Bob Vander Plaats
| Bob Vander Plaats | |
|---|---|
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
Robert Lee Vander Plaats April 12, 1963 Sheldon, Iowa, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Alma mater |
Northwestern College, Iowa Drake University |
Robert Lee Vander Plaats (born April 12, 1963) is an American politician and political activist. He is currently the president and CEO of The Family Leader, a social conservative organization, and the National Co-Chair for Ted Cruz for President.
Vander Plaats graduated from Western Christian High School in Hull, Iowa. He later attended Northwestern College in Orange City with a basketball scholarship, graduating and becoming a teacher and coach in Boone and Jefferson high schools. He was principal at Marcus-Meriden-Cleghorn High School and later Sheldon High School. Later he earned masters and specialist degrees in the area of Educational Leadership from Drake University. Vander Plaats served as president of Opportunities Unlimited before moving on in the same role with MVP Leadership, Inc.
In 2002, Vander Plaats unsuccessfully ran for the Iowa GOP gubernatorial nomination, losing to Doug Gross.
Vander Plaats was a candidate for the 2006 Iowa Republican gubernatorial nomination, competing against Iowa Congressman Jim Nussle. 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 $2,500,000. The Republican ticket of Nussle/Vander Plaats lost the election to the Democratic ticket of Culver/Judge.
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