IOWA — Former Iowa congressman Jim Leach, who represented Iowa in Congress for 30 years, has died at the age of 82, reports say.

Leach was born in Davenport. He was first elected to Congress as a moderate Republican in 1977. He would win reelection 14 times before being defeated by Dave Loebsack in the 2006 election. Leach would go on to serve in the administration of President Barack Obama where he held the title of Chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities from 2009-2013.

In 2022, Leach said he changed his voter registration from Republican to Democrat after the actions at the US Capitol on January 6th, 2020.

Leach is a member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and was a 1960 state champion while a senior in high school at Davenport.