Cindy Axne, a Democrat running for Congress in Iowa’s 3rd District, told an Iowa State Fair audience Saturday that their best interests aren’t being served in Washington, D.C., and she thinks she can do better.
“The heart and soul of this state is at risk. The heart and soul of this country is at risk. I need your voice. I need your vote.” Axne said in remarks to about 75 people at the Des Moines Register Political Soapbox.
Axne, 53, of West Des Moines, operates a digital design business with her husband and is a former state government administrator and corporate manager. She is challenging U.S. Rep. David Young, R-Van Meter, in a race that some political analysts consider a toss-up.
The 3rd District covers 16 counties in southwest Iowa and includes the cities of Des Moines and Council Bluffs.
Axne is a fifth-generation Iowan, who quipped that her best preparation for Congress is being the mother of two teenage boys. As a state government official under Govs. Tom Vilsack, Chet Culver and Terry Branstad, she said her job was to root out waste and hold government accountable, both of which she promises to do in Congress.
If there is one thing she’s learned on the campaign trail, Axne said, it’s that Iowa taxpayers are playing by the rules, but “Washington doesn’t have our back and we deserve better.”