Representative Bobby Kaufmann Contact information

Bobby Kaufmann, born in 1985 in Wilton, Iowa, is a member of the Republican Party and has been serving in the Iowa House of Representatives since 2013. He represents the 82nd District. In 2023, Kaufmann was appointed as a senior advisor on Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign in the Iowa caucuses.

Kaufmann first ran for office in 2012, winning election to the 73rd District seat previously held by his father Jeff Kaufmann. His February 2012 arrest and guilty plea for public intoxication became a campaign issue. He received a deferred judgment, and the charge was removed from his record after completing probation. Kaufmann’s arrest led to the revelation that Kaufmann had at least 17 citations and arrests, mostly for traffic-related issues.

Kaufmann ignited controversy by using his position as Chair of the Iowa House Government Oversight Committee to launch an investigation into an LGBT youth conference in Iowa. After controversy arose over his investigation, Kaufmann claims he read blogs and received an email alleging that Kaufmann was a homosexual himself. In reaction, Kaufmann testified before the Iowa House Government Oversight Committee that he was not in a homosexual relationship with colleague Greg Heartsill.

Following the 2016 presidential election, Kaufmann announced that he planned to introduce a bill in the January legislative session that would penalize state universities that used public funding to offer election-related counseling and other support services to students that are beyond the scope of existing mental health resources. The bill, which Kaufmann nicknamed the “Suck it up, Buttercup” bill, would cut the budget of state universities by double the amount they spend on such activities and introduce criminal penalties for protesters that block highways.

In 2021, Kaufmann proposed legislation in the Iowa House of Representatives to restrict voting rights in Iowa. Kaufmann has promoted false claims of voter fraud.

Kaufmann’s career experience includes owning a steel hauling, construction, and demolition business and working as a crop and livestock farmer. Kaufmann has been affiliated with the Farm Bureau, the National Rifle Association, the Cedar County Historical Society, the Solon Optimist Club, and the Cedar County Soldiers Monument Association.