Keith Soko

Meet the Candidate

Meet Dr. Keith Soko

Educator · Advocate · Community Leader

Dr. Keith Soko is running for the Iowa House of Representatives in District 93, which includes parts of Bettendorf and LeClaire, Pleasant Valley, Riverdale and Panorama Park. He is challenging the Republican incumbent.

When Dr. Soko told friends about his decision to run, one of them jokingly asked what his campaign slogan would be—perhaps “Stop the Madness”? While he admits that might make a good slogan, his campaign is about something deeper. Since the rise of Donald Trump, Dr. Soko argues, the Republican Party has waged a continuous assault on human rights and systematically weakened government institutions from within. In his view, the Iowa Republican Party has followed suit, attempting to replicate destructive national policies.

According to Dr. Soko, Iowa Republicans have written and advanced numerous bills—many now law—that attack women’s health care and voting rights, undermine immigrant and transgender rights, and threaten public education and rural health care across the state. He calls these “Fox News Sound Bite Bills,” crafted from a worldview built on misinformation. “We cannot have a just society built on lies,” he emphasizes. “We must adhere to facts and to modern science.”

Dr. Soko was born and raised on the south side of Milwaukee, Wisconsin—a middle-class, blue-collar community that valued fairness and hard work. He attended Thomas More High School, where his thinking was shaped by the civil rights and women’s movements of the 1960s and 1970s, and by the national optimism that propelled Americans to the moon. He holds a Ph.D. in Religious Studies and Ethics from Marquette University, an M.A. in Religious Studies from Mount St. Mary’s University in Los Angeles, and a B.A. in Religious Studies and Education from Marquette.

Though his academic background is in religious studies, he makes clear that he supports America’s principle of church-state separation, noting that history has shown the dangers of merging spiritual and governmental authority. “Religious freedom means everyone can believe—or not believe—as they choose,” he explains. “The government should not promote any one faith.” He argues that today’s Republican Party is abandoning that principle by promoting “white Christian nationalism”.

Before retiring, Dr. Soko served 19 years as a professor at St. Ambrose University in Davenport, teaching courses such as “Social Justice in Christianity,” “Social Justice in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam,” “Medical Ethics,” and “Moral Issues.” He has also taught at the high school level and served in parish ministries in Milwaukee, Los Angeles, and Toledo, Ohio.

Dr. Soko has lived in Bettendorf for 22 years with his wife, Jane—a music teacher and band director to whom he has been married for 41 years. Their three adult children, who grew up in Bettendorf, were active in music, sports, and community programs. He also coached in the Bettendorf Pleasant Valley youth baseball league and is a member of One Human Family QCA, a local organization promoting social justice and human rights. He has frequently attended and spoken at rallies throughout the Quad Cities.

Outside of academia and activism, Dr. Soko is a lifelong musician—a singer-songwriter who has performed throughout the Quad Cities. In earlier decades, he fronted rock bands in Milwaukee and Los Angeles, released CDs, and even played at Doug Weston’s legendary Troubadour club in West Hollywood. He and Jane share their home with their dog, Han Soko.

Proudly identifying as a Democrat, Dr. Soko believes the current Republican administration in Iowa has lost sight of the values that once defined the state. He frequently challenges the notion that business leaders must automatically support Republicans, pointing to Iowa’s current ranking—49th among all states for economic growth—as evidence of failed leadership. “That’s not good business,” he emphasizes. “That’s neglect from a party that doesn’t govern.” His campaign calls on Iowans to send a clear message: vote Democrat and help rebuild an Iowa that protects human rights and works for everyone.