Robert Lee Vander Plaats (born April 12, 1963) is an American politician and political activist. Since 2010, he has been the president and

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

The Family Leader The Family Leader (stylized The FAMiLY LEADER) is an American socially conservative umbrella group comprising The Family Leader Foundation, Marriage Matters, Iowa Family PAC, and Iowans for Freedom. The Family Leader is loosely affiliated with the ...

, a

social conservative Social conservatism is a political philosophy and variety of conservatism which places emphasis on traditional power structures over social pluralism. Social conservatives organize in favor of duty, traditional values and social institution ...

organization in Iowa. Active in Republican Party politics, Vander Plaats ran unsuccessfully for

Governor of Iowa A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

, and

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

. He was the party's candidate for

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

, where he and gubernatorial nominee

Jim Nussle James Allen Nussle (born June 27, 1960) is an American businessman and retired politician who has been president and chief executive officer of the Credit Union National Association since 2014. Nussle served as a Republican member of the United S ...

lost the general election.

Early life and education

Vander Plaats was born in

Sheldon, Iowa Sheldon is a city in O'Brien and Sioux counties in the U.S. state of Iowa, along the Floyd River. The population was 5,512 at the time of the 2020 census; it is the largest city in O'Brien County. History and culture Sheldon got its start i ...

. He graduated from Western Christian High School in

Hull, Iowa Hull is a city in Sioux County, Iowa. The population was 2,384 at the time of the 2020 census. History The first settlers in the Hull area arrived in 1872. The city was incorporated on May 15, 1886. Hull was named for John A. T. Hull, a member ...

. He later attended Northwestern College in Orange City on a basketball scholarship, earning a degree in education. He earned a master's degree in the area of Educational Leadership from

Drake University Drake University is a private university in Des Moines, Iowa. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs, including professional programs in business, law, and pharmacy. Drake's law school is among the 25 oldest in the United States. Hi ...

Career

Education

After earning his undergraduate degree, Vander Plaats became a high school teacher and basketball coach. He was principal at Marcus-Meriden-Cleghorn High School and later Sheldon High School. Vander Plaats served as president of Opportunities Unlimited before moving on in the same role with MVP Leadership, Inc.

Elections

, Vander Plaats unsuccessfully ran for the Iowa GOP

gubernatorial A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political_regions, political region, ranking under the Head of State, head of state and in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of ...

nomination, losing to Doug Gross. Vander Plaats was a candidate for the

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

gubernatorial nomination, competing against Iowa Congressman

. As the race progressed, he withdrew his candidacy for governor in favor of being Nussle's running mate in the

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

. Calls by GOP party higher-ups for Vander Plaats to get out of the race were reportedly due to Vander Plaats reporting only $459,000 cash on hand compared to Nussle's $2.5 million. The Republican ticket of Nussle–Vander Plaats lost the election to the Democratic ticket of

Culver Culver may refer to: Places United Kingdom *Culver Down, Isle of Wight United States *Culver, Indiana, a town in northern Indiana * Culver, Kansas, a city in north-central Kansas * Culver, Kentucky, an unincorporated community * Culver, Misso ...

Judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

. On January 26, 2009, Vander Plaats announced the formation of a 2010 gubernatorial campaign committee with state Representative

Jodi Tymeson Jodi Tymeson (born June 27, 1955) is a former Iowa State Representative from the 77th and 73rd Districts. She served in the Iowa House of Representatives since 2001, representing the 77th District until it was redrawn in 2003 and representing ...

as chair and former state Auditor Dick Johnson as co-chair of the committee. In the Iowa gubernatorial election of 2010, incumbent Democratic Governor

Chet Culver Chester John Culver (born January 25, 1966) is an American politician who served one term as the 41st governor of Iowa, from 2007 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he had previously served as the 29th secretary of state of Iowa from 199 ...

ran for re-election. The Republican candidates were Vander Plaats, state representative

Rod Roberts Rod Roberts (born October 22, 1957) is the Iowa State Labor Commissioner. Roberts is also a former Republican gubernatorial candidate and five-term Iowa State Representative from the 51st and 80th Districts. He served in the Iowa House of Repr ...

, and former governor

Terry Branstad Terry Edward Branstad (born November 17, 1946) is an American politician and former diplomat. A member of the Republican Party, he served three terms in the Iowa House of Representatives from 1973 to 1979 before serving as governor of Iowa fro ...

