who will dedicate their efforts to improving the economy, expanding access to health care, and supporting those who are struggling in their communities. It’s time to usher in a new era of leadership in Iowa, and we are ready to fight to flip these two seats blue.”

Christina Bohannan is a mother, law professor, state representative, and former engineer who is running to represent Iowa’s 1st District in Congress. The youngest of her parents’ three children, Bohannan grew up in a trailer in a small town. She became the first in her family to graduate from college. Bohannan worked her way through engineering school and then law school, where she graduated first in her class and was Editor-in-Chief of the law review. More than two decades ago, Bohannan moved to Iowa to become a law professor at the University of Iowa. In 2020, Bohannan stood up to run for office and defeated a 20-year incumbent to represent District 85 in the Iowa House.

Liz Mathis is a former journalist, nonprofit leader, and Iowa state senator. Mathis grew up on a farm in eastern Iowa. Mathis attended the University of Iowa, where she earned a degree in journalism. She soon reported from the Cedar Rapids bureau of KWWL before becoming an anchor. Mathis taught at Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa before returning to journalism as the anchor chair for KCRG.  In 2007, Mathis began a new career as a nonprofit leader, working for Horizons and later with Four Oaks to help Iowa families. In 2011, Mathis was elected to the Iowa state Senate to represent parts of Linn County, where she has focused on children, Iowa’s economy, and affordable health care.

EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, has raised over $700 million to elect Democratic pro-choice women candidates. With a grassroots community of over five million members, EMILY's List helps Democratic women win competitive campaigns – across the country and up and down the ballot – by recruiting and training candidates, supporting and helping build strong campaigns, researching the issues that impact women and families, running nearly $50 million in independent expenditures in the last cycle alone, and turning out women voters and voters of color to the polls. Since our founding in 1985, we have helped elect the country's first woman as vice president, 159 women to the House, 26 to the Senate, 16 governors, and more than 1,300 women to state and local office. More than 40% of the candidates EMILYs List has helped elect to Congress have been women of color. After the 2016 election, more than 60,000 women reached out to EMILY's List about running for office laying the groundwork for the next decade of candidates for local, state, and national offices. In our effort to elect more women in offices across the country, we have created our Run to Win program, expanded our training program, including a Training Center online, and trained thousands of women.