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Jack Whitver
American politician and former football player From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Jack Andrew Whitver[2] (born September 4, 1980) is an American businessman and politician, who is currently the Iowa State Senator for the 23rd District. Since 2018 he has served as Senate Majority Leader.
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Early life
Whitver was born in Knoxville in 1980.[1]
He graduated from Grinnell Highschool in 1999.[3] He attended Iowa State University and received his BS in exercise science in 2003 and his Masters in 2003.[1] He played college football for Iowa State, starting at wide receiver.[4] He attended Drake Law School for his Juris Doctor starting in 2009 and graduating in 2012.[1] In 2010, he was named to the Drake Law Review.[1]
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Business career
Whitver founded Acceleration Iowa in 2004, in Urbandale, with business partner Geoff Jensen.[1][5][6] They added new locations in 2007, in Waukee,[6] and 2013, in Ankeny.[7] Acceleration Iowa is a sports training business, which develops speed, quickness and overall athletic ability for young athletes.[5]
In 2012, Whitver bought CrossFit Des Moines and CrossFit Waukee and opened North Ankeny CrossFit.[3][8]
Whitver was an assistant coach (wide receivers and offensive coordinator) for the Iowa Barnstormers of the Arena Football League from 2008 to 2011.[1]
Whitver is also an attorney with the Des Moines law firm Whitaker Hagenow & Gustoff starting in 2013.[3][8]
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Political career
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Whitver ran in the 2011 Special Election for District 35 due to Larry Noble resigning to become the Commissioner of the Iowa Department of Public Safety. He ran against John Calhoun and was elected to the Iowa State Senate on January 18, 2011.[9] District 35 covered Ankeny, Johnston, Grimes, Polk City and the entire northern part of Polk County.
Whitver was sworn into the Iowa Senate on January 24, 2011, and was named to the Judiciary, Economic Growth and Human Resource committees.[10]
After the redistricting of 2012, Whitver began representing District 19 in the State Senate, which covered Ankeny, Alleman, Saylor Township, and a small part of Des Moines.
In 2013 Whitver was named Ranking Member of the Appropriations Committee as well as serving on the Economic Growth, Ethics, Human Resource, Judiciary and State Government committees.[11]
In 2014, he ran against Brett H. Nelson, another Republican, in both the primary and general election. He beat Nelson both times and was re-elected to his second term.[12][13]
In 2015, Whitver became the Minority Whip[14] and was named member of the Government Oversight, Judiciary, Labor and Business Relations, Rules and Administration and State Government committees.[15]
On January 9, 2017, Senator Bill Dix nominated Whitver to be President of the Senate.[16] He was elected unanimously and sworn in by Iowa Chief Justice Mark S. Cady.[16] He was named as Vice Chair of the Rules and Administration Committee.[17]
In 2018, he ran against Brett H. Nelson, again, in the primary and won.[18] He ran against Amber Gustafson and was re-elected to his third term.[19] He was named as Vice Chair of the Rules and Administration Committee and as a member of the Appropriations Committee.[20] He served until March 15, 2018 as President of the Senate and then became the Majority Leader.[21][22]
On January 19, 2019, his children recited the Pledge of Allegiance to start the session.[23] He was named as Chair of the Rules and Administration Committee.[24][25]
After redistricting in 2022, Whitver ran to represent District 23. He ran unopposed in the Republican primary, winning 3,629 votes.[26] He then ran against Matt Pries and won his fourth term.[27]
He is currently, as of August 2025, the Majority Leader of the Senate and Chair of the Rules and Administration Committee.[28]
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Personal life
He married to Rachel Anne Lea in May 2007,[2] and they have three children.[1] They attend Lutheran Church of Hope in West Des Moines.[1] They resided in Ankeny until 2023 when they moved to Grimes.[1]
In May 2024, Whitver announced that he was diagnosed with a brain tumor, a month prior, and is responding well to radiation treatment.[29] He also plans on remaining as the Majority Leader.[29]
Electoral history
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References
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