Sean Bagniewski

American politician (born 1983)

Sean Bagniewski
Member of the Iowa House of Representatives
from the 35th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 9, 2023
Preceded byAko Abdul-Samad (redistricting)
Personal details
Born1983 (age 40–41)
La Crosse, Wisconsin, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseLindsay
Children2
EducationTruman State University
Drake University
OccupationAttorney, contract administrator

Sean Bagniewski (born 1983) is an American politician and attorney who has represented the 35th district in the Iowa House of Representatives since January 2023, which consists of parts of northwest Des Moines in Polk County. He is a member of the Democratic Party.[1]

Early life

Bagniewski was born in 1983 in La Crosse, Wisconsin, and was raised in Des Moines, Iowa, in a trailer park by a single mother. He attended Theodore Roosevelt High School. He received a bachelor's degree from Truman State University and a Juris Doctor from Drake University Law School.[1]

Political career

Bagniewski clerked for Governor Tom Vilsack and served as chair of the Polk County Democrats prior to his election to the Iowa House.[2]

Bagniewski announced his candidacy for the open 35th district seat in the Iowa House of Representatives shortly after decennial redistricting in 2021. He ran unopposed in the Democratic primary on June 7, 2022, winning with over 98.8 percent of the vote, and defeated independent candidate Dennis McCullough in the general election on November 8 with over 76 percent of the vote.[3]

Bagniewski is a member of the Appropriations, Commerce, Government Oversight, and Transportation committees.[4]

In December 2023, Bagniewski announced that he is running for reelection.[5] He won the Democratic primaries unopposed on June 4, 2024, and will face Republican Angela Schreader and Libertarian David Green in the general election on November 5, 2024.[3]

Bagniewski has said that his priorities include economic growth and education. He is pro-choice and supports stricter gun laws.[2]

Personal life

Bagniewski works as an attorney and federal contract administrator. He has a wife, Lindsay, and two children. He resides with his family in the Beaverdale neighborhood of Des Moines. He is the co-founder of the New Iowa Project, a Democratic volunteer network that seeks to increase voter registration and turnout.[1]

Bagniewski was terminated from his job as a Medicaid contract manager with Maximus Health Services shortly after being elected, stirring minor controversy. According to Axios, Maximus received a letter from Iowa Medicaid director Elizabeth Matney eight days after his election stating that Bagniewski's position was full time and that they do not allow exceptions. Matney also wrote that the state required Maximus to submit a transition plan for Bagniewski within two weeks. Bagniewski claimed that there were no alternative positions available, and he was fired on January 29. He pointed to an Iowa law requiring workers elected to a government office be granted a leave of absence from their regular employment, and also claimed that he was falsely told by Iowa Department of Human Services officials that he could keep his job if he was elected. A spokesperson of the DHS told Axios that Maximus has the sole discretion to make employment decisions necessary to their work. Bagniewski said that he would seek legal advice regarding the termination.[6]

Electoral history

Election Political result Candidate Party Votes %
Iowa House of Representatives Democratic primary elections, 2022 [3]
District 35
Turnout: 3,585		Democratic (newly redistricted) Sean BagniewskiDemocratic3,54198.8
Other/Write-in votes 441.2
Iowa House of Representatives general elections, 2022 [3]
District 35
Turnout: 12,171		Democratic (newly redistricted) Sean BagniewskiDemocratic9,36076.9
Dennis McCullough Independent2,78322.5
Other/Write-in votes 730.6

References

  1. ^ a b c "State Representative". Iowa Legislature. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
  2. ^ a b "What the candidates running in Iowa House District 35 in Beaverdale say on key issues". The Des Moines Register. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d "Sean Bagniewski". Ballotpedia. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
  4. ^ "Sean Bagniewski - State Representative". Iowa Legislature. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
  5. ^ "primarycandidatelist.pdf" (PDF). Iowa Secretary of State. Retrieved March 27, 2024.
  6. ^ Clayworth, Jason. "Democrat terminated from Iowa job after election win". Axios. Retrieved March 24, 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)