Northwest Iowa — A northwest Iowa farmer who serves as Iowa’s Secretary of Agriculture has expressed an interest in becoming Iowa’s next Lieutenant Governor.
Spirit Lake farmer Bill Northey says he would be willing to serve as Kim Reynolds’ Lieutenant Governor, once she takes over as Governor replacing Governor Terry Branstad, who has been nominated by President-Elect Donald Trump to become Ambassador to China.
There’s no firm timeline yet for the transition of power, as there’s no date set for when Governor Terry Branstad will be confirmed for his new post as U.S. Ambassador to China. Reynolds says she has a list of individuals she’s considering to invite to be HER lieutenant governor. Northey issued a statement earlier this week, announcing he would NOT run for governor himself in 2018 and calling on Iowa Republicans to rally behind Reynolds. Northey says the “math certainly changed” with Branstad’s looming exit and, since it is well known in political circles that he’s been considering a run for governor, he wanted to make his intentions clear.
Northey is in the midst of his third term as the state’s ag secretary.
Northey says he’s “open” to leaving his post to become the state’s lieutenant governor, but Northey says there are “a lot of great folks” who could fill that role
