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DES MOINES — Iowa House Democrats on Thursday chose Rep. Brian Meyer, a Democrat from Des Moines, to lead the caucus after minority leader Jennifer Konfrst steps down at the end of the 2025 legislative session to run for Congress.
Konfrst announced her candidacy earlier Thursday for Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District, seeking to take on Republican U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn, of Bondurant.
She will step down from the leadership post, but will continue to serve in the Iowa Legislature through the end of her term next year.
“Iowa House Democrats are united and will keep fighting to lower costs for Iowans. We remain focused on the priorities of Iowans, and I’m excited to begin my work leading Iowa House Democrats after the session adjourns,” Meyer said in a statement.
Meyer, 51, represents Iowa House District 29, which covers Southeast Des Moines. He was first elected to the Iowa House in 2012 and is serving his seventh term. He currently serves as the House Democratic Whip.
A Dubuque native, he joined the Iowa National Guard and resigned his commission to go to law school. An attorney at the Hope Law Firm in Des Moines, Meyer is a graduate of the University of Northern Iowa and Drake University Law School. He is a former Assistant Iowa Attorney General and a former Des Moines City Council member.
Speaking to reporters Thursday, Meyer said House Democrats will have a “different conversation with voters” leading up to the 2026 fall elections, one focused more on economic issues and less on social issues.
Meyer plans to start traveling the state this weekend to recruit Democrats to run for seats in the Iowa House.
“Focusing on some of the smaller communities where we’ve lost seats the last couple of years, the Marshalltowns of the world, the Newtons of the world, the smaller industrial towns,” Meyer said. “… We need to go to the voters and we need to talk about kitchen table issues … We are going to say to Iowans we are the better option when you go to vote in November of 2026.”
He said Democrats also will be more aggressive in offering alternatives to Republican legislation and policy proposals.
“At the end of the day, we are going to put what we do on the floor and put it out there to say to people, ‘We are offering an alternative.’ … And it’s going to be more than what you’ve seen in the past on major issues,” including tax cuts, Meyer said.
“At the end of the day, people are going to have to make a decision. This is a disaster” he said of the 2025 session and GOP budget proposals that call for using one-time surplus money for recurring expenses to cover revenue shortfalls driven in part by past income tax cuts.
“Iowans have to decide. Do you want to continue giving tax cuts to millionaires and giving away tax dollars to private schools? No property tax relief?” Meyer said. “We have these alternatives, and we will be proposing them as we move forward.”
A spokesperson for Republican House Speaker Pat Grassley did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“It’s been an honor to serve Iowans and my caucus as Iowa House Democratic Leader,” Konfrst said in a statement. “I’m excited for the new opportunities ahead to keep serving Iowans and look forward to working with Rep. Meyer through the transition when session adjourns.”
Republicans hold a 67-seat supermajority in the House while Democrats have a 33-seat minority.
Iowa lawmakers are in the final push of wrapping up the 2025 legislative session. Legislators’ daily per diems expired last week, but must still pass a state budget, and myriad significant policy proposals remain unresolved.
Iowa Senate Democratic Leader Janice Weiner, of Iowa City, said she looks forward to working closely with Meyer “as our caucuses continue to work together to move Iowa forward and focus on lowering costs for all Iowans.”
“I also want to express my gratitude to Rep. Konfrst for her years of service as House Democratic Leader,” Weiner said.
Comments: (319) 398-8499; tom.barton@thegazette.com
