Charley Thomson was born in Charles City, Iowa, in 1960.

He graduated from Charles City Community High School in 1978, earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Michigan in 1983, then obtained a Juris Doctor from the University of Iowa College of Law in 1987.

[1] Thomson practiced law, and lived in Charles City and Chicago.

[2] Thomson first ran for political office in 2020, losing to Craig Clark in the Republican Party primary for District 52 of the Iowa House of Representatives.

[3] He finished ahead of Jim Wright and Sean Galleger in the 2022 primary for House District 58,[4][5][6] and defeated Democratic Party candidate Dene Lundberg in the general election.