For almost 20 years, Clint Twedt-Ball led the Cedar Rapids-based nonprofit Matthew 25. The organization provides basic services to struggling families, like helping them get housing and food supplies.
But Twedt-Ball stepped down earlier this month to tackle those issues in a very different way — by running for Congress.
“I didn’t really have political ambitions. I’ve never run for office,” Twedt-Ball said. “But after the election last fall and the chaos that ensued in January, I just started feeling like somebody needed to step up and show that there’s a better way.”
Twedt-Ball grew up in small towns throughout Iowa, the son of a pastor and stay-at-home mom. He graduated from the University of Iowa before attending seminary school, serving first as a pastor in Minneapolis and then in Cedar Rapids.
He said he started Matthew 25 in 2006 to revitalize the area’s neighborhoods and address the struggles of working-class families.
“It really comes down to the basics. Housing, food ... those basic needs that everyone has,” Twedt-Ball said. “What I hear from people on the housing front is that even people that have really good jobs, young people are having a hard time affording to purchase their first house, like even into their 30s and 40s.”
But he said President Donald Trump’s policies are driving housing prices up even further.
“We need to pull on those levers — reduce tariffs, make exemptions for things like wood and steel, so that we can make housing as affordable as possible,” Twedt-Ball said. “I built housing. I understand housing, and I know what it takes to make it more affordable.”
Twedt-Ball also said his experience running a nonprofit grocery store has helped him understand exactly how grocery prices have continued to rise and how they have impacted families.
“I see issues of affordability on everything — from housing to groceries to health care — as being a major issue,” Twedt-Ball said. “I think revitalization of our small towns, the main streets that I grew up in, are not what they used to be, and we need to figure out ways to have a strategy to revitalize rural Iowa.”
According to his campaign website, Twedt-Ball's family played important roles in the small towns he grew up in, whether it was building a new park or repairing homes for struggling families.
In addition to addressing constituents’ affordability concerns and revitalizing Iowa’s small towns, Twedt-Ball said he wants to focus on making sure seniors can feel secure in their retirement.
“I’ve talked to a lot of seniors that are really, really struggling, and feel like the ground is shaking underneath their feet, and wonder whether they’re going to have programs like Medicare and Social Security in the future to help care for them.”
The 2nd District seat is currently held by Republican U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson, who is serving her third term. Twedt-Ball is just one of two Democrats in the running, after Kevin Techau suspended his campaign in late June. Nurse Kathryn Dolter launched her campaign last week, and state Rep. Lindsay James has indicated she is considering running.
If he earns the Democratic nomination, Twedt-Ball said Republicans should consider voting for him since he has a history of approaching problems in what he calls a common-sense way.
“[Republicans] were sold one thing during the last election, that from day one grocery prices would get better, wars would be stopped, and they’ve seen virtually none of that happen,” Twedt-Ball said. “Instead, what they’ve seen is the chaos of tariffs. They’ve seen people scapegoating groups and acting like they’re the problem, and what people really want at the end of the day is somebody that’s going to solve problems.”
