Robert Lee Vander Plaats (born April 12, 1963) is an American politician and political activist. Since 2010, he has been the president and
CEO of
The Family Leader, 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 instituti ...
organization in Iowa.
Active in
Republican Party politics, Vander Plaats ran unsuccessfully for
Governor of Iowa in
2002,
2006, and
2010.
He was the party's candidate for
lieutenant governor in
2006, 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, Sioux County, Iowa. The population was 2,384 at the time of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census.
History
The first settlers in the Hull area arrived in 1872. The city was incorporated on May 15, 1886. H ...
. 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.
His ...
.
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
In
2002, Vander Plaats unsuccessfully ran for the Iowa GOP
gubernatorial
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 ...
nomination, losing to Doug Gross.
Vander Plaats was a candidate for the
2006 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 th ...
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
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 ...
. As the race progressed, he withdrew his candidacy for governor in favor of being Nussle's running mate in the
general election. 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.
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, 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 f ...
. 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 O ...
Governor
Mike Huckabee'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 ...
who had voted to overturn Iowa's Defense of Marriage Act in ''
Varnum v. Brien''.
In November 2010, Vander Platts became president and chief executive officer of an umbrella group called
The Family Leader, 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 third ...
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 United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for from 2007 until 2015. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...
of
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.
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
The 2016 Iowa Republican presidential caucuses took place on February 1 in the U.S. state of Iowa, traditionally marking the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party's first nominating contest in their series of 2016 Republican Party pr ...
.
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 Ch ...
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