DES MOINES, Iowa – On Monday, Senate President Charles Schneider, R-West Des Moines, announced his retirement from the Iowa Senate at the end of his second term.
“I am incredibly proud of the agenda Senate Republicans have implemented since taking control of the Iowa Senate in 2017,” he said in a released statement. “We passed the largest income tax cut in state history, brought transparency to property taxes, passed significant tort reforms, and put taxpayers back in control of state and local government.”
“Like many state legislators, I have had to balance serving in the Legislature with my full-time career. I believe the time is right for me to shift my focus to my career and family. I am honored to have served as a legislator and as President of the Senate. I ran for the Legislature to make Iowa the best state in America to live, work and raise a family. As I leave state government, I look back at our progress and I am proud to have helped moved Iowa closer to that goal,” Schneider added.
“I am grateful for the support I have had from volunteers, friends, and family. Most important for me has been having my wife Lisa by my side,” he concluded.
Schneider was first elected to the Iowa Senate in 2012, and was re-elected in 2016. He was elected President of the Senate by his colleagues in 2018 and re-elected in January 2019 to a full two-year term.
Before his election to the Iowa Senate, Schneider was a West Des Moines City Councilman for five years. He was a member of the 2006-2007 Greater Des Moines Leadership Institute and of the Des Moines Business Record’s 2007 Forty Under 40 class. He also was a member of the 2003-2004 Leadership Iowa class. In 2011, he received the Greater Des Moines Leadership Institute’s Distinguished Government Leadership Award.
He is Counsel for Principal Financial Group, where he has worked since 2007. Before joining Principal, he was a lawyer with the law firm of Dickinson Mackaman Tyler & Hagen, PC.
Schneider attended Sacred Heart School and Dowling High School in West Des Moines before his family moved to Newton, where he graduated from Newton Senior High School. He received his Bachelor’s Degree from Creighton University, and his law and MBA degrees from the University of Iowa. He and his wife Lisa reside in West Des Moines and are members of St. Francis of Assisi Church.
Schneider represents Iowa Senate District 22, a district that includes Clive, Windsor Heights, Waukee, and the part of West Des Moines within Dallas County. Democrats currently have over 1000 more registered voters (16,965) than Republicans (15,954) within the district. That represents a major shift when Schneider enjoyed an over 4,000 registered voter advantage compared to March of 2016 when he was running for re-election to a second term.