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Andy is a husband, father, grandfather and retired attorney from Jones County. Andy and his wife, Connie, have been married for 40 years.  They live on an acreage on the edge of Anamosa, where Andy attends the First Congregational United Church of Christ, and calls square dances with his band, the Scotch Grove Pioneers.  In his spare time, Andy enjoys gardening and taking care of the couple’s property; reading about history, politics and culture; hiking; and playing music at home and for community functions. Andy and Connie are the parents of one son and three daughters, and have three young granddaughters.

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Andy served 28 years in the House and Senate, and was first elected in 1978. He was Senate Judiciary Committee chairman and president pro tempore when he left in 2002. He went on to serve on the Jones County Board of Supervisors. After retiring from a 35-year law practice, he ran for and was elected to the Iowa House in 2016. He was reelected in 2018, before being defeated by Steven Bradley in 2020.

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Andy was the longest serving Republican in the state legislature, until he made the decision to speak out against Donald Trump and join the Democratic caucus.  He was led to this decision by his deep concerns about the direction of the Republican Party under the leadership of Donald Trump, as well as his own opposition to several notable Republican legislative initiatives since he had returned to the legislature in 2016.