Ken Carlson

American politician (born 1951)

Ken Carlson
Member of the Iowa House of Representatives
from the 13th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 9, 2023
Preceded byChris Hall (redistricting)
Personal details
Born1951 (age 72–73)
Whiting, Iowa, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseCarolyn
Children3
EducationBuena Vista University

Ken Carlson (born 1951) is an American politician, retired teacher and retired farmer who has represented the 13th district in the Iowa House of Representatives since January 2023, which consists of parts of southern Plymouth County, western Cherokee County, eastern Woodbury County and the whole of Monona County. He is a member of the Republican Party.[1]

Early life

Carlson was born in 1951 near Whiting, Iowa, where he was raised. He graduated from Whiting Senior High School and attended Buena Vista University.[1]

Political career

Following decennial redistricting in 2021, Carlson announced his intent to run for the open 13th district seat in Iowa House of Representatives in March 2022.[2] He was challenged in the Republican primaries on June 7, 2022, by Mark Peters, a farmer and truck driver, whom he defeated by over 300 votes, and defeated Libertarian candidate Amy Janowski in the general election on November 8 by over 8,400 votes.[3]

Carlson is a member of the Agriculture, Economic Growth and Technology, Veterans Affairs, and Natural Resources committees, the lattermost of which he serves as vice chair.[4]

Carlson endorsed Ron DeSantis for president in 2023.[5] In 2024 he announced that he will not seek reelection.[6]

Carlson has described himself as a constitutional conservative. He has said that his priorities include education, taxpayer dollars and eminent domain for CO2 pipelines. He opposes abortion and supports the Second Amendment.[2][7]

Personal life

Carlson has a wife, Carolyn, and three adult children. He resides in Onawa, Iowa. He is a retired farmer and a former math and science public school teacher, having taught for 12 years. He is also an on-call preacher at the Onawa First Christian Church and is a member of the Monona County Farm Bureau, Iowa Corn Growers Association, Iowa Soybean Association and Western Iowa Experimental Farm.[1]

Electoral history

Election Political result Candidate Party Votes %
Iowa House of Representatives Republican primary elections, 2022 [3]
District 13
Turnout: 2,636		Republican (newly redistricted) Ken CarlsonRepublican1,48856.4
Mark Peters Republican1,14043.2
Other/Write-in votes 80.3
Iowa House of Representatives general elections, 2022 [3]
District 13
Turnout: 11,897		Republican (newly redistricted) Ken CarlsonRepublican10,15785.4
Amy Janowski Libertarian1,70314.3
Other/Write-in votes 370.3

