E. Thurman Gaskill

E. Thurman Gaskill (born April 4, 1935) was the Iowa State Senator from the 6th District and Assistant Majority Leader of the Iowa Senate. Mr. Gaskill is a grain farmer and a director of Meta Financial Group, Incorporated (nasdaq: CASH), a bank holding company. He served in the Iowa Senate 1997–2007. He has also been a commissioner of both Iowa's Department of Economic Development and its Department of Natural Resources, president of Iowa Corn Growers Association, president of National Corn Growers Association, chairman of the United States Feed Grains Council, and held other agriculture positions.

In his last term Gaskill served on several committees in the Iowa Senate - the Agriculture committee; the Appropriations committee; the State Government committee; and the Natural Resources and Environment committee, where he was the ranking member. He was ranking member of the Agriculture and Natural Resources Appropriations Subcommittee.

Gaskill was re-elected in 2004 with 17,192 votes (58%), defeating Democrat John Drury. He did not seek re-election to the Senate in the 2008 elections.

He supported Rudolph Giuliani in the 2008 Republican presidential primary campaign as Iowa chairman of Farmers for Rudy, and as a national co-chairman.

In 2009 Wallaces' Farmer magazine honored Mr. Gaskill and his wife Gerry, along with three other families, as Iowa Master Farmers.