EXCLUSIVE: GOP Rep Emerges As Frontrunner For Open Governor Seat, Polling Shows

Republican Iowa Rep. Randy Feenstra has emerged as the early frontrunner in the 2026 GOP gubernatorial primary in new polling, the Daily Caller News Foundation has learned.

The survey found Feenstra with 41% support while no other GOP candidate declared in the race drew more than 5% support. The contest remains relatively unsettled, however, with 40% of voters undecided.

Feenstra, a three-term lawmaker who represents the state’s reliably Republican northwestern corner, announced an exploratory committee for governor in May, but has yet to officially enter the race.

Feenstra is well-positioned to win the GOP nomination due to his district constituting more than a third of the primary electorate, according to the polling memo. Feenstra is currently drawing 53% support among likely GOP primary voters in Iowa’s Fourth Congressional District.

He has received endorsements from top Republicans in the Hawkeye state and had nearly $1.5 million in the bank at the end of June, according to a Federal Election Commission filing.

The survey also found that Feenstra has a 33% net positive favorability rating. His vote share in the primary contest is expected to grow as voters learn more about him, according to the polling memo.

Feenstra’s decision to edge closer to a run comes after Iowa Republican Governor Kim Reynolds announced she would not seek reelection in April after two full terms. The Iowa Republican also avoided a potential clash with Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird in July when she ruled out a gubernatorial bid and said she would run for another term as the state’s top prosecutor.

He is likely to face Democratic Iowa State Auditor Rob Sand in the general election if he secures the GOP nomination.

Feenstra has recently called for accountability from the Des Moines school board following superintendent Ian Roberts’ arrest by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in September for defying a final order of removal issued by the Biden administration after overstaying a student visa issued in 1999.

The school board admitted to knowing that the Guyanese national fabricated a doctoral degree. Roberts also lied about attending MIT.

“The illegal criminal who was running Des Moines Public Schools should have NEVER been around Iowa kids,” Feenstra wrote on X on Monday. “He evaded law enforcement, illegally registered to vote in Maryland, and has an active deportation order and a federal gun charge. The entire school board must resign.”

Feenstra also torched Sand’s response to the Des Moines Public Schools scandal.

“It took Rob Sand almost 48 hours to issue a fence-straddling and empty statement about the fact that an illegal immigrant with an active deportation order was running Des Moines Public Schools,” Feenstra said in a statement following Roberts’ arrest.”

“This is par for the course for Rob,” Feenstra added. “He refuses to condemn an individual who broke our immigration laws and, with his statement, seems to blame ICE for detaining a known criminal.”

The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates the 2026 gubernatorial contest as “lean Republican.” The election forecaster shifted the race from “Solid Republican” following Sand declaring his campaign.

A Democrat candidate has not been elected as Iowa’s governor since 2006. President Donald Trump also won Iowa by more than 13 percentage points during the 2024 election.

Feenstra has served in the House since 2021 and is a member of the House Agriculture and Ways and Means Committees.

The American Viewpoint survey of 600 likely Iowa GOP primary voters was conducted from Sept. 30 to Oct. 2, and has a margin of error of plus or minus four percentage points.

The June 2026 primary is roughly eight months away.

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