Mike Naig (born March 2, 1978) is an American politician in the state of

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

. A Republican, he is the current Iowa secretary of agriculture. He became the deputy secretary of agriculture in September 2013. After the resignation of Bill Northey,

Kim Reynolds Kimberly Kay Reynolds (née Strawn, August 4, 1959) is an American politician from Iowa. A Republican, Reynolds has served since 2017 as the 43rd governor of Iowa. She is the first female governor in Iowa history. Reynolds was elected Clarke ...

appointed Naig to succeed him in March 2018. Naig defeated Tim Gannon in the November 2018 election.

Early life

Naig was born on March 2, 1978. He grew up on a family farm near

Cylinder, Iowa Cylinder is a city in Palo Alto County, Iowa, Palo Alto County, Iowa, United States. The population was 87 at the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History The town began in 1885 with the construction of a large hay barn, and ...

. He graduated from Emmetsburg High School in 1996 and attended Buena Vista University, graduating in 2000 with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in biology and political science.

Political career

Naig spent 13 years working in the agriculture industry, serving in various trade organizations. In September 2013, he became the deputy secretary of agriculture for the state of Iowa, serving under then-Iowa agriculture secretary Bill Northey. He served in this role until March 2018, when Northey was appointed Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation at the

United States Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is an executive department of the United States federal government that aims to meet the needs of commercial farming and livestock food production, promotes agricultural trade and producti ...

, at which point governor

appointed Naig as Iowa secretary of agriculture to fill the vacancy left by Northey. Naig won election to a full term as Iowa secretary of agriculture in November 2018, defeating Democratic challenger Tim Gannon 50% to 47%. During the primary, he received 34.7 percent of the vote, beating fellow Republican Dan Zumbach but not receiving enough votes to automatically secure the party's nomination. In the election, Naig received the backing of the Farm Bureau as well as companies like

John Deere Deere & Company, Trade name, doing business as John Deere (), is an American corporation that manufactures agricultural machinery, heavy equipment, forestry machinery, diesel engines, drivetrains (axles, Transmission (mechanical device), transmi ...

and

Monsanto The Monsanto Company () was an American agrochemical and agricultural biotechnology corporation founded in 1901 and headquartered in Creve Coeur, Missouri. Monsanto's best-known product is Roundup, a glyphosate-based herbicide, developed ...

. In the 2022 election, Naig ran for reelection against Democrat John Norwood. He has often spoken in favor of

biofuel Biofuel is a fuel that is produced over a short time span from Biomass (energy), biomass, rather than by the very slow natural processes involved in the formation of fossil fuels such as oil. Biofuel can be produced from plants or from agricu ...

s to combat climate change, rather than switching to electric vehicles. Naig defeated Norwood.

Personal life

Naig and his wife, Jaime, have three sons.

Electoral History

References

External links

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Naig, Mike 1978 births 21st-century Iowa politicians Buena Vista University alumni Iowa Republicans Living people People from Palo Alto County, Iowa Secretaries of agriculture of Iowa