State Sen. Annette Sweeney (R-Iowa Falls).

Annette Sweeney, Republican candidate for Senate District 27

Annette Sweeney, 68, is an Iowa native who was raised on her family’s third-generation farm near Buckeye, and now resides in Iowa Falls with her husband Dave. The Sweeneys have two adult sons. She received a B.S.Ed. in English and speech/drama with a minor in coaching from Concordia College (now Concordia University Nebraska). Sweeney is a small business owner (Practical Promotions), a former teacher, and retired family cattle and grain producer.

1. What would be your top three legislative priorities if elected?

Throughout my career, I have been an advocate for Iowa agriculture, so one of my biggest priorities will always be strengthening agriculture and supporting Iowa’s farmers. I also want to continue helping our rural communities grow, and build on the tax relief successes we’ve had over the last several years.

2. What issues are you hearing most from voters currently?

One of the issues I hear a lot about is cost of living. Iowans are really concerned about how costs are going up, whether it’s for gas or groceries. That is why I think it’s important we continue to find ways to keep costs down for Iowans, whether we can cut burdensome regulations, pass sustainable budgets, or passing policies that allow us to cut Iowa’s tax burden even more.

3. How will you address property taxes if elected?

This year, I was proud to support a historic property tax relief bill that provides $4 billion in relief for Iowans. One study noted that this bill was the largest property tax relief package in the country this year. When Iowans are worrying about cost of living, property taxes is one of the things they are worried about. To help make Iowa a more affordable place to live, we not only have continually lowered Iowa’s income tax rate, but passed important property tax relief measures to limit increases on your home. In the Iowa Senate, I will keep fighting to ensure Iowa families are seeing property tax relief.

4. What do you propose should be done to improve water quality in the state? Do you support raising the state’s sales tax to fund Iowa’s Natural Resources and Outdoor Recreation Trust Fund? Please explain.

Iowa already invests roughly $100 million into water quality projects and methods throughout the state. The federal government matches that funding with roughly another $500 million. Our state is actually number one in a number of conservation practices that are proven to help improve Iowa’s water quality, like soil conservation, buffers and cover crops, and wetlands and groundwater protections. This year we also passed more investments in water quality and nitrate removal in central Iowa. There are over 4 million acres of cover crops being used in our state, which helps prevent runoff, absorbs excess nitrogen, and helps long-term soil health. Iowa should keep working with our communities and farmers to help improve water quality in Iowa.

5. Rising cancer rates are a concern for many Iowans. What action should the legislature take to lower the rate?

The legislature has taken a number of steps to address Iowa’s cancer rates and get the data we need to take meaningful steps. We raised taxes on nicotine products, invested money into pediatric cancer research, and invested money for more research about Iowa’s rates. We also required radon mitigation units in news home construction in Iowa since we have such a high rate of radon in our state. To take further action, we need to make sure we have the research and the data so we can truly help Iowans who are affected, take real actions that will improve our rates, and help people get the care they need, when they need it.

6. With physicians leaving the state, medical facilities either closing or reducing services and rural EMS often struggling to recruit/retain volunteers, what will you do to repair the health care system in Iowa?

Iowa was actually recently rated by Wallethub as one of the top three states for health care in the United States based on cost, access and outcomes. We were also rated as one of the top states for doctors. We have passed bills to help recruit more doctors, keep medical students in our state, and made changes to student loan programs. Medical malpractice reform was a huge priority for Iowa doctors and we delivered that policy to help lower their costs to work in Iowa. To continue helping our health care system, we need to keep passing policies that help Iowa grow, bring more people to our state, and help ensure there are quality, affordable services in Iowa when and where Iowans need them.

7. Public school districts have said the amount of money received from the state each year needs to be increased. Do you agree with that stance? Please explain. How much money do you think districts should receive each year?

The amount of money K-12 schools have received has increased every single year since 2017. Iowans invest billions of dollars into education every single year. With federal, state and local dollars, Iowans pay over $19,000 per student for their education. While we need to invest in priorities like education, we also need to make sure we are seeing progress and policies in the classroom that will make students successful in their futures, whether they choose to attend a four-year college, a community college, or go straight into the workforce.

8. As agriculture becomes increasingly concentrated and consolidated, what should Iowa be doing to prioritize opportunities for independent and small family farms, as well as beginning farmers who don’t have inherited land or other significant assets? Are the current policies sufficient, and if not, what specific changes would you support?

Supporting agriculture, supporting farmers, and supporting family farms is one of my biggest priorities in the Iowa Senate. Wanting to protect Iowa’s largest industry is one of the reasons I ran for office in the first place. One of the most important things we can do for our hard-working farmers is protect them from burdensome regulations that make the job harder and fight against policies that threaten the industry. I am also happy to see we have defended family farms from radical coastal liberals who lie, trespass and seek to destroy our way of life. We have worked to support Iowa’s farmers to bring additional tax relief and eliminated Iowa’s inheritance tax. We have also worked on ways we can support beginning farmers as they try to get into this crucial and important industry. We are continually working on ways to support the farmers who work day and night to feed the world and anyone looking to start their own small family farms.

9. In 2025, Iowa removed gender identity as a protected class from the Iowa Civil Rights Act (state code). Do you support that change? Please explain.

The Iowa Civil Rights Act protects all Iowa citizens, and it still does. Iowans still receive protections based on immutable characteristics, like race or sex, and protections based on their constitutional rights, like religion. A few of the most important policies we have passed in the last few years, which for generations were just common sense but in our current era have to be codified, were keeping girls’ private spaces free from biological men and keeping boys out of girls’ sports. Litigation was starting to try to ask the courts to throw out those widely supported, common sense laws, based on that piece of the civil rights code. It was a necessary change to preserve the way our society works.

10. Why should voters choose you in the race for Iowa Senate District 27?

For the last several years, I have been proud to serve the people of Iowa Senate District 27. I have worked in agriculture most of my life, and have worked to support family farms just like mine. I’ve supported historic tax relief in the Iowa Senate to keep more money in your pockets, bring relief to you and your families, and help save more money for the things important to you. I know my work is not done, and there is more we can do to help Iowa’s families and help support Iowa agriculture during challenging times. I would be honored to continue serving you in the Iowa Senate.