About this user
Senator McKinley won election to the Iowa Senate in 2000 defeating incumbent Democrat Senator John Judge in a district containing almost 1000 more registered Democrats than Republicans. He was re-elected in 2004 capturing over 60% of the vote and again re-elected in 2008 with over 63% of the vote.
Since arriving in the Senate, Paul McKinley has strongly advocated for free market principles to grow and expand job creation in Iowa. A national presenter on education reform issues, he continually calls for increasing student achievement through more rigorous academic standards and greater accountability.
Born in Chariton, Iowa and raised on the family farm near Russell, Paul learned the value of hard work. After graduating from Russell High School and then the University of Iowa in 1971, Paul returned to his native Southern Iowa as the director of Governor Ray's Iowa Model County Program.
Paul was soon hired as an assistant by a small business in Corydon that manufactured garment bags and within a few years worked his way up to the top executive position. In the early 1980s as interest rates climbed to 23% and Iowa entered the farm crisis, Paul McKinley and his wife, Trish, purchased the small business and laid out a plan for expansion. Ten years later, Neely Manufacturing had tripled in size, providing much-needed jobs in Southern Iowa.
Today, Senator McKinley serves as the Republican Leader in the Iowa Senate. He is a member of the Chariton United Methodist Church, Lucas County Farm Bureau, and other civic organizations. Paul and his wife, Trish, reside in Chariton and have a son in college, a married daughter and one grandson.
