Campaign Almanac: Iowa Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver to seek re-election in new district

DES MOINES — Iowa Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver made it official this week, filing nomination papers to seek re-election in a new district.

Whitver, R-Ankeny, will run in the new Senate District 23, which encompasses the rural, northern areas of Polk County outside the city of Ankeny.

While Ankeny has been trending in Democratic direction in recent elections, the registered voter makeup in the new District 23 leans more Republican.

The 41-year-old lawyer filed his nominating paperwork with the Iowa Secretary of State’s office on Thursday.

“For the last five years, I led an agenda to implement conservative budgets and pro-growth policies to make transformative tax relief a reality,” Whitver said in a statement.

“In this post-pandemic economy, the competition is fierce for jobs and workers. I will continue to ensure Iowa can compete for jobs and workers, making our state and its economy stronger than ever.”

Under his leadership, the Republican majority in the Iowa Senate has grown to 32 of the 50 members.

MILLER-MEEKS FILES PAPERS: Republican U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks filed her nomination papers with the Iowa Secretary of State on Thursday to run in Eastern Iowa’s newly drawn 1st Congressional District.

According to her campaign, she submitted 3,195 signatures.

The new 1st District spans 20 counties in southeast Iowa, including Cedar, Clinton, Iowa, Keokuk, Louisa, Muscatine, Scott and Washington counties. Sixteen of the 24 counties Miller-Meeks currently represents are in the new district.

Miller-Meeks submitted her longtime Ottumwa address on the nominating papers. The address is in the new 3rd District, currently represented by Rep. Cindy Axne, a Democrat.

Congressional representatives are not required to live in the district they represent, just within the state boundaries. Miller-Meeks has previously said she plans to move to the new district but would also keep her Ottumwa home.

DEM LEADERS ENDORSE DEJEAR: Democratic leaders in the Iowa Legislature, Senate Minority Leader Zach Wahls and House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst, have endorsed Deidre DeJear, the party’s likely candidate for governor.

DeJear, a Des Moines businesswoman, likely will challenge Republican incumbent Gov. Kim Reynolds this fall. No other Democrat is actively campaigning for governor.

“Iowans are ready for a fresh start,” Konfrst said in a news release from the DeJear campaign. “We’re tired of politics and worried about our communities. We’re sick of division. We’re exhausted and sometimes it feels like we just can’t catch a break. And we’re ready for a new governor.”

Wahls said, “It's clear that after five years of a Kim Reynolds’ administration, we need new leadership. Iowans deserve a governor who will put them first every single day.”

Gazette-Lee Des Moines Bureau