Des Moines, Iowa — Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver announced this (Friday) afternoon that he’s undergoing treatment for a brain tumor. Whitver, in a written statement, said he is remaining in the Iowa Senate and continuing in his role as majority leader.
In his statement, Whitver said he is responding well to radiation therapy. Whitver says he intends to lead Republicans through this election cycle in the same way he has since become leader in March of 2018. The 2022 election gave Republicans a 34-seat supermajority in the Iowa Senate. In his statement, Whitver said he appreciates the kind words and prayers he and his family have received. Whitver and his wife, Rachel, are the parents of three children.
Whitver, who is 43, was first elected to the Iowa Senate in a special election in January of 2011. Governor Reynolds calls Whitver a strong and capable leader and the governor says she admires and supports his decision to remain in the senate while undergoing treatment. Reynolds says she and her husband know this path well. Kevin Reynolds was diagnosed with lung cancer last fall and is undergoing treatment with what the governor has described as a breakthrough drug. Senate Democratic Leader Pam Jochum, a breast cancer survivor, says Whitver is a proven fighter, and if anyone is prepared to face the challenge ahead, it’s him.
