Iowa Senate GOP leader Jack Whitver to move, seek reelection in more rural district

Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver will move from Ankeny and seek reelection in a more rural, conservative district, he announced Monday.

Whitver is the top Republican in the Iowa Senate, where his party holds a 32-18 majority.

Under the new redistricting boundaries that the Iowa Legislature and Gov. Kim Reynolds approved this fall, Whitver's current address would put him in the new Ankeny-based Senate District 21. But, in a news release announcing his intention to run for another term, Whitver said he would seek reelection in Senate District 23, which includes most of rural Polk County and parts of rural northeast Dallas County.

Senate Republican spokesperson Caleb Hunter confirmed Whitver will move from his Ankeny home to run in the new district, but did not say where Whitver will live. Iowa Code requires state legislators to live in their district for at least 60 days prior to the general election.

Previously: Why Polk County will be a battleground in next year's fight for the Iowa House

"We kept our promises on funding education with stable, reliable increases, supported law enforcement with bold reforms, and rewarded work and investment," Whitver said in a statement. "As majority leader in the Iowa Senate, I am proud of the work we have done, but we still have much left to do. With a record budget surplus, it’s time to continue providing more tax relief for Iowans and their families, and give that money back to them with real, permanent tax cuts."

Whitver currently represents Senate District 19, which includes Ankeny, parts of the north side of Des Moines and much of rural northern Polk County. Because of Ankeny's population growth, the new Ankeny-based district sheds the rural areas that Senate District 19 currently includes.

Iowa Democrats have already described Whitver's Ankeny-based Senate seat as one of their top targets for 2022 as suburbs in the Des Moines metro area have trended away from Republicans to become more competitive.

Democratic President Joe Biden carried the new Ankeny-based Senate District 21 with 50.3% of the vote in 2020, according to an analysis by Iowa Senate Democrats. In Senate District 23, Biden won only 43.3% of the vote.

More: Iowa is done with state redistricting. Now it's decision time for incumbents.

Sen. Zach Nunn, R-Bondurant, who lives in Senate District 23, is running for Congress rather than seeking reelection.

Andy Suchorski, executive director of the Iowa Senate Democrats' Majority Fund, said Whitver is fleeing his district for a safer seat.

"This is a clear indication that Republicans are extremely nervous about the 2022 elections," Suchorski said in a statement. "Jack Whitver, who has publicly declared many times that Republicans are not losing suburban voters, is now moving out of his suburb because he knows he can’t win."

Republicans have repeatedly said they are confident in their chances of competing in the state's suburbs. Rep. Mike Bousselot, R-Ankeny, won a hotly-contested special election this fall in a district that includes much of the territory Whitver would have run in had he stayed in Senate District 21.

"We won the suburbs and those traditional Democrat areas," Whitver said Nov. 12 at the Polk County GOP Lincoln Dinner, referencing Bousselot's election and another special Iowa House election in Newton. "There's not a path for them as long as we keep doing what we're doing on elections, but more importantly, to keep doing what we're doing on policy and keeping the promises that we make."

Whitver was elected to the Iowa Senate in a 2011 special election and won full terms in 2014 and 2018. He has served as majority leader since 2018.

More: Iowa's redistricting process survives another decade, tested yet intact

Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email at sgrubermil@registermedia.com or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on Twitter at @sgrubermiller.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa Senate Republican Jack Whitver to seek reelection in new district