Iowa 4th District U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra files to run for governor

Iowa 4th District U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra, a three-term Republican from Hull, filed paperwork Monday to run for governor.

The filing with the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board comes on the heels of Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds’ announcement last month that she will not seek a third term. Feenstra's move also comes on the same day that state Auditor Rod Sand, the only Democrat to hold statewide elected office, announced his candidacy for governor.

Feenstra could not immediately be reached for comment.

Feenstra, who represents the most Republican of the state's four congressional districts, becomes the highest profile GOP officeholder to take formal action to seek the gubernatorial nomination in the June 2026 primary.

Sen. Mike Bousselot, R-Ankeny, has launched an exploratory committee, and former state Rep. Brad Sherman entered the race in February, before Reynolds’ announcement. Attorney General Brenna Bird and House Speaker Pat Grassley also have said they are considering a campaign for governor.

A gubernatorial run for Feenstra also would create an open contest for the 4th District seat in 2026, likely prompting a number of GOP candidates to consider the race. Democrat Ryan Melton, who lost to Feenstra in the last two elections, announced last week he will seek the Democratic nomination for a third time.

Feenstra, 56, served three teams in the Iowa Senate before challenging incumbent 4th District Rep. Steve King in the 2020 Republican primary. Feenstra entered the race in the wake of U.S. House leaders stripping King of his committee assignments for making inflammatory remarks about "white supremacy" in a New York Times interview.

In a five-candidate primary, Feenstra won 45.7 percent of the vote to King's 36 percent.

Feenstra has coasted to victory in each of his three general election races in the district, which covers wide swaths of western and north central Iowa. But Feenstra struggled to win the nomination in the 2024 primary, when his little-known challenger Kevin Virgil garnered nearly 40 percent percent of the vote.

Feenstra, who played basketball at Dordt University in Sioux Center, began his career as sales manager for the Foreign Candy Company in Hull. He then served as city administrator of Hull for seven years. In 2006, he won a special election for Sioux County Treasurer, capturing his first elected office.