Mariannette Miller-Meeks

Mariannette Miller-Meeks was one of eight children, left home at 16 for community college and enlisted in the Army at 18.¹ She traces her interest in medicine to treatment after a kitchen fire badly burned her in high school, particularly the physical therapist who helped her recover.¹ Her father was an Air Force master sergeant, and she is the mother of two grown children, Jonathon and Taylor.¹

Her 24 years of military service took her from enlisted private to nurse and physician, ending with retirement as a lieutenant colonel.² She operated an ophthalmology practice in Ottumwa, taught medicine and became the first woman to lead the Iowa Medical Society.² Before Congress, she directed Iowa's public health department and served in the state Senate.¹

In Washington, Miller-Meeks serves on Energy and Commerce and Veterans' Affairs, including leadership of the veterans panel's health subcommittee.¹ In her current campaign, she says she wants lower insurance premiums and prescription prices, while Democrats challenge her support for Republican legislation that reduced Medicaid funding.³ She also argues that lower energy costs, manufacturing investment and Republican tax policies can strengthen the region's economy.³

She is seeking a fourth term against Democrat Christina Bohannan, whom she defeated by fewer than 800 votes in 2024.³ Their third consecutive matchup again centers on health care and the cost of living, with Miller-Meeks defending her congressional record and Bohannan proposing an alternative Medicare option.³⁴