Iowa Sen. Liz Mathis, D-Hiawatha, is running to represent Iowa’s 1st Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. 

In her announcement video released on Tuesday morning, Mathis said people in her community are concerned about the level of conflict in politics, the direction the country is headed, and if elected officials are putting Iowa first. 

“That’s why I want you to hear that I’ve decided to run for Congress,” she said. “It’s clear, Iowans want leaders who care about fairness and honesty, who want to make sure businesses and workers succeed, who want to see communities thrive so that our kids and grandkids inherit and even better Iowa. And that means putting service ahead of politics.”

Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, is currently serving her first term in Congress after beating out former Rep. Abby Finkenauer in the November 2020 election.

Last week, Finkenauer announced she is running for Sen. Chuck Grassley’s seat in the U.S. Senate. 

RELATED: Former U.S. Rep. Abby Finkenauer announces bid for U.S. Senate 

In their launch videos, both Finkenauer and Mathis criticized politicians who ignored or downplayed the January 6 attack on the Capitol. 

“It’s not the time to curry favor with other politicians, or climb the political ladder, or to turn a blind eye to the riots of January 6,” Mathis said. “The vote against curbing domestic violence against women or COVID relief for Iowa with families and businesses, the list goes on.” 

Mathis and Hinson both have a journalism background. Hinson worked as an on-air reporter for KCRG-TV in Cedar Rapids and Mathis was an anchor for KWWL and KCRG. 

Hinson shared a link to support her reelection twenty minutes after Mathis’s announcement on Twitter. 

“Liberal Liz Mathis has never met a tax increase she didn’t like,” Iowa GOP Chair Jeff Kaufmann said in a Tweet. “She even voted against the largest tax cut in Iowa history. #IA01 needs @hinsonashley fighting for us in Washington. Ashley is standing up to the radical agenda of Nancy Pelosi and Joe Biden.” 

As previously reported by The Daily Iowan, Mathis and Finkenauer both attended a Democratic fundraising event in Iowa City in early July, alongside gubernatorial candidate Rep. Ras Smith, D-Waterloo, and other Democratic elected officials. 

Mathis told the DI at that event that if she chose to run, affordable healthcare, education, and help for small businesses would be on her list of priorities.

“I know the state and the federal governments can work together to bridge some of those gaps. I would say for me there is a lot of work to do around medical, there is a lot of work to do around education… The third thing is small businesses. I think there should be more support at the state level and at the federal level for small businesses to flourish,” Mathis said. 

In a quote-Tweet of Mathis’ announcement, Finkenauer said, “I couldn’t be more excited about Iowa and how our ticket could shape up going into 2022. So much work left to do for families across Iowa and also for our democracy.”