# Sami Scheetz > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Sami_Scheetz > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Sami_Scheetz.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sami_Scheetz > Source revision: 1333393055 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) **Sami Scheetz** (born 1996) is an American politician and union organizer who represented the [78th district](/source/Iowa's_78th_House_of_Representatives_district) of the [Iowa House of Representatives](/source/Iowa_House_of_Representatives) from 2023 to 2025, which consists of parts of southeastern [Cedar Rapids](/source/Cedar_Rapids) in [Linn County](/source/Linn_County,_Iowa). He is a member of the [Democratic Party](/source/Democratic_Party_(United_States)) and is the first [Arab American](/source/Arab_American) to serve in the [Iowa General Assembly](/source/Iowa_General_Assembly).[2][3] ## Early life and education Scheetz was born on April 30, 1996, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where he was raised. His mother, a teacher, immigrated to the United States from [Damascus](/source/Damascus), Syria,[4] while his father is a lawyer.[5] He graduated from [Washington High School](/source/Washington_High_School_(Cedar_Rapids,_Iowa)) and received a [bachelor's degree](/source/Bachelor's_degree) in government and history from [Georgetown University](/source/Georgetown_University).[2] While attending college he worked for the [United States Department of State](/source/United_States_Department_of_State) in [Dubai](/source/Dubai).[6] ## Political career Scheetz announced his candidacy for the [39th district](/source/Iowa's_39th_Senate_district) of the [Iowa Senate](/source/Iowa_Senate) in June 2021. He withdrew weeks later upon [Liz Bennett](/source/Liz_Bennett)'s entrance into the race and instead ran for the 78th district of the Iowa House of Representatives.[7] He won the Democratic primaries unopposed on June 7, 2022, and defeated Republican Anne Fairchild in the general election on November 8 by over 3,700 votes, becoming the first Arab American to serve in the Iowa Legislature.[8] In 2024, Scheetz filed to run for reelection.[9] He won the Democratic primaries unopposed on June 4, 2024, and ran unopposed in the general election on November 5, 2024.[8] Scheetz served on the Commerce, Labor, State Government, and Ways and Means committees.[10] Scheetz has said that his priorities include education, healthcare, and workers' rights. He supports making [community college](/source/Community_college) free and legalizing marijuana. He does not support the use of [eminent domain](/source/Eminent_domain) for the construction of [CO2 pipelines](/source/Carbon_capture_and_storage). He is [pro-choice](/source/Pro-choice).[3][11] Scheetz previously worked with the [Bernie Sanders 2020 presidential campaign](/source/Bernie_Sanders_2020_presidential_campaign), [Fred Hubbell](/source/Fred_Hubbell)'s 2018 campaign for governor, and [Michael Franken](/source/Michael_Franken)'s 2022 campaign for US senator.[6][11] Scheetz resigned from the Iowa House in April 2025 after being appointed to the [Linn County](/source/Linn_County,_Iowa) Board of Supervisors.[12] ## Personal life Scheetz resides in Cedar Rapids with his wife and daughter.[1] He is a union organizer for Teamsters Local 238.[2] ## References 1. ["Sami Scheetz"](https://www.linncountyiowa.gov/directory.aspx?EID=310). Retrieved August 4, 2025. 1. ["State Representative - All Years"](https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislators/legislator/legislatorAllYears?personID=33988). *Iowa Legislature*. Retrieved May 26, 2024. 1. ["Rep. Sami Scheetz sworn in to Iowa House, first Arab American to serve in Iowa Legislature"](https://cbs2iowa.com/news/local/rep-sami-scheetz-sworn-in-to-iowa-house). *KGAN*. 10 January 2023. Retrieved May 26, 2024. 1. ["Iowa set to get its first-ever Arab American state representative"](https://www.arabnews.com/node/2052281/world). *Arab News*. 28 March 2022. Retrieved May 26, 2024. 1. Barton, Tom. ["Sami Scheetz is poised to make history"](https://www.thegazette.com/government-politics/sami-scheetz-is-poised-to-make-history/). *The Gazette*. Retrieved May 26, 2024. 1. Howell, Michael (17 June 2021). ["Sami Scheetz becomes second candidate to announce a bid for Senate District 33"](https://cbs2iowa.com/news/local/sami-scheetz-becomes-second-candidate-to-announce-a-bid-for-senate-district-33). *KGAN*. Retrieved May 26, 2024. 1. Lynch, James Q. ["Liz Bennett enters primary race in C.R. Senate 33, Sami Scheetz pivots to seeking House seat"](https://www.thegazette.com/campaigns-elections/liz-bennett-enters-primary-race-in-c-r-senate-33-sammi-scheetz-pivots-to-seeking-house-seat/). *The Gazette*. Retrieved May 26, 2024. 1. ["Sami Scheetz"](https://ballotpedia.org/Sami_Scheetz). *Ballotpedia*. Retrieved May 26, 2024. 1. ["primarycandidatelist.pdf"](https://sos.iowa.gov/elections/pdf/Candidates/primarycandidatelist.pdf). *Iowa Secretary of State*. Retrieved May 26, 2024. 1. ["State Representative"](https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislators/legislator?ga=90&personID=33988). *Iowa Legislature*. Retrieved May 26, 2024. 1. ["Q&A with House 78 candidate Sami Scheetz"](https://www.thegazette.com/candidates/qa-with-house-78-candidate-sami-scheetz/). *The Gazette*. Retrieved May 26, 2024. 1. ["Iowa Rep. Sami Scheetz resigns from House District 78 to serve as Linn County supervisor"](https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2025/04/01/sami-scheetz-resigns-from-iowa-house-district-78-seat-to-fill-linn-county-role/82761609007/). *[The Des Moines Register](/source/The_Des_Moines_Register)*. April 1, 2025. Retrieved April 2, 2025. --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Sami Scheetz](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sami_Scheetz) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sami_Scheetz?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.