Iowa Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver has been diagnosed with a brain tumor and is receiving radiation therapy, he announced in a news release Friday.
Whitver, a Republican from Grimes, intends to remain in his Senate leadership position while he receives the treatment.
In a statement, he said the diagnosis came after the 2024 legislative session concluded April 20.
"My physicians and care team have implemented a treatment plan and I have begun radiation therapy," he said. "I am responding well to the initial treatments and am grateful for my medical team."
Whitver, 43, was elected to the Iowa Senate in 2010, became its president in 2016 and has led Senate Republicans as the majority leader since 2018. He has overseen several successful election cycles for Senate Republicans, and the party holds a 34-seat supermajority, their largest majority since 1970.
He is one of the top Republicans in the state and has been talked about as a candidate who could someday run for higher office.
"I am leading Senate Republicans through this election cycle in the same way I have since becoming leader in 2018," Whitver said in the statement. "Our Senate Republican team is full of capable and accomplished people and I am grateful for the trust and support of the Senate Republican caucus. I am confident Senate Republicans will be as successful this November as we have been the last several election cycles."
Whitver represents Iowa Senate District 23, which includes Grimes and parts of rural Polk and Dallas counties. He is an attorney and business owner. He holds degrees from Iowa State University and Drake University Law School.
While at Iowa State, Whitver was a three-year starter for the Cyclones football team as a wide receiver. He and his wife, Rachel, have three children.
"I appreciate the kind words and prayers my family and I have received," he said. "We ask for continued prayer and support as we continue this treatment."
Under Whitver's leadership, Senate Republicans have pursued a conservative agenda that includes multiple rounds of tax cuts. GOP senators have been champions for Gov. Kim Reynolds' agenda, including providing families with taxpayer-funded scholarships to pay private school costs, restricting abortion, reorganizing state government agencies and overhauling Iowa's Area Education Agencies.
Whitver, a Republican from Grimes, intends to remain in his Senate leadership position while he receives the treatment.
In a statement, he said the diagnosis came after the 2024 legislative session concluded April 20.
"My physicians and care team have implemented a treatment plan and I have begun radiation therapy," he said. "I am responding well to the initial treatments and am grateful for my medical team."
Whitver, 43, was elected to the Iowa Senate in 2010, became its president in 2016 and has led Senate Republicans as the majority leader since 2018. He has overseen several successful election cycles for Senate Republicans, and the party holds a 34-seat supermajority, their largest majority since 1970.
He is one of the top Republicans in the state and has been talked about as a candidate who could someday run for higher office.
"I am leading Senate Republicans through this election cycle in the same way I have since becoming leader in 2018," Whitver said in the statement. "Our Senate Republican team is full of capable and accomplished people and I am grateful for the trust and support of the Senate Republican caucus. I am confident Senate Republicans will be as successful this November as we have been the last several election cycles."
Whitver represents Iowa Senate District 23, which includes Grimes and parts of rural Polk and Dallas counties. He is an attorney and business owner. He holds degrees from Iowa State University and Drake University Law School.
While at Iowa State, Whitver was a three-year starter for the Cyclones football team as a wide receiver. He and his wife, Rachel, have three children.
"I appreciate the kind words and prayers my family and I have received," he said. "We ask for continued prayer and support as we continue this treatment."
Under Whitver's leadership, Senate Republicans have pursued a conservative agenda that includes multiple rounds of tax cuts. GOP senators have been champions for Gov. Kim Reynolds' agenda, including providing families with taxpayer-funded scholarships to pay private school costs, restricting abortion, reorganizing state government agencies and overhauling Iowa's Area Education Agencies.
Republican Jack Whitver, Iowa Senate majority leader, undergoing treatment for brain tumor
Whitver, a Republican from Grimes, intends to remain in his position as Senate majority leader while he receives treatment for a brain tumor.
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