Jeff A. Kaufmann (born 9 January 1963) is a former Iowa State Representative from the 79th District. He served in the
Iowa House of Representatives
The Iowa House of Representatives is the lower house of the Iowa General Assembly, the upper house being the Iowa Senate. There are 100 seats in the Iowa House of Representatives, representing 100 single-member districts across the state, formed ...
from 2004 until his retirement in 2013.
He served in House leadership for six years, serving as the assistant
minority leader and speaker pro tem.
Education
Kauffman obtained his BA, MA, and Ph.D from the
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...
.
Career

Outside politics, Kaufmann is a seventh generation livestock farmer, as well as a professor of history and government at
Muscatine Community College
Muscatine Community College (MCC) is a Public college, public community college in Muscatine, Iowa. Founded in 1929, MCC is the oldest college in the Eastern Iowa Community Colleges that also includes Clinton Community College, Iowa, Clinton Com ...
, where he has taught courses since 1990.
Kaufmann won his first election to the
Iowa House of Representatives
The Iowa House of Representatives is the lower house of the Iowa General Assembly, the upper house being the Iowa Senate. There are 100 seats in the Iowa House of Representatives, representing 100 single-member districts across the state, formed ...
by just over 1,000 votes, and was re-elected three times. In 2006, he was reelected with 6,311 votes (62%), defeating
Democratic opponent Clara Oleson. In 2008, Kaufmann collected 9,456 votes, easily maintaining his seat. Democrat Rebecca Spears dropped out of the race before election day.
In the Iowa House, Kaufmann was a member of the Administration and Rules committee; the Education committee; the State Government committee; the Ways and Means committee; and the Local Government committee, where he was the
ranking member
In United States politics, a ranking member is the most senior member of a congressional or state legislative committee from the minority party. On many committees the ranking minority member, along with the Chair, serve as ''ex officio'' members ...
. Kaufmann authored a key anti-eminent domain bill; the Legislature
overrode a veto by Democratic Governor Tom Vilsack which was the only override of a Governor's veto in half a century. As a member of the House leadership team, Kaufmann played a key role in recruiting, fundraising, and campaigning for Republican candidate.
In 2014, Kaufmann became chairman of the
Republican Party of Iowa
The Republican Party of Iowa (RPI) is the affiliate of the Republican Party (United States), United States Republican Party in Iowa. The State Central Committee is chaired by Jeff Kaufmann. The RPI operates the Republican side of the Iowa caucu ...
. During his tenure, the party enjoyed major successes on the local, state, and federal levels. In his time as chair, the winning control of both chambers of the legislature and the governorship for the first time in almost twenty years. On the federal level, Republicans captured five of six federal offices, while delivering Iowa to the Republican presidential nominee for the first time since 2004.
His previous political experience includes serving as a trustee for
Sugar Creek Township, as president of the Wilton School Board, and he currently serves as a Cedar County supervisor.
Personal life
Kaufmann is married to his wife of 36 years, Vicki. Together, they have three sons and one grandson:
Bobby
Bobby or Bobbie may refer to:
People
*Bobby (given name), a list of names
* Bobby (surname), a list of surnames
* Bobby (actress), from Bangladesh
* Bobby (rapper) (born 1995), from South Korea
* Bobby (screenwriter) (born 1983), Indian screenwrit ...
(now a state representative),
Jacob (a middle school science teacher, coach, and father to Oliver), and John (the former chairman of the Iowa Federation of College Republicans).
References
External links
Representative Jeff Kaufmann''official Iowa General Assembly site''
*
Profileat ''Iowa House Republicans''
*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaufmann, Jeff
1963 births
Living people
Republican Party members of the Iowa House of Representatives
People from Wilton, Iowa
Place of birth missing (living people)
State political party chairs of Iowa
University of Iowa alumni
21st-century members of the Iowa General Assembly