Jerry Behn

Jerry Behn (born January 31, 1954) is the Iowa State Senator from the 24th District and minority leader in the Iowa Senate. A Republican, he has served in the Iowa Senate since 1997, and served as a Boone County Supervisor from 1995 to 1996.[1]

Jerry Behn
President pro tempore of the Iowa Senate
Assumed office
January 9, 2017
Preceded bySteve Sodders
Member of the Iowa Senate
from the 24th district
40th (1997–2003)
Assumed office
January 13, 1997
Preceded byAlbert Sorensen
Personal details
Born (1954-01-31) January 31, 1954
Ames, Iowa, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)Denise
Children4

Behn currently serves on several committees in the Iowa Senate - the Appropriations committee; the Commerce committee; the State Government committee; the Environment & Energy Independence committee, where he is the ranking member, and the Ethics committee, where he is the ranking member. He also serves on the Administration and Regulation Appropriations Subcommittee.

Behn was last re-elected in 2008 with 22,970 votes (57%), defeating Democratic opponent, former Iowa Senator Albert Sorensen.[2]

Behn was a candidate for the Republican nomination for governor in 2010 but withdrew, endorsing Terry Branstad.[3][4] His platform included promoting fiscal restraint, preserving right-to-work laws, and allowing Iowans to vote on a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman. He called for voters to vote against retention for those Iowa Supreme Court justices who decided that Iowa's Defense of Marriage Act was unconstitutional in Varnum v. Brien.[5]

Behn is a supporter of Capital punishment, he has introduced a limited death penalty bill in each General Assembly since 1997.[6] his latest attempt was in 2019.[7]

References
  1. "Jerry Behn". Iowa Senate Republicans.
  2. "State of Iowa Official Canvass Summary: November 4, 2008 General Election" (PDF). Michael A. Mauro, Iowa Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 25, 2009. Retrieved November 7, 2009.
  3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-09-05. Retrieved 2009-08-28.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. "The Des Moines Register". Des Moines Register. Archived from the original on 2011-07-09. Retrieved 2017-10-01.
  5. Boshart, Rod. "Behn enters race for Iowa governor". The Quad-City Times. Retrieved 2017-10-01.
  6. https://qctimes.com/news/local/government-and-politics/iowa-death-penalty-debate-comes-to-an-end/article_14146c68-2cc8-5b2e-a6d2-0d8632ef3071.html
  7. https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/government/death-penalty-back-on-iowa-legislative-agenda-tool-prosecuting-offenders-kidnap-rape-murder-juveniles-senator-jerry-behn-20190123
Iowa Senate
Preceded by
Albert Sorensen		 Member of the Iowa Senate
from the 40th district
1997–2003		 Succeeded by
Richard Drake
Preceded by
Richard Drake		 Member of the Iowa Senate
from the 24th district
2003–present		 Incumbent
Preceded by
Steve Sodders		 President pro tempore of the Iowa Senate
2018–present
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