Your feedback ensures we stay focused on the facts that matter to you most—take our survey.
Mike Naig
Mike Naig (Republican Party) is the Iowa Secretary of Agriculture. He assumed office on March 1, 2018. His current term ends on January 1, 2027.
Naig (Republican Party) is running for re-election for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture. He declared candidacy for the 2026 election.[source]
Naig served as the state's deputy agriculture secretary from 2013 to March 2018.[1]
Biography
Education
- Bachelor's, Biology, Buena Vista University
- Bachelor's, Political science, Buena Vista University
Political career
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture (2018-present)
Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) appointed Naig as the Iowa secretary of agriculture in March 2018 to replace former Secretary Bill Northey (R). Naig served the remainder of Northey's term, which ended in January 2019.[1] Naig was elected to the office for a full, four-year term on November 6, 2018.
Elections
2026
See also: Iowa Agriculture Commissioner election, 2026
General election
The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.
General election for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture
Incumbent Mike Naig is running in the general election for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture on November 3, 2026.
Candidate | ||
| Mike Naig (R) | ||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Endorsements
Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.
2022
See also: Iowa Agriculture Commissioner election, 2022
General election
General election for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture
Incumbent Mike Naig defeated John Norwood in the general election for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Mike Naig (R) | 61.1 | 730,285 | |
| John Norwood (D) | 38.8 | 463,652 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 770 | ||
| Total votes: 1,194,707 | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture
John Norwood advanced from the Democratic primary for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture on June 7, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | John Norwood | 99.8 | 139,730 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.2 | 348 | ||
| Total votes: 140,078 | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture
Incumbent Mike Naig advanced from the Republican primary for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture on June 7, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Mike Naig | 99.7 | 171,646 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.3 | 508 | ||
| Total votes: 172,154 | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2018
General election
General election for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture
Incumbent Mike Naig defeated Tim Gannon and Rick Stewart in the general election for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Mike Naig (R) | 50.4 | 651,552 | |
| Tim Gannon (D) | 46.6 | 602,916 | ||
| Rick Stewart (L) | 3.0 | 38,965 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.0 | 597 | ||
| Total votes: 1,294,030 | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture
Tim Gannon advanced from the Democratic primary for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture on June 5, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Tim Gannon | 100.0 | 148,258 | |
| Total votes: 148,258 | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture
Incumbent Mike Naig defeated Dan Zumbach, Craig Lang, Ray Gaesser, and Chad Ingels in the Republican primary for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture on June 5, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Mike Naig | 34.8 | 30,870 | |
| Dan Zumbach | 21.4 | 18,938 | ||
| Craig Lang | 18.6 | 16,514 | ||
| Ray Gaesser | 16.3 | 14,437 | ||
| Chad Ingels | 8.9 | 7,915 | ||
| Total votes: 88,674 | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Mike Naig has not yet completed Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey. Send a message to Mike Naig asking him to fill out the survey. If you are Mike Naig, click here to fill out Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey.
Who fills out Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey?
Any candidate running for elected office, at any level, can complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Survey. Completing the survey will update the candidate's Ballotpedia profile, letting voters know who they are and what they stand for. More than 22,000 candidates have taken Ballotpedia's candidate survey since we launched it in 2015. Learn more about the survey here.
You can ask Mike Naig to fill out this survey by using the buttons below or emailing info@mikenaig.com.
2022
Mike Naig did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Stances on the issues
Agriculture commissioners are responsible for overseeing and regulating practices and policies that affect farmers, consumers of agricultural products, and the broader agricultural industry in their states. Their powers can vary, but they typically have the authority to enforce state laws and regulations pertaining to agriculture and investigate practices related to the agricultural sector that may violate state laws or regulations.[2][3]
This section outlines Naig's stances on policy issues as they relate to agriculture.
Environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG)
| Environmental, social, and corporate governance |
|---|
| • What is ESG? • Enacted ESG legislation • Arguments for and against ESG • Opposition to ESG • Federal ESG rules • ESG legislation tracker • Economy and Society: Ballotpedia's weekly ESG newsletter |
Naig has argued against ESG, which refers to an investment or corporate governance approach that involves considering the extent to which corporations conform to certain standards related to environmental, social, and corporate governance issues (such as net carbon emission or corporate board diversity goals) and making business and investment decisions that promote those standards. Agricultural commissioners have the authority to use their investigative and enforcement powers to scrutinize the effects of financial practices on the agricultural sector, write letters to financial institutions requesting information on their policies and practices, and issue regulations related to fertilizer usage, agricultural fuel usage, and rural electrification.[2][3]
Letter opposing ESG practices at financial institutions
Naig joined eleven agricultural commissioners from other states on January 29, 2024, in writing a public letter to the CEOs of six large banks, including J.P. Morgan and Goldman Sachs, opposing their ESG commitments.[2][3]
The letter argued that the financial institutions’ commitments to implementing Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) policies could restrict credit access for farmers and coerce agricultural producers into changing their farming practices to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The officials said such changes would increase costs in the agricultural sector, reduce the availability of food, drive up consumer prices, and eliminate jobs in the industry.[2][3]
The letter requested additional information related to the banks’ ESG commitments, including details on how the banks intended to promote NZBA’s carbon emissions targets for the agricultural sector.[2][3]
See also
2026 Elections
External links
|
Candidate Iowa Secretary of Agriculture |
Officeholder Iowa Secretary of Agriculture |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 KMCH, "Governor Appoints Mike Naig as Iowa’s New Secretary of Agriculture," March 1, 2018
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Fox Business, “Dozen state GOP agriculture commissioners launch probe of US banks over ESG investing: 'It must be stopped,'” accessed February 13, 2024
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Georgia Department of Agriculture, “Impact of Net-Zero Banking Alliance on Agriculture & Food Security,” January 29, 2024
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Bill Northey (R) |
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture 2018-Present |
Succeeded by - |
| ||||||||||||||
