Mariannette Miller-Meeks

Mariannette Jane Miller-Meeks (née: Miller; born September 6, 1955) is an American physician and politician who has served as a U.S. representative from Iowa since 2021. A member of the Republican Party, she represents the state's 1st congressional district. Her district, numbered as the 2nd district in her first term, includes most of Iowa's southeastern quadrant, including Davenport, Bettendorf, Burlington, and Iowa City. Miller-Meeks previously served as the Iowa state senator from the 41st district from 2019 to 2021.

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 was reelected in 2022 by a margin of nearly seven percentage points, and won a third term in a very close race in 2024.

Mariannette Jane Miller-Meeks was born in Herlong, California on September 6, 1955.

A first-generation college student, Miller-Meeks earned a Bachelor of Science in nursing from Texas Christian University in 1976, a Master of Science in education from the University of Southern California in 1980, and a Doctor of Medicine from University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio in 1986.

Miller-Meeks enlisted in the United States Army at the age of 18, in 1974, serving as a nurse until 1982. Starting in 1983, she became a member of the United States Army Reserve and retired at the rank of lieutenant colonel in 2000.

Miller-Meeks operated a private ophthalmology practice in Ottumwa, Iowa, until 2008. She served as the first female president of the Iowa Medical Society. She was the first woman in twenty years to be a faculty member 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, Republican Governor Terry Branstad appointed Miller-Meeks director of the Iowa Department of Public Health which she led until 2013; she resigned in 2014 to run for Congress.

When Mark Chelgren announced he was not running for reelection, Miller-Meeks ran for Iowa Senate, District 41 in 2018, defeating Democratic nominee Mary Stewart. Miller-Meeks served in the Iowa Senate from 2019 to 2020.