. In the Republican primary on June 8, 2010, Vander Plaats lost to Branstad, receiving 40 percent of the vote compared to 50 percent for Branstad. Roberts was third with 9 percent of the vote.

Political activism

Vander Plaats served as the Iowa state chair of Republican Presidential candidate and former

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

Governor

Mike Huckabee Michael Dale Huckabee (born August 24, 1955) is an American politician, Baptist minister, and political commentator who served as the 44th governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007. He was a candidate for the Republican Party presidential nomina ...

's 2008 failed

presidential campaign President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese fu ...

. On many occasions, Huckabee called Vander Plaats the "next Governor of Iowa," suggesting that Vander Plaats would run for governor again in 2010. In 2010, Vander Plaats successfully led the campaign against the retention of three members of the

Iowa Supreme Court The Iowa Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Iowa. The Court is composed of a Chief Justice and six Associate Justices. The Court holds its regular sessions in Des Moines in the Iowa Judicial Branch Building located at 1111 E ...

who had voted to overturn Iowa's Defense of Marriage Act in ''

Varnum v. Brien ''Varnum v. Brien'', 763 N.W.2d 862 (Iowa 2009), was an Iowa Supreme Court case in which the Court unanimously held that the state's limitation of marriage to opposite-sex couples violated the equal protection clause of the Iowa Constitution. The ...

''. In November 2010, Vander Platts became president and chief executive officer of an umbrella group called

, a group that includes the Iowa Family Policy Center, Marriage Matters, and a political action committee. Through the new group, the socially conservative organizations planned to play a more influential role in the 2012 Iowa caucus campaigns than in 2007 and 2008, including offering an endorsement for the first time. In December 2011, Vander Plaats endorsed

Rick Santorum Richard John Santorum ( ; born May 10, 1958) is an American politician, attorney, and political commentator. A member of the Republican Party, he served as a United States Senator from Pennsylvania from 1995 to 2007 and was the Senate's thir ...

for president.

ABC News ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...

reported that Vander Plaats had solicited up to a million dollars from Santorum and other candidates in exchange for his endorsement, that he and Santorum had discussed the subject of money when negotiating the endorsement, and that he had tried to get

Michele Bachmann Michele Marie Bachmann (; née Amble; born April 6, 1956) is an American politician who was the U.S. representative for from 2007 until 2015. A member of the Republican Party, she was a candidate for President of the United States in the 20 ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

to drop out of the race. The Family Leader denied the report. Santorum won the

2012 Iowa Republican presidential caucuses The 2012 Iowa Republican presidential caucuses took place on January 3, 2012. Using the media's generally accepted definition of the Iowa Republican Party (United States), Republican caucus as the non-binding secret polling at caucus sites and ...

. In 2015, Vander Plaats endorsed

Ted Cruz Rafael Edward "Ted" Cruz (; born December 22, 1970) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States Senator from Texas since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Cruz served as Solicitor General of Texas from ...

for President, saying Cruz was the "most consistent and principled conservative who has the ability to not only win Iowa but I believe to win the (Republican) nomination." Cruz won the 2016 Iowa Republican presidential caucuses. In 2018, he published an opinion piece in ''The New York Times'' titled "Cruelty at the Border Is Not Justice" in which he characterized the

Trump administration family separation policy The United States family separation policy under the Trump administration was presented to the public as a "zero tolerance" approach intended to deter illegal immigration and to encourage tougher legislation. In some cases, families followi ...

as "unconscionable" and "inexcusable."

Personal life

He and his wife, Darla, have four sons. Their third son, Lucas, had partial pachygyria lissencephaly from birth, and died in 2021, aged 28. Vander Plaats wrote a book about him, ''Light from Lucas: Lessons in Faith from a Fragile Life'', which was published by

Tyndale House Tyndale House is a Christian publisher in Carol Stream, Illinois. History Tyndale was founded in 1962 by Kenneth N. Taylor in order to publish his paraphrase of the Epistles, which he had composed while commuting to work at Moody Press in C ...

in 2007.

References

External links

Guest on On Point, April 21, 2011 – "Donald Trump For President"
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vander Plaats, Bob 1963 births 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American memoirists American chief executives American people of Dutch descent American school principals Candidates in the 2002 United States elections Candidates in the 2006 United States elections Candidates in the 2010 United States elections Drake University alumni Iowa Republicans Living people Northwestern College (Iowa) alumni People from Sheldon, Iowa Schoolteachers from Iowa Writers from Iowa