Democrat Iowa state Rep. Lindsay James, who is running for the state’s second congressional district, showed that she wasn’t serious when she claimed she was willing to speak with anyone about her policy stances.
During a podcast interview, she discussed her early days serving in the Iowa legislature. During one of her first floor speeches, she called out Amerigroup for denying healthcare services to a constituent after Medicaid was privatized.
After her speech, she received an invitation to meet with a lobbyist for the company outside the chamber. She agreed to the meeting “because I will speak to anyone who wants to talk to me” and “I’ll work with anyone who wants to work with me because this is about getting the work done and doing right by our neighbors.”
Yet, when she was confronted by a constituent over her failure to back legislation that would crack down on violent criminals, she hid behind her campaign staffers.
“Lindsey, why did you vote to make it easier for violent repeat offenders to get bail?” the individual asked as she walked across a street into a shop. “Any answer to that question, Lindsey?”
This wasn’t the first time James fled from questioning constituents. She did the same during another confrontation as she walked to a campaign event.
YIKES: Lindsay James RUNS from basic question about her record with the worst cover story possible!
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) August 13, 2026
"Why did you vote to make it easier for men to beat their wives?"
Instead of answering, she walks into a nearly empty room and says "Hi everyone! There's a GREAT crew!"
It's… pic.twitter.com/gdkWJGZUgu
Iowa Republicans advanced a measure in June that sets limits on pre-trial bail bonds, adjusts bond levels for inflation and prohibits “promise to appear” releases for those facing violent or drug charges.
The bill requires judges to provide written justification if they deviate from uniform bond schedules and restricts lower bail or pretrial release without valid reasoning on several offenses.
Yet, despite touting her strong work ethic, James doesn’t seem to be too engaged when it comes to doing her job, having missed over half of her floor votes over the past year, according to Fox News:
Lindsay James, a state legislator and Democratic candidate for Congress in Iowa, missed over half of her votes in the state’s House of Representatives this past year, records show.
In 2026, James missed 177 of 342 votes, according to the legislature’s records, accounting for 51.7% of the whole.
The absences clash with assurances James made about how her campaign might impact her legislative duties and has opened her up to Republican-led criticisms that she has prioritized her potential role instead of the one she has now.
National Republican Congressional Committee spokeswoman Emily Tuttle told Townhall, “No-show Lindsay James can’t defend her record, so now she's literally hiding from Iowans.”