Joe Mitchell (politician)

Mitchell was elected to the Iowa House of Representatives in the 2018 elections. He served as a House Assistant Leader and he served on the following committees: Administration and Rules, Commerce, Judiciary, State Government, Ways and Means, and the RIFF Budget Subcommittee.^[6]

In 2022, Mitchell lost to fellow state Representative Jeff Shipley in the Republican primary after redistricting placed both of their homes in the same district.^[7]

Following his defeat, Mitchell worked on President-elect Donald Trump's 2024 transition team. He then worked as Chief of Staff in the Federal Housing Finance Agency before being appointed as a regional administrator for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development of the Great Plains Region.^[8]

In September 2025, Mitchell announced that he would run for the U.S. House of Representatives in Iowa's 2nd congressional district, seeking to succeed Ashley Hinson, who is running for U.S. Senate.^[9]

Mitchell is the founder of Run Gen Z, a nonprofit with the mission to "prepare Generation Z leaders to take action, take charge and take control of the future by supporting the vision of the founders of this country and supporting conservative political values such as limited government, free market capitalism, individual responsibility and fiscal restraint."^[10]

Elliott Engen, the first Gen Z Republican elected to the Minnesota legislature, was inspired to run for office by Mitchell after a long night discussing policy in a hot tub.^[11]

Mitchell was friendly with Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, whom he first met in 2019. He has said he was profoundly affected by Kirk's assassination.^[12]

Mitchell owns and operates a real estate company based in Clear Lake that works to develop housing for rural communities.^[13]