Sarah Corkery announced on Tuesday she is running for Congress in Iowa’s 2nd District, which covers Linn County and northeast Iowa. Corkery, a Democrat, is the first challenger to enter the race against Rep. Ashley Hinson, the Republican who is in her second term in the U.S. House of Representatives.
“Ashley’s been in D.C. too long, and she has not voted in our best interests. But I will,” Corkery said in a video posted on social media. “To me it’s personal.”
“I’ve had breast cancer twice, and I met with Ashley during COVID, on a Zoom, to try to get her to be a co-sponsor of the Metastatic Breast Cancer Access to Care Act. Ashley said no. But I will say yes. Yes for Iowans. Yes for people who have paid into systems and deserve to get help when they need it.”
The Metastatic Breast Cancer Access to Care Act is a two-page-long bill that eliminates the 24-month waiting period for Medicare patients and the five-month waiting period for Social Security Disability Insurance recipients before their treatments for metastatic breast cancer are covered. It was first introduced in April 2021, but stalled in Congress and expired when the congressional term finished at the end of December 2022. It was reintroduced in the House of Representatives in January, and has so far attracted 217 co-sponsors.
Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks became a co-sponsor on Feb. 21, as did western Iowa Republican Rep. Randy Feenstra. Rep. Zach Nunn, the Republican who represents Iowa’s 3rd District, became a co-sponsor on March 27. Sen. Joni Ernst is one of the original co-sponsors of the Senate version of the bill, which was introduced on April 22.
Ernst, Miller-Meeks, Feenstra and Rep. Cindy Axne, the Democrat represented the 3rd District in 2021, were all co-sponsors of the 2021 version of the bill. It had a total of 240 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives. Hinson was not one of them.
After Corkey announced she was running, a spokesperson for Hinson told the Gazette that the former TV news anchor supports the bill and had plans to become a co-sponsor. Apparently prompted by the reporter’s inquiry, Hinson signed on as the bill’s 216th co-sponsor on Tuesday.
Corkery lives in Cedar Falls with her husband and their three children. Although she has long been active in her community, this is her first run for public office. Corkery has worked in marketing for the last 25 years, including eight years as vice president of marketing for Veridian Credit Union. Earlier this year, she and her husband Chris started Corkery & Corkery, a marketing service firm in Cedar Falls.
On her campaign site, Corkery lists among her top priorities creating a healthy environment, supporting economic equity for Black Iowans and members of other minority groups, standing up for LGBTQ rights, advocating for the rights of people with disabilities and helping those diagnosed with cancer.
“It’s time to take Iowa back,” Corkery said in her video. “This is not about Democrats versus Republicans anymore. This is about putting someone in Congress who represents Iowa values, and I believe that’s me.”
