By O. Kay Henderson (Radio Iowa)
Republican state lawmakers have reelected Jack Whitver as Senate majority leader. Whitver, of Grimes, announced in mid-May, he was undergoing treatment for a brain tumor, but would remain in the Iowa Senate and continue in his role as the top Republican in the chamber.
Information released from the Senate says recent scans have shown that the tumor is shrinking and many of his symptoms have improved.
Whitver has been a state senator since 2011. He became Senate President in 2017, then Senate Republicans chose him to be their majority leader in March of 2018. This was his opening message:
“It’s easier to get to the top than stay at the top,” Whitver said in 2018, “but I want to challenge this body, the House, this governor, our state to continue to make the tough choices needed to keep us as the number one state in the nation.”
Whitver was a walk-on who wound up becoming a starting wide receiver for the Iowa State Cyclones. During an interview with Radio Iowa seven years ago, he compared that experience to being a lawmaker.
“To get anything done at the capitol, you have to be part of a team…so all the lessons that I learned playing football growing up, they apply a lot more than people would think to politics,” Whitver said. Whitver has been a driving force behind the tax cut packages that have cleared the legislature over the past few years. He’s an attorney who also earned an MBA.
“I consider myself an entrepreneur more than anything. I like to say I’m a businessman with a law degree,” Whitver said, with a laugh.
Whitver owns fitness clubs and a “Smoothie King” franchise in central Iowa. Whitver’s former Iowa State teammates and coaches, as well as current coach Matt Campbell have publicly expressed support for Whitver as he’s battled cancer.
“He’s going through a really hard battle right now,” Campbell said. “…It’s going to take all of us to rally around him.”
A number of people and a few other teams posted messages of support for Whitver on October 26th, as 26 was Whitver’s jersey number. Whitver was on the Cyclone football team from 1999 to 2003 and finished his college career with five touchdowns and 96 career receptions.
Also on Tuesday, Representative Pat Grassley of New Hartford was re-elected Speaker of the House, and Matt Windschitl of Missouri Valley remains House Majority Leader. Both first gained those positions in 2019. Senate Republicans also reelected Amy Sinclair as Senate President.
