Fourth District U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra officially launched his campaign for governor of Iowa Tuesday.
The Republican from Hull was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2020, and he previously served in the Iowa Legislature.
“I’m excited to officially launch our campaign to take Iowa to new heights,” Feenstra said in a news release. “Born and raised in the small community of Hull, I learned hard work at a young age, and I want to take a workhorse mentality to Des Moines.”
He said as governor, he would “work with President Trump to advance the America First agenda in Iowa.”
Feenstra announced in May that he was launching an exploratory committee to consider a campaign for governor after Gov. Kim Reynolds said she would not run for a third term. Since then, he has rolled out TV ads and endorsements from various Republican officials and donors, and he has been speaking at GOP events and fundraisers.
Three other Republicans are running for the GOP nomination for governor: state Rep. Eddie Andrews, former state Rep. Brad Sherman, and former Iowa Department of Administrative Services Director Adam Steen. State Sen. Michael Bousselot is exploring a potential campaign.
Feenstra formally launched his campaign with a video on the 28th day of the federal government shutdown. It said Feenstra will “stand tall for Iowa,” referring to his height.
The video also featured Feenstra’s work to cut taxes in Congress and the state Legislature.
It said Feenstra worked with Trump to pass the One Big Beautiful Bill, which Iowa Republicans have billed as a tax cut for working families that includes reducing taxes on tips and overtime pay.
Democrats have slammed the law for cutting funding for food assistance and Medicaid, the health insurance program for people with low incomes and disabilities.
The video said Feenstra “authored the largest tax cut in Iowa history.” He was the chair of the Iowa Senate Ways and Means Committee and managed the passage of a bill in 2018 that started a series of deep cuts to the state’s individual and corporate income tax rates.
Feenstra’s campaign launch video also takes aim at State Auditor Rob Sand, the likely Democratic nominee, accusing Sand of being a “radical liberal” who is “pretending to be one of us.”
Sand’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Political strategist Julie Stauch is also running for the Democratic nomination.
Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart said Feenstra launching his campaign during a government shutdown proves that he is "the definition of an insider politician."
"After failing Iowa families in office for nearly 20 years — first for 12 years in the Iowa state Senate, and for the last five years in Congress, Randy wants to bring the D.C. swamp to Des Moines."
