Preceded by Tom Latham Political party Republican Alma mater Drake University | Nationality American Residence Van Meter, Iowa, U.S. Name David Young | |
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Born May 11, 1968 (age 56)
Van Meter, Iowa, U.S. ( 1968-05-11 ) | ||
David Young (born May 11, 1968) is an American politician who was elected to serve Iowa's 3rd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives elections, 2014.
Contents
Career
Young attended Drake University and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English. From 2006 to 2013, he served as the chief of staff to Iowa Republican senator Chuck Grassley. He was previously chief of staff to Kentucky senator Jim Bunning from 1998 to 2006.
Primary
Convention
The Republican nomination was decided by a convention after none of the six candidates reached the 35 percent threshold required to make the general election ballot. This was the second time in 50 years that a convention picked a nominee and the first time since 2002, when then-State Senator Steve King won a convention held in Iowa's 5th congressional district to decide the Republican nominee for Congress. A poll conducted by the conservative website Caffeinated Thoughts of 118 of the 513 delegates was held on June 9–10. David Young and Brad Zaun took 27% each, with Robert Cramer on 19%, Monte Shaw on 14%, Matt Schultz on 8% and Joe Grandanette on 3% with another 3% undecided. 34% chose Young as their second choice, with 17% choosing Cramer, Schultz or Zaun, 10% picking Shaw and 3% picking Grandanette with 8% undecided.
On June 21, in what was described as a "stunning upset", David Young won the nomination on the fifth ballot of the convention.
On July 4, Zaun voiced his disappointment and suggested he would leave the Republican Party, leading some to encourage him to run for the seat as an Independent. He had previously announced that he would introduce legislation to hold primary runoff elections instead of conventions. On July 10, Zaun announced that despite his frustrations, he would not leave the Republican Party or run as an Independent.
Tenure
Rep. Young was sworn into office on January 3, 2015.
Committee assignments
Personal life
Young is unmarried. He is a non-denominational Christian and lives in Van Meter.