One of her priorities is public education - to make sure students in Iowa have the books, curriculum, and teachers they need.
"We used to be well-known as first, one of the first in the nation for excellent education. We slipped quite a bit during the last few years, so there's a constant battle to try to at least make public education better."
She also wants to help continue state government efforts to improve mental health treatment and services.
Another priority is housing.
"We had a great big issue with housing at the end of the year and we saw a lot of displacement. And so I'm going to be working on some, hopefully working on some legislation that will help out with that as well. We may not be able to change a lot of things but hopefully we'll get more people to understand their rights."
For the last ten years, Thede has represented parts of Bettendorf and Davenport from House District 93, but her new district, Number 94, is less urban and more rural. It stretches out to Eldridge and northern Scott County.
Next year will be a re-match between Thede and Republican Mike Vondran who owns a marketing agency in Davenport.