Grace Van Cleave has the know-how to help build a new Iowa Democratic majority.
MEET GRACE
Grace Van Cleave has the experience, passion, and energy needed to build a new Democratic majority in the Iowa Senate.
Grace Van Cleave and her husband, John, have called the Drake Neighborhood of Des Moines home for the past ten years, along with their rescue dachshund, Molly. Grace has lived in Des Moines for most of her adult life, including for seven years on the East Side.
Like many Iowans, Grace believes politics should be about showing up for your community, doing the work, and delivering results.
She’s already made a difference locally, leading an InvestDSM improvement grant project that brought in matching funds and helped make homeownership more affordable for her neighbors.
Grace knows firsthand the pressures families face when it comes to housing, health care, and everyday expenses, and she’s committed to fighting every day in the Senate to address the affordability crisis and lower costs for hardworking Iowa families.
Grace is running for Iowa Senate to start building a new Democratic majority, one that will fight for an Iowa we can all afford.
TWO DECADES OF EXPERIENCE
Grace Van Cleave is not new to politics, and she is not new to the hard work of building power where it counts. She is someone who has spent her entire professional life helping Democrats win elections, build durable organizations, and govern responsibly once the votes are counted.
Grace believes deeply that Iowa Democrats can come back—not just to compete, but to lead. And she knows what it takes to make that happen, because she has done the work, at every level, in every role, and often behind the scenes where success is quietly built.
For more than 20 years, Grace worked as a finance professional and political researcher for Democratic candidates and issue organizations across the country. She has helped elect governors, launch a startup presidential campaign, and worked on behalf of causes rooted in fairness, opportunity, and accountability. From Washington, D.C. to five different states—including right here in Iowa—Grace learned how campaigns succeed, how coalitions are built, and how governing majorities are sustained.
Early in her career, she worked as a research associate for the Democratic National Committee and EMILY’s List, sharpening the analytical skills that help campaigns stay grounded in facts rather than slogans. She went on to serve in senior finance roles for major national organizations, including America Votes, the Democratic Governors Association, and Americans Against Escalation in Iraq—roles that demanded discipline, strategic thinking, and trust.
Grace also worked directly on campaigns that shaped this state and this party. She served as a Deputy Finance Director - East on the Tom Vilsack for President campaign, served as Finance Director for Governor Chet Culver, and later as Chief of Staff on Governor Ned Lamont's campaign in Connecticut— experiences that gave her firsthand knowledge of what it means not just to win an election, but to govern effectively once you do.
At every step, Grace has believed the same thing: money may fuel campaigns, but people win them. The campaigns that succeed—and the movements that last—are built from the ground up, with respect for voters and attention to real life. That belief is why Grace decided to stop advising and start running.
