[2][3][4] The Republican nomination was decided by a convention after none of the six candidates reached the 35 percent threshold required to make the general election ballot.

[6] On June 21, 2014, in what was described by the Des Moines Register as a "stunning upset", Young won the nomination on the fifth ballot of the convention.

In the November 2018 general election, he was defeated by Democrat Cindy Axne of nearby West Des Moines.

“The people working hard every day in the military, for our federal government, should not be blamed for this.”[18] In February 2022, Young said that he was contesting the 28th district seat in the Iowa House of Representatives.

In May 2016, he voted to approve a measure aimed at upholding an executive order that bars discrimination against LGBT employees by federal contractors.

When the effort ended in March 2017 with the withdrawal of the GOP health-care legislation from further consideration, Young praised Trump and the party leaders for this action and called for everyone to join anew in “a thoughtful and deliberate process that takes the time and input to get this right to achieve accessible, affordable quality healthcare for every American.”[24] Young supported the second 2017 Republican effort to repeal Obamacare.

[25][26] The repeal bill that Young voted for would have made it possible for states to allow insurers to raise health care premiums for individuals with preexisting conditions who did not have continuous coverage.

[26] At the same time as he sought to repeal the Affordable Care Act, Young pushed for an amendment intended to assist those with preexisting conditions who saw their premiums rise; many health policy analysts have questioned whether it would have succeeded in doing so.

In April 2018, Young told an interviewer that while he agreed with President Trump's belief in the need for “regulatory relief and common-sense regulatory reform and tax relief,” he and many of his constituents believe that “tariffs are taxes,” and are therefore “going to hurt consumers, going to hurt employers.”[31][32] In January 2018, Young reiterated support for permanent legal status for so-called DREAMers, saying that he would vote for a measure giving them residency while also improving border security.

“I want to find a way for those people to be here legally and stay here without fear of deportation,” Young said, but added that he was “not quite there on citizenship” for immigrants covered by DACA.

[34] Young, a strong supporter of Israel, visited that country in August 2017 to meet with Israeli and Palestinian leaders and to tour the nation.

Young stated: “I look forward to further understanding the unique challenges the people of Israel, and the entire region, face as we work to pursue and achieve policies which will provide security and stability in a region where we have long prayed for peace.”[35] Young opposes using federal funds to pay for abortions.