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New candidates enter the race for Iowa's 4th Congressional District • Iowa Capital Dispatch [1]
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Date: 2025-07-14
Two more contenders have entered the race for Iowa’s 4th Congressional District, which is expected to be an open race as U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra considers a run for governor.
Kyle Larsen, a farmer and land appraiser, announced he would run as a Republican for Iowa’s 4th Congressional District Monday. He is the latest contender in the primary to succeed Feenstra, joining Iowa House Majority Leader Matt Windschitl, who entered the race last week, and Siouxland Chamber of Commerce President Chris McGowan, who announced his campaign in late June.
Larsen said in a campaign launch video he is running on a campaign platform of “faith, family, farm” — the issues he said are most important to voters in the 4th District, the district covering much of northwest Iowa.
“I also do appraise work for farm families all over the great state of Iowa, where I have listened and learned the frustrations farm families are facing every single day,” Larsen said. “I am running for Congress to put an end to the career politicians who are corrupting our politics.”
The Republican is an Iowa State University alumnus who runs a pig and row crop business in Humboldt, where he lives with his wife and two children. He has previously served as president of the Humboldt County Farm Bureau Board.
Larsen said he would want to serve on the U.S. House Agriculture Committee and use his experience as a third-generation farmer to ensure that Iowa farmers’ interests are represented in Washington.
“You will see many candidates come through the door and say they love our farmers, but they can’t come close to understanding the stress every family goes through putting the crop in every year,” Larsen said. “These candidates will never understand how it feels at the end of a rough year or a drought and you’re scrambling to pay your bills and financially prepare for the next season.”
Feenstra had announced an “exploratory” committee for governor after Gov. Kim Reynolds said she will not seek reelection in 2026. Feenstra has represented Iowa’s 4th District since 2021, when he won against incumbent former U.S. Rep. Steve King in the longtime conservative stronghold.
While there are multiple Republicans competing for the seat — which is regularly ranked as a “safe Republican” House race by political forecasters — there was a period when no Democrats were running for the position. Democrat Ryan Melton, who ran against Feenstra in 2022 and 2024, suspended his campaign in June because of issues related to his family and career.
But last week, a new Democratic contender entered the race. Ashley WolfTornabane, a Democrat from Storm Lake, announced her campaign earlier in July. On her page on the donation site ActBlue, WolfTornabane, said if elected, she would work on issues like funding education, advocating for LGBTQ+ individuals and people from other marginalized populations and creating a “feasible pathway to citizenship for our immigrant neighbors.”
WolfTornabane, a stay-at-home mother, also said she supports raising the minimum wage and a “health care for all” system.
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