Jim Leach

James Albert Smith Leach (born October 15 1942), American politician, has been a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives since 1977, representing the east central and southeast portions of Iowa. He was born in Davenport, Iowa, was educated at Princeton University, Johns Hopkins University and the London School of Economics, and was a foreign service officer with the Department of State, a member of the U.S. delegations to the Geneva Disarmament Conference and the United Nations General Assembly, a business executive and director of the Federal Home Loan Bank Board before entering the House.

According to personal finance disclosure reports released in 2002, Rep. Jim Leach owns between $3.1 million and $14.2 million of stocks, mutual funds and farmland. This includes between $167,000 and $430,000 worth of stock in Lee Enterprises (which owns newspapers in Davenport, Waterloo, Muscatine, Mason City and Sioux City) and between $2,002 and $30,000 worth of stock in Gannett Co. Inc., which owns the Press-Citizen and Des Moines Register (Iowa City Press-Citizen and Muscatine newspapers are in his congressional district)

Leach is consistently one of the most liberal Republicans in the House. He voted against the 2002 Iraq War Resolution and favors abortion rights and civil unions. It is believed that should the Democrats retake control of the House, Leach will switch parties.