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 2nd district of Iowa in the state's east central and southeast area (map) (previously the 1st district from 1977-2003). 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, 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, Iowa) 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 and is the subject of frequent rumors of becoming a Democrat in the future. He voted against the 2002 Iraq War Resolution and favors abortion rights and civil unions for homosexuals. His district is considered Iowa's most Democratic district and became even more Democratic after redistricting in 2000. His hometown of Davenport was moved to Jim Nussle's district, forcing Leach to move to Iowa City. He faced his closest contest ever, winning by only four percentage points.

In Congress, Leach is a powerful figure; he serves as chairman of the Financial Services committee and the Chairman of the International Relations committee's Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs .

External link

• Official website
• 2004 campaign finance data