Hull, Iowa (RI)– Republican Randy Feenstra says property tax reform is a priority for Iowa voters, and he’ll work to lower residential, business, and industrial property taxes and freeze them if he’s elected governor.
Feenstra was a state senator for 12 years and is currently in the middle of his third term in the U.S. House. He’s on the House tax-writing committee that worked on President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill. In 2018, Feenstra was chair of the Iowa Senate’s Ways and Means Committee when Republicans passed a nearly two-point-nine billion dollar reduction in state income taxes for individuals and corporations. Feenstra, who formally launched his campaign for governor on Tuesday, says ensuring access to health care, particularly in rural Iowa, is a concern.
Feenstra is emphasizing his Iowa roots.
Feenstra began laying the groundwork for a campaign for governor shortly after Governor Kim Reynolds announced in April that she would not seek reelection. Feenstra has talked about the angst Iowans feel about young people leaving the state after high school and has suggested it’s time to emphasize vocational education programs. Feenstra says one of his goals as governor would be to ensure Iowa has a world-class education system.
Feenstra supports the state’s Education Savings Account program that gives parents state tax dollars to cover their child’s private school tuition and other expenses. Feenstra says he’s willing to discuss extending the state payment to parents who homeschool their children. The video Feenstra’s campaign released Tuesday morning took aim at State Auditor Rob Sand, a Democrat who’s running for governor, and suggested Sand is a pretender who is secretly liberal. During an interview with Radio Iowa, Feenstra says he’s the best Republican to face Sand in the 2026 General Election.
Emily O’Brien, a spokesperson for Sand, says Feenstra spent half his launch video misleading Iowans about Rob Sand, and O’Brien says Sand has a message that’s resonating with voters across the political spectrum. Three other Republicans have been running for governor for the past few months. Two of them have been openly questioning why Feenstra had not been making public appearances around the state and campaigning for governor.
KIWA Staff Photo
