Lindsay James has spent her career showing up for people in hard moments. She was a Presbyterian minister and interfaith chaplain before she was a politician, and she has said that sitting with people in their most difficult moments, facing impossible choices, is what called her to public service in the first place. That instinct carried her to the Iowa House of Representatives in 2018, where she flipped a seat and has held it ever since, rising to House Minority Whip.

James grew up in a faith tradition that taught her every person is created with equal dignity and worth. That conviction runs through everything she has done since — ministry, chaplaincy, the statehouse, and now a congressional race. She has spent her legislative career fighting for working families in northeast Iowa: capping the cost of insulin, protecting manufactured home residents from predatory landlords, and pushing back on a political system she believes has been captured by corporate interests and billionaires who have never had to budget down to their last dollar, or choose paying rent over feeding their family.

She is also a mom of two teenagers, which means campaign season involves a lot of Sunday meal prep so that her family doesn’t text her that her dad is “starving” them. We asked her what the rest of it looks like.

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The quick stats:

  • Location: Dubuque, IA
  • Office she’s running for: U.S. House of Representatives, IA-02
  • Kids’ ages: Two teenagers
  • First time running for federal office?: Yes (has served in the Iowa House since 2019)
  • Website

What does a typical campaign day look like for you — and where does your family fit into it?

It’s a lot of phone calls, events, and time in the car. I have a wonderful husband who will tag along with me occasionally, but my teenagers still expect me to be Mom when I’m home. And because he isn’t the best cook, it means a lot of Sunday meal prep so that my daughter doesn’t text me that her dad is “starving” her.

What’s something about running for office that you didn’t expect — and that you wish someone had warned you about?

We had to make a lot of tough choices when it came to making the decision to run for office. The financial impact, the time commitments, and the exposure are all difficult to work out. But I think the number one thing I didn’t expect was the sheer amount of time and preparation that goes into making every day of the campaign successful.

Has being a mother shaped how you think about the issues you’re running on? If so, how?

Being a mother shapes every single policy decision I make. I want my kids to grow up with opportunities like my parents had, like my husband and I had. Knowing my teenagers are getting to the age where they can see the real world struggles so many young people face — the cost of education, the struggle to buy a house, the screen addiction and lack of social connections — I want to make their lives and every other child’s life a little easier.

What has been the hardest sacrifice your family has made for this campaign — and how have you handled that as a parent?

It will always be the time. I do my best to set aside time with my family and to not miss big events like my daughter’s school play. We do puzzles as a family and just get to enjoy each other. It makes spending time with my family so much more important.

What would you want your kids to take away from watching you do this?

I hope they take away the importance of stepping up for your deeply held moral beliefs. We can make the world a better place and give them the life they deserve, but it will take sacrifice to achieve. In the hardest moments, I hope they know their mom stepped up to take on those challenges and didn’t stand on the sidelines as their future and our country’s future was paved over by billionaires and corporations trying to make a buck.

Lindsay is endorsed by Vote Mama, an organization dedicated to breaking down the structural barriers that keep moms out of office — and building the kind of political power that actually reflects the realities of American family life. Learn more about Lindsay here.