FIRST ON FOX: Former Democratic state Rep. Christina Bohannan missed nearly half of her votes in Iowa's House of Representatives during her final year in office as she campaigned for a congressional seat in the battleground district, records show.
In 2022, Bohannan missed 348 of 773 floor votes, or about 45% of all votes, according to the legislature’s records, despite stressing the importance "for leaders to show up" three years later.
Bohannan is running for Congress in Iowa's 1st Congressional District, a race the Cook Political Report ranks as a "toss up" in November as Republicans attempt to preserve their razor-thin majority in the House of Representatives.
Some of the skipped votes involved bills addressing protections for sexual abuse victims, volunteer firefighters and first responders, Iowa’s dairy industry, agricultural programs, emergency 911 services and juvenile justice reform.
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"Liberal Christina Bohannan says leaders should ‘show up’ and then is a no-show herself," Emily Tuttle, a spokesperson for the National Republican Congressional Committee, said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
"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."
The absences stand in contrast with Bohannan’s past comments. In an Oct. 6, 2025, post on X, she wrote that she had the "honor of speaking" with more than 100 voters at a candidate forum representing five Iowa counties.
"At a time when so much is uncertain, it’s more important than ever for leaders to show up and talk directly with Iowans," she added.
Similarly, 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 rest of her efforts focused on her congressional campaign.
Bohannan served one term in the Iowa House from 2021 to 2023 before launching her first campaign for Congress.
She is challenging incumbent Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa, for a third time in the 1st Congressional District, which includes Davenport and Iowa City, after losing by about seven points in 2022 and roughly 800 votes following a recount in 2024.
But Bohannan remained on the state’s legislative payroll during that period. According to state legislative records, Iowa lawmakers earned a $25,000 annual salary in 2022, plus $175 per day per diem for up to 100 days, or $17,500.
The Democratic lawmaker has also faced mounting criticism for her past comments and middle-class messaging on the campaign trail.
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Fox News Digital previously reported that Bohannan warned Iowa could be seen as "backwards" over limits on diversity training at public schools and universities and "look like a backwater" over restrictions on transgender athletes.
Other reports revealed that Bohannan and her husband owned a waterfront Sarasota, Florida, condo valued between $500,001 and $1 million, in addition to a $1.55 million Iowa City home while campaigning as a hard-working, middle-class advocate who understands what it's like "to still struggle to put food on the table."
Fox News Digital reached out to Bohannan’s campaign for comment.
