DES MOINES, Iowa — Former U.S. Rep. Jim Leach, who served 30 years as a politician from eastern Iowa and later headed the National Endowment for the Humanities, died Wednesday. He was 82.
Leach, whose death was confirmed by an Iowa City funeral home, represented Iowa as a moderate Republican until 2006, when he was defeated by Democrat Dave Loebsack in a midterm cycle that gave Democrats control of the U.S. House.
He was chair of the banking and foreign relations committees, and in 2002 he was among six Republicans, who then held the House majority, to vote against a resolution authorizing the use of force in Iraq. The measure paved the way for the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, which Leach also opposed.
After leaving Congress, Leach endorsed then-Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, the Democratic nominee, for president in 2008 over his party’s nominee, Arizona Sen. John McCain, in part for Obama’s opposition to the 2003 invasion — a decision he said wasn’t easy.
“Part of it is political parties are a distant analog to families and you really hate to step outside a family environment,” Leach told The Associated Press in an interview at the time.
Earlier this year, Leach joined with Loebsack to pen a Jan. 6 op-ed in The Des Moines Register, a year after former President Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the Capitol in an attempt to stop Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s victory.
“This anniversary of the violent insurrection on our nation’s Capitol is a solemn reminder of how fragile the foundations of democracy are when extremists like Donald Trump are willing to undermine millions of voters and encourage a deadly mob all in the name of wielding power,” Leach and Loebsack wrote.
Loebsack told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he even voted for Leach before running against him, despite their difference in political party.
“Jim served our district and state honorably for 30 years. He was a man of principle and integrity and honor,” Loebsack said. “We’re gonna miss him. There’s no question.”
Leach worked as a professor for Princeton, his alma mater, and the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard before Obama tapped him to lead the National Endowment for the Humanities in 2009. He resigned from the National Endowment for the Humanities in 2013 and he joined the University of Iowa faculty.
University Vice President Peter Matthes said in a statement Wednesday that Leach was a “relentless advocate” for Iowa. The university’s statement also said Leach donated his public and private papers to their libraries.
“He lived a life of service that we should all aspire to emulate,” Matthes said.
Iowa Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds offered her condolences Wednesday.
“As a member of U.S. Congress for 30 years, Jim dedicated his life to serving his country and the state of Iowa,” Reynolds said on the social platform X.
Leach is survived by his wife, two children and two grandchildren, according to his obituary.