Steen held a campaign kickoff event Tuesday at Berean Church in Pleasant Hill, starting with a musical performance from Nathan Thomas and the A17 worship band and an introduction from Rev. Gary Pilcher. As he introduced himself, Steen said there had been some speculation online about what type of candidate he would be.
“Let me tell you, from my own lips, who I am: I am the faith guy,” Steen said. “I’m a Jesus guy. I’m a Make America Great Again guy. I’m a common-sense policy, America first, people first guy.”
In addition to being a credentialed minister, Steen said some of his highest profile commitments to faith were as DAS director. The department had canceled a Satanic Temple of Iowa holiday celebration event at the Iowa Capitol in December 2024, with Steen saying the event was denied because it included “elements that are harmful to minors.”
Steen said at the campaign event he was “the guy that stood in front of the Satanists when they blatantly targeted our children, and I’m the guy getting sued by the Satanists for protecting our children.”
He also said there was another event request at the Capitol he denied, for an all-ages, family-friendly drag show. He said this planned event was not as well known, but that he believed it was the right thing to do despite being at risk of getting sued.
“I’m a Jesus guy. I’m a Make America Great Again guy. I’m a common-sense policy, America first, people first guy.”Adam Steen, Republican candidate for governor
Steen, appointed in 2021 to serve as DAS director in Reynolds’ administration, said he led some of the major policies changing state government, like the government agency restructuring signed into law in 2023. Speaking with reporters, Steen said he had discussed running for the seat with Reynolds and came to a “mutual agreement” that he would resign from his position if he ran for the office.
“Today [Tuesday], at 10 a.m., I walked into the governor’s office and I submitted my resignation,” Steen told the crowd. “Today, I walked away from a job that I loved. I walked away from a job that I loved, so I could join the fight and defend the state that I love.”
Before leading DAS, Steen was the director of business development at Syverson Strege, a financial services firm, and had previously owned a management consulting firm called 25 Connections. He also was a minor league baseball relief pitcher in 2002, playing for the Philadelphia Phillies and Batavia Muckdogs.
Steen highlighted his commitment to protecting private property rights, but did not go into detail on his views about the use of eminent domain for carbon capture pipeline projects — the subject of a contentious bill that was vetoed by Reynolds this session.
“I was working with her at this time, and I support everything that Gov. Reynolds is doing,” Steen said.
When asked about his views on the use of eminent domain in these projects, he said “I’m a pro-property rights, pro-private ownership person.”
Steen is the latest Republican to join the field of GOP candidates seeking to take the mantle from Reynolds after she announced she would not run for reelection in 2026. U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra and state Sen. Mike Bousselot, R-Ankeny, currently have “exploratory” committees for governor, while state Rep. Eddie Andrews, R-Johnston, and former state legislator Brad Sherman have announced campaigns.
Iowa Auditor Rob Sand is considered the current frontrunner to become the Democratic gubernatorial candidate. Former political operative Julie Stauch and Democrat Paul Dahl are also running to become the party nominee.
