Chris Cournoyer was sworn in as Iowa’s new lieutenant governor Monday shortly after Gov. Kim Reynolds announced her appointment.
“She’s someone that Iowans can trust to serve as governor if I were ever unable to,” Reynolds said. “I have complete confidence in her character, her judgment and her ability.”
Cournoyer is a state senator from LeClaire and is the owner of a web design and development business. She is also an advocate for STEM education, as well as a substitute teacher and a former school board president.
Reynolds said Cournoyer’s wide-ranging expertise with technology, artificial intelligence, education and business is “a major asset.” She said she loves that Cournoyer is a “doer” who wants to make a difference.
“Her first instinct isn’t just to wonder why something isn’t working right, or to complain,” Reynolds said. “She takes responsibility, she gets her hands dirty and she does the work. And the people of Iowa couldn’t ask for more in a lieutenant governor, and neither can I.”
Reynolds said those qualities, especially her background in tech, make Cournoyer “ideally suited” to be a member of her team and to support her policy priorities.
Cournoyer replaced former Lt. Gov. Adam Gregg, who resigned in early September to become the president and CEO of the Iowa Bankers Association.
After taking the oath of office, Cournoyer said it was an honor “and somewhat surreal” to become the lieutenant governor.
“I never planned on entering public office, let alone imagined that I would ever be second in line to Iowa’s succession,” she said. “In other words, this is a humbling responsibility for me, and Iowans can be confident that I will always approach it with the seriousness that it deserves.”
I never planned on entering public office, let alone imagined that I would ever be second in line to Iowa’s succession.Chris Cournoyer, Iowa's next lieutenant governor
Cournoyer was first elected to the Iowa Senate in 2018. But she said she first met Reynolds in 2015, when she was lieutenant governor and spoke at luncheon to support girls in STEM. Cournoyer said that was a preview of Reynolds’ “energy and creativity and courage” to make her vision for education a reality.
“This results-oriented approach to work and service is inspiring to me, in part because it mirrors my own,” she said. “Whether I’m programming software in the private sector, or in a classroom with students or in a committee room crafting legislation, I’m there to do a job. The same is true in the role I’m taking today, which involved advancing the governor’s agenda in any way I possible can.”
Cournoyer said she has been a “computer nerd” since the 1980s. According to the governor’s office, she got a bachelor’s degree in computer science and was a senior technology consultant at Anderson Consulting, which later became Accenture. After that, she became an independent website designer and developer.
She chaired the Senate Technology Committee and wrote a bill to protect online consumer data.
Cournoyer is a member of the Governor’s STEM Advisory Council and was named an “Iowa Woman of Innovation — STEM Champion” by the Technology Association of Iowa. She also teaches robotics and coding, and has four children.
She said she has seen how STEM and work-based learning can put students on a path for long-term success.
“Taken together, my experience has repeatedly taught me the amazing potential of technology to transform legacy systems, grow Iowa’s economy and empower students,” she said. “This vision has always been at the heart of Gov. Reynolds’ agenda, and I couldn’t be more excited to join her team and do my part to implement it on behalf of Iowans.”
Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver congratulated Cournoyer in a statement, saying she has proven herself to be “a smart, capable conservative.” He said she was a leading advocate for the expansion of gun rights, protections for law enforcement, income tax cuts and other Senate GOP priorities.
“She will be missed, but I am happy for her and I look forward to watching her succeed in her new role as lieutenant governor,” Whitver said.
A special election is needed to fill Cournoyer’s seat in the Iowa Senate.
