Ken Carlson

Ken E. Carlson (born 1951) is an American politician, retired teacher and retired farmer who represented the 13th district of the Iowa House of Representatives from 2023 to 2025. Carlson's district included parts of southern Plymouth County, western Cherokee County, eastern Woodbury County and the whole of Monona County. He is a member of the Republican Party.

Early life Carlson was born in 1951 near Whiting, Iowa, where he was raised. He graduated from Whiting Senior High School and attended Buena Vista University. He was challenged in the Republican primaries on June 7, 2022, by Mark Peters, a farmer and truck driver, whom he defeated by over 300 votes, and defeated Libertarian candidate Amy Janowski in the general election on November 8 by over 8,400 votes.

Carlson served as vice chairman of the Natural Resources Committee, and was also a member of the Agriculture, Economic Growth and Technology, and Veterans Affairs committees.

Carlson endorsed Ron DeSantis for president in 2023. In 2024 he announced that he would not seek reelection.

Carlson has described himself as a constitutional conservative. He opposes abortion and supports the Second Amendment.

Personal life Carlson has a wife, Carolyn, and three adult children. He resides in Onawa, Iowa. He is a retired farmer and a former math and science public school teacher, having taught for 12 years. He is also an on-call preacher at the Onawa First Christian Church and is a member of the Monona County Farm Bureau, Iowa Corn Growers Association, Iowa Soybean Association and Western Iowa Experimental Farm.

Electoral history