Jason Noble

jnoble2@dmreg.com

Iowa state Rep. Abby Finkenauer filed paperwork Friday to become a candidate for Congress in Iowa’s 1st District.

But she’s not all-in on running yet, telling the Des Moines Register that she’s still formulating plans and will not make a formal announcement until after the legislative session ends this spring.

"I will spend the next few weeks talking with my family in Dubuque and Iowans throughout the 1st District," Finkenauer said in a statement. "Should I decide to run and have the honor of being elected, I will take the values I learned from my family and my experiences growing up in a blue-collar community to Washington."

If she does run, Finkenauer, a Democrat from Dubuque, would challenge two-term incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Rod Blum in the 2018 general election. She's currently in her second term as a state legislator and serves on the board of the Greater Dubuque Development Corporation. At 28, she's the fourth-youngest member of the Iowa House.

The paperwork filed Friday includes a statement of candidacy identifying her as a candidate in Iowa’s 1st District. While the move doesn’t represent a definite entrance into the race, Finkenauer has dropped hints that she’s looking at a run for Congress over the last few weeks. She’s also launched a website that includes a page for accepting online contributions.

At a forum of prospective Democratic candidates in Des Moines on March 23, Finkenauer argued that working-class Iowans have been “duped” by Republicans and presented herself as a candidate not just for Dubuque, but all of eastern Iowa.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re Republican, Democratic, Green Party, libertarian, who cares, we all want that same thing: We want that Iowa where if you work hard and get a good education, you have a good life,” Finkenauer said. “We’ve got to keep fighting and I hope you join me, whether that be in the statehouse or maybe the U.S. House.”

Iowa’s 1st District covers 20 northeast Iowa counties and includes Cedar Rapids and Waterloo as well as Dubuque. Democrats have an advantage in voter registrations in the district, but have struggled there over the last several years.