GOP leader resigns hours after being caught on camera kissing lobbyist
Iowa state Senate leader Bill Dix made a hasty exit from the political scene after the embarrassing footage emerged.
Bill Dix, the Republican Majority Leader of the Iowa Senate, saw his political career come to an explosive end on Monday afternoon.
Just hours after video surfaced of Dix kissing a lobbyist, after the governor demanded an explanation and at the urging of fellow Republicans, Dix resigned from office, effective at 2:00 pm.
The video, posted by Iowa Starting Line at 10am, shows Dix — a married father of three — with the unnamed woman at the Waveland Tap bar in Des Moines on Mar. 1.
It is currently unclear whether the incident violated sexual harassment rules. But it’s a massive conflict of interest for an elected official who decides which bills get a floor vote to be romantically involved with a lobbyist.
In fact, Dix was already reeling from a retaliation scandal. Last June, former GOP state Senate communications director Kirsten Anderson successfully sued for $2.2 million. She said she had been fired for filing a sexual harassment complaint against Dix’s caucus.
At the time, some state senators called on Dix to step down, but he refused.
And this saga is just the latest in a series of out-of-control Republican state lawmakers around the country.
In Pennsylvania, Rep. Nick Miccarelli faces allegations including stalking, sexual assault, and murder threats. And he even faces a protective order from a fellow lawmaker.
In February, the Arizona House of Representatives expelled Rep. Dan Shooter for serial sexual misconduct.
And last year, Oklahoma State Sen. and Trump campaign chair Ralph Shortey was convicted of child sex trafficking. Voters went on to replace him with a Democrat.
Republican state legislatures have become legal and ethical nightmares. Dix’s apparent romantic involvement with a lobbyist offers the latest damning evidence.
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