Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-IA) entered the 2026 race on Tuesday to succeed retiring Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds.
In announcing the news, he touted his support for President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill that implemented massive tax cuts on tips, overtime pay, and Social Security benefits in July.
“It’s official! I’m running to be the next Governor of Iowa to take our state to new heights,” Feenstra posted on X. “Working with President Trump, we will build a stronger Iowa and keep the liberal, progressive agenda out of our state.”
The three-term congressman dedicated a portion of his campaign announcement video to disparaging his likely opponent, Rob Sand, the Iowa auditor and the only Democrat in elected office statewide.
Feenstra’s campaign brought up Sand’s ties to former President Joe Biden and former Vice President Kamala Harris, as well as his support for higher taxes and transgender rights.
“Liberal liar Rob Sand only sinks low, but Randy Feenstra always stands tall for Iowa,” the narrator says in the video.
In a statement to the Washington Examiner, Sand’s campaign fired back at Feenstra’s personal attacks.
“Randy Feenstra just spent half his launch video misleading Iowans about Rob Sand, failing to mention a single way he himself will improve Iowans’ lives or the state’s poor rankings,” Sand spokeswoman Emma O’Brien said. “It’s clear Feenstra and the other insiders who have driven Iowa into the ground over the last ten years of one-party rule are worried about Rob’s message resonating with voters across the political spectrum.”
The campaign went on to tout Sand’s recent 100-stop town hall tour across Iowa, “where he answered [Iowans’] questions and outlined his vision for an Iowa that is not redder or bluer but better and truer.” The campaign then accused Feenstra of failing to pass a new farm appropriations bill. The 2018 farm bill expired on Sept. 30, just before the government shutdown took effect.
“Iowans are fed up and ready for a new direction,” O’Brien concluded.
In April, Reynolds announced she would retire after her second term ends in January 2027 because she wants to spend more time with her family. Her surprise decision opened the gubernatorial field, prompting several candidates to enter the race.
Former state Rep. Brad Sherman, state Rep. Eddie Andrews, and former Iowa Department of Administrative Services Director Adam Steen are in the running against Feenstra for the Republican nomination and Trump’s support.
Feenstra was anticipated to run after he filed paperwork with the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board in May to launch a gubernatorial bid, but Tuesday’s announcement makes his run official.
Sand announced his bid on the same day Feenstra filed his campaign paperwork. Longtime Democratic consultant Julie Stauch is also running.
The Democratic Governors Association criticized Feenstra’s newly launched bid.
“Randy Feenstra would continue the same failed policies of the last decade of disastrous one-party rule in Des Moines that has led to a failing economy, underfunded schools, an extreme abortion ban, and widespread government corruption,” DGA communications director Sam Newton said in a statement.
EMBATTLED MAINE SENATE CANDIDATE LOSES CAMPAIGN MANAGER AFTER LESS THAN WEEK IN ROLE
“Just look at what he’s done as a rubber stamp in Congress: voting to gut Medicaid and threaten rural hospitals to give tax breaks to the wealthy, pushing to overturn Roe, and proposing major cuts to education,” he added. “With Feenstra in the race, the already wide-open, crowded, and expensive GOP primary is only guaranteed to get nastier. Iowans are ready for change.”
Feenstra’s entry in the race for Iowa governor opens up his seat for competition next year in Iowa’s 4th Congressional District, a red district the Republican incumbent won by nearly 35 points last fall. Feenstra first won the district in 2020 by unseating then-Republican Rep. Steve King.
