If there is one thing the women’s caucus is about, it is about finding smart, progressive, enthusiastic women to be involved in Iowa politics. There isn’t likely a much better find than Meredith Rahn-Oakes, not a stranger to many of you.
Meredith dove into politics right out of high school at the age of 17 involving herself in the 2008 Obama campaign. No doubt that historic win and her role in making it happen hooked her for life. She went on to work in Georgia in the run-off election that year and then over the next decade during and after college, jumped in and out of involvement working as a field organizer for various individual campaigns, and as a consultant for the 2016 Democratic National Convention in her hometown of Philadelphia. She lived in 10 places in 10 years but has spent the last 4 and a half years in Iowa where she said, “I have met a lot of amazing people”.
It was after the election of Trump and her involvement in a Virginia state legislative campaign that Meredith knew her heart was in state politics. And so, she landed in Mason City, Iowa as the campaign manager for the successful but narrow re-election of State Senator Amanda Ragan, who she went on to clerk for in the legislative session after that election. Campaign organizing still had its pull on her when she took the position of Field Director for J.D. Scholten. “His campaign model was very interesting. I loved how committed he was to meeting people in small towns and how well his message connected with a wide range of folks,” Meredith said, noting that the uphill climb he faced was a daunting one requiring an outside the box approach.
With national attention and high hopes for flipping the Iowa House in 2020, Meredith was offered and accepted a job with the Iowa House to help 88 candidates over 100 districts get elected. “There was a lot of national attention in Iowa that year,” she said. “Twenty-five of those races were top targeted races that could help us flip the chamber.” Meredith worked there through the November election saying “It was the best job ever. We had incredible candidates, an extremely competent team of campaign workers and we creatively reimagined campaigning in the midst of a global pandemic. It was truly exciting, though the results were very disappointing.”
I found Meredith in her Iowa City home where she lives with her husband and continues her work at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics while completing her MBA. We talked about how radically red Iowa has become, how to change that, what the role of women in politics is, and what Meredith’s future is in Iowa politics. “I’m still very passionate about politics,” she said. “I’ve said I’m done many times, but I keep going back on some level.” She had just returned from knocking doors for a weekend in Atlanta for Raphael Warnock’s Senate runoff. Will she ever run for political office herself? “I am not ruling it out,” she said, explaining that after moving so much while trying to maintain healthcare coverage for herself, access to healthcare is a top priority for her.
What surprised me in my conversation with Meredith was that she didn’t seem discouraged. In fact, she is hopeful. “The base of support in Iowa has gotten smaller and smaller but we need to learn from successful candidates. We have amazing female candidates, but the electorate is so very red among white men under 50 that it is hard for them to do well,” she commented. And then she said to me, “Did you see that we have all female leaders in the Iowa House now? That’s amazing!” she said.
Meredith is amazing. Iowa is lucky to have her.