Brenna Bird

Brenna Bird
Bird in 2024
33rd Attorney General of Iowa
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 3, 2023
GovernorKim Reynolds
Preceded byTom Miller
Personal details
BornBrenna Findley
1976 (age 49–50)
Dexter, Iowa, U.S.
PartyRepublican
SpouseBob Bird
EducationDrake University (BA)
University of Chicago (JD)
Signature

Brenna Bird (née Findley; born 1976)[1] is an American lawyer and politician who has served as Iowa Attorney General since 2023. She is a member of the Republican Party.

Early life and education

Bird grew up on a farm near Dexter, Iowa. She earned her bachelor's degree from Drake University and her J.D. degree from the University of Chicago Law School in 2001.[2]

Career

From 2003 to 2010, Bird worked for U.S. Representative Steve King, including serving as his chief of staff.

In the 2010 elections, Bird ran for Attorney General of Iowa. She lost to incumbent Tom Miller by 11 percent.[3] She considered running for the U.S. House of Representatives in the 2014 elections, but opted against running.[4]

Bird served as counsel to Governor Terry Branstad. She was "county attorney in Fremont County, Audubon County"[5] and became county attorney for Guthrie County, Iowa in 2018.[6] In 2019, after hearing "six weeks of evidence, including testimony from Branstad and others,"[7] a jury ruled that Branstad and Bird (then known as Brenna Findley) had discriminated against an employee in 2010-2011 because of his sexual orientation, and awarded him $1.5 million,[8] but the verdict was overturned by the Iowa Supreme Court in 2021.[7]

She ran against[9] Miller in the 2022 Iowa Attorney General election.[10] She narrowly defeated Miller, who had served ten four-year terms as attorney general.[11][12]

On April 9, 2023, Bird's office ordered a pause in the state's practice of paying for emergency contraception or abortions for rape victims.[13]

Bird's office also filed or joined more than a dozen multi-state lawsuits against the Biden administration in 2023 and at least a dozen more in 2024.[14]

Bird's office also joined a suit, Texas v. Becerra,[15] in the United States District Court Northern District Of Texas Lubbock Division asking the court to "vacate a federal rule prohibiting discrimination against disabled people in health care settings, [and] to declare a 1973 law known as Section 504 unconstitutional.[14][15]

On July 2, 2025, Bird confirmed that she is not running for governor and instead is running for re-election.[16]

Personal life

Bird lives with her husband, Bob Bird,[17] and their son on her family farm in southeastern Guthrie County.[18] Bird is a member of the All Saints Church.[19]

Electoral history

2010 Iowa Attorney General election[20]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Tom Miller (incumbent) 607,779 55.5%
Republican Brenna Findley 486,057 44.4%
Write-in 797 0.07%
Total votes 1,094,633 100.0%
Democratic hold
2022 Iowa Attorney General election[21]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Brenna Bird 611,432 50.8%
Democratic Tom Miller (incumbent) 590,890 49.1%
Write-in 801 0.07%
Total votes 1,203,123 100.00%
Republican gain from Democratic

References

  1. ^ "Where Brenna Bird & Tom Miller stand on key issues in Iowa attorney general race". The Des Moines Register. October 4, 2022.
  2. ^ Anderson, Alex (April 21, 2013). "Q & A with Brenna Findley '01, Counsel to IA Governor Terry Branstad". The Collegian. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
  3. ^ Gruber-Miller, Stephen (January 4, 2022). "Brenna Bird running for Iowa attorney general against Tom Miller". Des Moines Register. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
  4. ^ Jacobs, Jennifer (February 3, 2014). "GOP's Brenna Findley rules out run for Congress this year". Des Moines Register. Retrieved February 3, 2014.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  5. ^ DeFruscio, Myah (January 28, 2022). "Bird makes run for Iowa Attorney General". Atlantic News-Telegraph. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
  6. ^ "Meet Iowa attorney general candidates in midterm elections 2022". Des Moines Register. October 4, 2022. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
  7. ^ a b Foley, Ryan (June 30, 2021). "Court overturns gay bias verdict against ex-Iowa governor". Associated Press News. Retrieved June 7, 2023.
  8. ^ Sullivan, Kate (July 16, 2019). "Jury finds ex-Iowa governor discriminated against gay official". CNN. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
  9. ^ Lear, Bruce (September 24, 2022). "Brenna Bird's tv ad is over the top".
  10. ^ "Brenna Bird wins Iowa attorney general race over longtime AG Tom Miller". KCCI. November 8, 2022. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
  11. ^ Stern, Seth (November 9, 2022). "Longest-Ever Serving State Attorney General Defeated in Iowa". Bloomberg Law. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
  12. ^ Gruber-Miller, Stephen (November 8, 2022). "Brenna Bird topples incumbent Tom Miller in Iowa attorney general race". Des Moines Register. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
  13. ^ "Iowa won't pay for rape victims' abortions or contraceptives". Politico. Associated Press. April 9, 2023. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  14. ^ a b Belin, Laura (February 16, 2025). "Brenna Bird Hid The Ball On Major Disability Case. Now She's Lying About It". www.bleedingheartland.com. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
  15. ^ a b "UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT, NORTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS, LUBBOCK DIVISION" (PDF).
  16. ^ Pfannenstiel, Brianne (July 2, 2025). "Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird won't run for governor in 2026". Des Moines Register. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  17. ^ "About Attorney General Brenna Bird". iowaattorneygeneral.gov. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  18. ^ McIntosh, Sam (January 4, 2019). "Meet New Guthrie County Attorney Brenna Bird". Raccoon Valley Radio. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  19. ^ "About Attorney General Brenna Bird". www.iowaattorneygeneral.gov.
  20. ^ "Iowa Secretary of State General Election 2010 Canvass Summary Attorney General" (PDF). sos.iowa.gov. p. 11. Retrieved March 24, 2025.
  21. ^ "Iowa Secretary of State General Election 2022 Canvass Summary Attorney General" (PDF). sos.iowa.gov. pp. 64–73. Retrieved March 24, 2025.
allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brenna_Findley