Christina Bohannan, a former Iowa Democratic state representative, missed 348 of 773 floor votes—approximately 45%—in the Iowa House of Representatives during 2022, her final year in office, as she campaigned for a congressional seat in Iowa's 1st Congressional District.

According to legislative records, Bohannan served one term in the Iowa House from 2021 to 2023 before launching her first campaign for Congress. The 1st Congressional District race is considered a "toss up" by the Cook Political Report, with Republicans aiming to maintain their narrow majority in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Some of the missed votes involved legislation on protections for sexual abuse victims, volunteer firefighters and first responders, Iowa’s dairy industry, agricultural programs, emergency 911 services, and juvenile justice reform.

Emily Tuttle, spokesperson for the National Republican Congressional Committee, criticized Bohannan, stating, "Liberal Christina Bohannan says leaders should ‘show up’ and then is a no-show herself." She added, "Missing half your job while collecting your taxpayer-funded paycheck isn’t leadership worthy of a promotion — it’s the kind of performance that would get you fired anywhere else."

In a 2021 interview with Bleeding Heartland, an Iowa politics blog, Bohannan was described as planning to spend "a lot of time on legislative work during the 2022 session," with the remainder of her efforts focused on her congressional campaign.

Bohannan has also warned that Iowa could be perceived as "backwards" due to limits on diversity training at public schools and universities and could "look like a backwater" because of restrictions on transgender athletes.

The incumbent Republican, Mariannette Miller-Meeks, is running for a third time in the district after narrowly losing in 2022 and 2024.

According to state legislative records, Iowa lawmakers earned a $25,000 annual salary in 2022, plus $175 per day in per diem for up to 100 days, totaling $17,500.

Sources