DES MOINES, Iowa – State Senator Zach Whiting, R-Spirit Lake, announced he would resign from the Iowa Senate effective at noon on Saturday. He accepted a job with a conservative, free market think tank, Texas Public Policy Foundation, located in Austin, Texas.
Whiting, 33, represented Iowa Senate District 1 that includes Lyon, Osceola, Dickinson, Clay, and Palo Alto counties in northwest Iowa.
He is an assistant majority leader and chairs the Labor and Business Relations Committee. His committee work also includes the Commerce, Judiciary, Rules and Administration, and Ways and Means committees. In addition, he is the vice chair of the Transportation, Infrastructure, and Capital Appropriations Subcommittee and vice chair of the Joint Administrative Rules Review Committee.
Whiting also served on the State Government Committee for two years.
“Serving the people of Senate District 1 has been an honor and privilege,” he said. “I am forever grateful for their overwhelming support for me and our strong conservative agenda in the Iowa Senate. I am proud of the votes I have taken to cut taxes, spend within our means, and expand freedom and opportunity for all Iowans.”
“This is a professional opportunity I cannot pass up. I am very excited to join the great team at the Texas Public Policy Foundation and continue to advocate for strong conservative policies,” Whiting added.
He worked as a regional director for former Republican U.S. Rep. Steve King of Kiron until King lost the Republican primary in 2020 to current U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra of Hull.
Whiting was elected in 2018 after winning a three-way Republican primary and then ran uncontested in the general election.
After redistricting, he was placed in the newly drawn Iowa Senate District 5 that includes Dickison, Palo Alto, Emmet, Kossuth, and Winnebago counties and parts of northern Clay County.
Gov. Kim Reynolds is expected to announce a special election early next week, and state law requires forty days’ notice before a special election can be held on a Tuesday. Therefore, the earliest the special election can be held is December 14.
Whoever is elected will need to run for re-election in 2024 either in the new Iowa Senate District 5 or Iowa Senate Districts 2 or 3, depending on where the incumbent then lives in the current district.