References

  1. ^ a b c "State Representative". Iowa Legislature. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
  2. ^ a b Gottburg, Woody (March 18, 2022). "CARLSON TO SEEK IOWA HOUSE DISTRICT 13 SEAT". KSCJ 1360. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c "Ken Carlson". Ballotpedia. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
  4. ^ "Ken Carlson - Iowa Legislature". Iowa Legislature. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
  5. ^ Isenstadt, Alexander. "Ron DeSantis rolls out a major slate of Iowa endorsements". Politico. Retrieved March 27, 2024.
  6. ^ Gottburg, Woody (March 17, 2024). "SITZMANN TO SEEK IOWA HOUSE DISTRICT 13 SEAT". KSCJ 1360. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
  7. ^ Dreeszen, Dave (June 8, 2022). "Newcomer Ken Carlson wins Iowa House District 13 GOP race against Mark Peters". Sioux City Journal. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
  • v
  • t
  • e
90th General Assembly (January 9, 2023 – January 12, 2025)
Speaker
Pat Grassley (R)
Speaker pro tempore
John Wills (R)
Majority Leader
Matt Windschitl (R)
Minority Leader
Jennifer Konfrst (D)
  1. ▌J. D. Scholten (D)
  2. ▌Robert Henderson (R)
  3. ▌Thomas Jeneary (R)
  4. ▌Skyler Wheeler (R)
  5. ▌Zach Dieken (R)
  6. ▌Megan Jones (R)
  7. ▌Mike Sexton (R)
  8. ▌Ann Meyer (R)
  9. ▌Henry Stone (R)
  10. ▌John Wills (R)
  11. ▌Brian Best (R)
  12. ▌Steven Holt (R)
  13. ▌Ken Carlson (R)
  14. ▌Jacob Bossman (R)
  15. ▌Matt Windschitl (R)
  16. ▌David Sieck (R)
  17. ▌Devon Wood (R)
  18. ▌Tom Moore (R)
  19. ▌Brent Siegrist (R)
  20. ▌Joshua Turek (D)
  21. ▌Brooke Boden (R)
  22. ▌Stan Gustafson (R)
  23. ▌Ray Sorensen (R)
  24. ▌Joel Fry (R)
  25. ▌Hans Wilz (R)
  26. ▌Austin Harris (R)
  27. ▌Kenan Judge (D)
  28. ▌David Young (R)
  29. ▌Brian Meyer (D)
  30. ▌Megan Srinivas (D)
  31. ▌Mary Madison (D)
  32. ▌Jennifer Konfrst (D)
  33. ▌Ruth Ann Gaines (D)
  34. ▌Ako Abdul-Samad (D)
  35. ▌Sean Bagniewski (D)
  36. ▌Austin Baeth (D)
  37. ▌Barb Kniff McCulla (R)
  38. ▌Jon Dunwell (R)
  39. ▌Rick Olson (D)
  40. ▌Bill Gustoff (R)
  41. ▌Molly Buck (D)
  42. ▌Heather Matson (D)
  43. ▌Eddie Andrews (R)
  44. ▌John Forbes (D)
  45. ▌Brian Lohse (R)
  46. ▌Dan Gehlbach (R)
  47. ▌Carter Nordman (R)
  48. ▌Phil Thompson (R)
  49. ▌Beth Wessel-Kroeschell (D)
  50. ▌Ross Wilburn (D)
  51. ▌Dave Deyoe (R)
  52. ▌Sue Cahill (D)
  53. ▌Dean Fisher (R)
  54. ▌Joshua Meggers (R)
  55. ▌Shannon Latham (R)
  56. ▌Mark Thompson (R)
  57. ▌Pat Grassley (R)
  58. ▌Charley Thomson (R)
  59. ▌Sharon Steckman (D)
  60. ▌Jane Bloomingdale (R)
  61. ▌Timi Brown-Powers (D)
  62. ▌Jerome Amos Jr. (D)
  63. ▌Michael Bergan (R)
  64. ▌Anne Osmundson (R)
  65. ▌Shannon Lundgren (R)
  66. ▌Steve Bradley (R)
  67. ▌Craig Johnson (R)
  68. ▌Chad Ingels (R)
  69. ▌Tom Determann (R)
  70. ▌Norlin Mommsen (R)
  71. ▌Lindsay James (D)
  72. ▌Charles Isenhart (D)
  73. ▌Elizabeth Wilson (D)
  74. ▌Eric Gjerde (D)
  75. ▌Bob Kressig (D)
  76. ▌Derek Wulf (R)
  77. ▌Jeff Cooling (D)
  78. ▌Sami Scheetz (D)
  79. ▌Tracy Ehlert (D)
  80. ▌Art Staed (D)
  81. ▌Luana Stoltenberg (R)
  82. ▌Bobby Kaufmann (R)
  83. ▌Cindy Golding (R)
  84. ▌Thomas Gerhold (R)
  85. ▌Amy Nielsen (D)
  86. ▌David Jacoby (D)
  87. ▌Jeff Shipley (R)
  88. ▌Helena Hayes (R)
  89. ▌Elinor Levin (D)
  90. ▌Adam Zabner (D)
  91. ▌Brad Sherman (R)
  92. ▌Heather Hora (R)
  93. ▌Gary Mohr (R)
  94. ▌Mike Vondran (R)
  95. ▌Taylor Collins (R)
  96. ▌Mark Cisneros (R)
  97. ▌Ken Croken (D)
  98. ▌Monica Kurth (D)
  99. ▌Matthew Rinker (R)
  100. ▌Martin Graber (R)