John Putney (born March 6, 1944) was the Iowa State Senator from the 20th District and minority whip. A Republican, he served in the Iowa Senate from 2003 until his 2009 retirement. He attended the University of Nebraska and received his Bachelors in Farm Operations from Iowa State University. Putney was re-elected in 2004 with 21,784 votes in an uncontested election. [1] He did not be seek re-election to the Senate in 2008. [2]