JEFF KAUFMANN
CHAIRMAN, REPUBLICAN PARTY OF IOWA

Chairman Jeff Kaufmann served in the Iowa House of Representatives from 2005 to 2013, including six years in leadership positions in the GOP caucus and two years as Speaker Pro Tem. During his tenure in the Iowa House, he developed a record as a fiscal conservative, Second Amendment defender and a tireless advocate of property rights. Kaufmann represented a competitive district and built a reputation as a consensus problem-solver and constituent advocate. During half of his time in the legislature, Democrats outnumbered Republicans in his district, and Kaufmann maintained working relationships across the aisle.

Kaufmann served eight years on the Ways and Means Committee, and he authored a key anti-eminent domain bill that culminated in a landmark conservative victory overriding a veto by former Democrat Gov. Tom Vilsack. As an Assistant Republican Leader and Speaker Pro Tem, Kaufmann worked with his colleagues to turn around the state’s fiscal house after financial mismanagement by the administration of former Democrat Gov. Chet Culver.

As a member of the House leadership team, Kaufmann engaged in candidate recruitment, raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for candidates and spoke at events across the state for more than 70 candidates. In 2010, Kaufmann was part of the campaign leadership team that helped elect 60 House Republicans to the chamber.

In 2014, Kaufmann took over the Iowa GOP and led the party to tremendous success on the local, state, and federal levels. In his time as the chair, the GOP won control of both chambers of the state legislature and the governorship for the first time in almost twenty years, and on the federal level, the GOP captured 5 of 6 federal offices while delivering Iowa to the GOP presidential candidate for the first time since 2004.

Kaufmann, 58, is a seventh-generation livestock farmer. He is a professor at Muscatine Community College, where he teaches history and government. Kaufmann has a 4.8 A+ score on ratemyprofessors.com. In 2012, Kaufmann was honored as Iowa’s faculty member of the year by the Iowa Association of Community College Trustees. He obtained his B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Iowa.

Prior to his legislative career, Kaufmann was a Township Trustee and president of the Wilton School Board. Currently, he is a member of the Cedar County Board of Supervisors.

Jeff and his wife, Vicki, have been married for 36 years. They raised three sons: Bobby, a state representative in House District 73; Jacob, a middle school science teacher; and John, a former member of the Executive Board of the National Federation of College Republicans and the former chairman of the Iowa Federation of College Republicans.

Linda Upmeyer
CO-CHAIR, REPUBLICAN PARTY OF IOWA

Speaker Linda Upmeyer was first elected in 2002 and went on to become the first woman in Iowa history to serve as Speaker of the Iowa House of Representatives, a position she held from 2016-2020. Prior to becoming Speaker, she was the first woman in Iowa history to serve as House Majority Leader (2010-2015). During her tenure in the top leadership positions, Linda helped enact major policy reforms in the areas of commerce, workforce, taxes, education, and health care. Her father, Del Stromer, was a farmer and a former Speaker of the Iowa House.  Linda and her father are reportedly the first father and daughter pair in the nation to have both served as Speakers of the House.

Linda graduated from North Iowa Area Community College (NIACC), the University of Iowa (with Honors and Distinction), and Drake University (Summa Cum Laude).  She has a Master’s Degree in Nursing and certification as a Family Nurse Practitioner.  

Linda was recently elected to the governing board of Rural Development Partners, a Community Development Enterprise (CDE) focusing on administering New Market Tax Credits to businesses to create jobs and improve economic opportunities in high poverty regions of the country.

In 2016, Linda was awarded the Uncommon Public Service Award, honoring her commitment to public service, by the Hoover Presidential Foundation.

For more than two decades, Linda worked as a Family Nurse Practitioner at Mercy in Mason City. Her practice focus during this time was cardiology and case management.
 
She is a former trustee for NIACC, and a former board member of both the Iowa and National Associations of Community College Trustees.  She was the National Chair of the American Legislative Exchange Council (2014), where she also chaired the Center to Restore the Balance of Government (2014-2019).  She recently served as the Chair of the Republican Legislative Campaign Committee.  
 
Linda married her husband, Doug, in 1970. Together they have five children: Sara, Chad, Matt, Blake, and Tyler; five grandsons, Colin, Carter, Cooper, Nolan and Carson; and two granddaughters, Claire and Everleigh.

REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE MEMBERS

Steve Scheffler
[email protected]

Tamara Scott
[email protected]

State Central Committee Members

DISTRICT EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OFFICERS

Established in Article VII of the Constitution of the Republican Party of Iowa, District Executive Committees, or DEC’s, are vital organizations dedicated to electing Republicans and ensuring communication between the county parties and the state party. DEC’s possess their own bylaws, elect their officers, and meet regularly within their district.