Jessica Wiskus of Lisbon announced her campaign for State Senate in District 42, representing parts of Linn and Benton Counties. Jessica Wiskus will run as a Democrat. There is no incumbent State Senator in this district. She released the following statement:
“It was never my personal ambition to run for political office but fighting the carbon pipelines has made me realize how important it is to stand neighbor-to-neighbor and make sure that rural values are honored in Des Moines,” said Jessica Wiskus. “When a need arises, people in my community have always stood up and supported each other. That’s how our families have survived here for so many generations – we help each other, and we stand for something greater than just ourselves as individuals.”
The daughter of a farmer and a teacher from Lisbon, Wiskus graduated from the University of Iowa and continued her education at Yale University, where she earned a doctoral degree in music. She built her career at Duquesne University, a private Catholic university in Pittsburgh, and returned to Iowa in 2019 with her husband and daughter. She volunteers as a catechist and serves on the Social Justice Committee at her church, and she is a board member of the Southeast Linn Community Center in Lisbon. As a Master Gardener intern, she also contributes to garden-related projects that benefit local food production and pollinator habitat. Wiskus has also been organizing against the carbon pipeline proposed by Navigator CO2 Ventures after she received notice that her property was in the corridor.
“My parents and grandparents instilled in me traditions of helping out in my community,” Wiskus said. “It was really important for me to come back to the farm and raise my daughter here. I value the solid work ethic and the outstanding schools that make our small towns great places to raise a family.
“To me, this campaign isn’t just about a pipeline—it’s about the future of rural Iowa. I feel that the company’s actions failed to respect us—failed to respect our lives. They put the safety of our families and neighbors, the integrity of our land, and the vitality of our small towns at risk. The use of eminent domain to increase the profits of private corporations is governmental overreach. We need legislators who are on the side of hardworking Iowans, who respect the dignity and rights of all Iowans, and have a vision for our rural communities.”
To learn more about Jessica Wiskus and her campaign for State Senate, follow her on Twitter and Facebook.