Republican legislative leader Windschitl announces campaign for Congress in western Iowa

DES MOINES — Matt Windschitl says he has never been to Washington, D.C. But he is looking to change that.

Windschitl, a Republican state lawmaker and U.S. Marine Corps veteran from Missouri Valley, on Monday announced his campaign for the U.S. House in Western Iowa’s 4th Congressional District.

The 41-year-old Windschitl has represented a portion of northwest Iowa in the Iowa House since 2007. He has been the House Majority Leader since 2019.

Three-term incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra, of Hull, has been exploring a run for Iowa governor in 2026.

Windschitl becomes the second Republican candidate to declare in the 4th District, joining Siouxland Chamber of Commerce leader Chris McGowan.

Windschitl said he was approached by friends about a Congressional campaign after Feenstra announced his exploration of a gubernatorial run.

“I’ve never wanted to go to D.C. I literally have never been to Washington, D.C. in my life,” Windschitl said this weekend in an interview with The Gazette.

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Windschitl said after discussing the possibility with — and getting encouragement from — his two adult daughters, as well as others, he decided to run for Congress in order to help secure “more freedoms” for Iowans.

“That is my mantra: freedom,” Windschitl said. “I’m going to be looking at everything that I have to do under the lens of, ‘How does this make Iowans in Iowa-4, and all Americans, more free? How do we get government off their back and make government work for them, not against them?’”

Windschitl said he will complete his two-year term representing Iowa House District 15 in 2026, but in the meantime will step down as House Majority Leader.

There is no announced Democratic candidate in Iowa’s 4th Congressional District, which leans heavily toward Republican voters. Registered, active Republican voters outnumber Democrats by more than 192,000, according to the latest state voter registration data. Ryan Melton, who was the district’s Democratic candidate in 2022 and 2024, briefly considered a third run earlier this year but suspended his campaign in June.

Feenstra won election by 23 percentage points in 2020, 36 in 2022 and 32 in 2024.

Windschitl said service is what interests him in running for Congress. He said that was the case when he joined the Marines as a 17-year-old, and when he was first elected to the Iowa House at 22.

“There’s a lot of challenges ahead, and I have a heart of service. I’d like to continue fighting for our traditional American values,” Windschitl said.

In making his case to western Iowa voters, Windschitl said he will lean on his leadership and policy experiences in the Iowa Legislature. He highlighted Republican-led legislation that he has supported and advanced involving state tax reductions for individuals and businesses, school choice, and “being there” for agricultural and business interests. He also noted that he served in the Iowa Legislature while lawmakers dealt with a pandemic and social unrest.

“We’ve shown that we can lead, and I’ve been right there,” Windschitl said. “I’m going to talk about the things that I’ve led on, the things that I have been able to accomplish that help people of all walks of life in the state of Iowa, and especially in Iowa-4, and I’ve got that proven track record. I’ve got that voting record.”

Windschitl said in addition to expanding Iowans’ freedoms, he hopes to work on reducing the national debt and ensuring the U.S.’s strength in foreign policy. His view on the latter may not directly align with some Republican voters who have embraced a strong “America first” policy and prefer less U.S. military intervention.

“Whether it be at our borders or whether it be globally, we have to continue to make sure that people know you don’t mess with America,” Windschitl said. “And when our allies are in trouble, when our allies are under attack, we go, we stand up, we help them, we fight.

“And yes, that’s part of the Marine in me coming out, where I’m just like, ‘If you see an injustice, you see some of the countries around the globe doing what they’re doing, you have to call that out.’ You can’t just turn a blind eye to it and be like, ‘No, it’s not in my backyard. I don’t care.’

“No. We have not become the greatest country on this globe by stepping aside and letting somebody else deal with the problems. We have stood up and we have said, ‘Yes, that is a fight we will take on. We will stand side by side with our allies, and we will defend our own borders, but we will also help our allies defend theirs.’ Period.”

Iowa’s 2026 primary election is June 2 and the general election is Nov. 3.

Comments: (515) 355-1300, erin.murphy@thegazette.com

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