Mariannette Miller-Meeks
Mariannette Jane Miller-Meeks (born September 6, 1955) is an American physician and politician serving as the U.S. representative for Iowa's 2nd congressional district. The district includes most of Iowa's southeastern quadrant, including Davenport, Bettendorf, Burlington, Iowa City, and Miller-Meeks's hometown of Ottumwa. She is a member of the Republican Party. Miller-Meeks ran three unsuccessful campaigns for the U.S. House against Dave Loebsack. When Loebsack retired in 2020, she ran again and defeated Rita Hart by a margin of six votes. She also served as Iowa state senator for the 41st district  from 2019 to 2021. Early life. Miller-Meeks was born in Herlong, California in 1955. She enlisted in the United States Army at the age of 18 and served for 24 years, including as a nurse, physician, and member of the United States Army Reserve. She retired at the rank of lieutenant colonel. A first-generation college student, Miller-Meeks earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from Texas Christian University, a Master of Science in education from University of Southern California, and a Doctor of Medicine from University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. Career. Miller-Meeks  operated a private ophthalmology practice in Ottumwa, Iowa, until 2008. She also served as the first female president of the Iowa Medical Society. She was the first woman on the faculty of the University of Iowa's department of ophthalmology and visual sciences, and worked as a representative from Iowa to the American Academy of Ophthalmology. In 2010, Governor Terry Branstad appointed Miller-Meeks director of the Iowa Department of Public Health; she resigned in 2014 to run for Congress. Miller-Meeks was the Republican nominee for Iowa's 2nd congressional district in 2008, 2010 and 2014, losing to Dave  Loebsack in all three races. When Mark Chelgren announced he was not running for reelection, she ran for Iowa Senate, District 41 in 2018, defeating Democratic nominee Mary Stewart. Her term in the Iowa Senate began January 14, 2019. U.S. House of Representatives. Elections. In her 2014 campaign, Miller-Meeks opposed the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). She also stated her opposition to legalized abortion except in cases of rape, incest, or harm to the mother. Of same-sex marriage, she said in 2014 that she favors "traditional marriage." She criticized EPA regulation of waterways and coal plants, saying it creates  uncertainty for farmers. Miller-Meeks ran to represent Iowa's 2nd congressional district again in 2020, following Loebsack's retirement. She won the June 2 Republican primary election, defeating former Illinois Congressman Bobby Schilling. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she said she "practices social distancing, wears a mask in public and sanitizes her hands" but does not support face mask mandates. She faced the Democratic nominee, former State Senator Rita Hart, in the November general election. After Loebsack announced his retirement, journalists and election forecasters labeled the 2nd congressional district a swing district. Miller-Meeks defeated Hart in the general election  by six votes, making this the closest election in 2020 and flipping Iowa's 2nd Congressional District from Democratic to Republican control in one of the closest races in 100 years; the state certified the victory. Hart contested the certified result through a petition with the Committee on House Administration under the 1969 Federal Contested Elections Act, which sets forth procedures for contesting state election results in the House under the Constitution. Hart did not contest the election in Iowa's courts. In her petition, Hart contended, without evidence, that 22 legally cast votes were not counted. Had they been  counted, per her petition, she would have won the race by nine votes. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi provisionally seated Miller-Meeks on January 3, 2021, pending adjudication of Hart's petition. The Committee on House Administration reviewed Hart's petition, and Pelosi claimed the House had the authority to expel Miller-Meeks, but on March 31, Hart withdrew her challenge. Miller-Meeks and Michelle Fischbach of Minnesota are the only Republican members of Congress to flip Democratic House districts that were not held by Republicans before 2018. Tenure. Miller-Meeks, along with all other Senate and House Republicans, voted against  the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. On May 19, 2021, Miller-Meeks was one of 35 Republicans who joined all Democrats in voting to approve legislation to establish the January 6, 2021 commission meant to investigate the storming of the U.S. Capitol. Immigration. On July 21, 2021, Miller-Meeks and Deborah Ross co-sponsored the America's CHILDREN Act. The bill would prevent the children of long-term visa holders who came to the U.S. legally with their parents from having their visas expire the day they turn 21. If they have maintained legal status in the U.S. for  10 years and graduated from an institution of higher education, they are eligible to apply for permanent residency. LGBT rights. In 2021, Miller Meeks was one of 29 Republicans to vote to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act. This bill expanded legal protections for transgender people, and contained provisions allowing transgender women to use women's shelters and serve time in prisons matching their gender identity. Personal life. Miller-Meeks is a resident of Ottumwa, Iowa. She is married to Curt Meeks, the Compliance Officer at Otumwa Regional Health Center, and has two children. She is Roman Catholic. Miller-Meeks  organized a physician recruitment and retention organization to help bring physicians to southeast Iowa and has served as a court-appointed special advocate volunteer for children. External links.