Feenstra challenger Kevin Virgil eyes rematch in 2026

Kevin Virgil, a Republican candidate for Iowa's 4th Congressional District, speaks at a forum in Cherokee on May 30, 2024. (Photo by Jared Strong/Iowa Capital Dispatch)

Two weeks ago, Congressman Randy Feenstra, R-Hull, touted polling that showed him with a commanding 54 percentage point lead against his relatively unknown challenger in this week’s primary, Kevin Virgil.

“Our 54% lead is proof that Iowans want a Congressman who delivers,” Feenstra said in a May 23 press release.

There was reason to have confidence in that figure: Virgil joined the race about five months ago in January, lacked name recognition and ran a low-dollar campaign. Feenstra is a two-term representative who beat Republican Steve King, his predecessor.

But the actual vote on Tuesday for Iowa’s 4th Congressional District featured a much smaller — although still sizeable — difference in votes: about 21 percentage points.

Feenstra called that a “clear message” of support. He won with a little more than 60% of the vote and is a heavy favorite to win the November election against Democrat Ryan Melton, whose votes he doubled in their first contest two years ago.

Virgil said he thinks the outcome of primary shows Feenstra is unpopular and vulnerable, and that a better-coordinated challenge in 2026 might be successful. Virgil won the most votes in a quarter of the district’s 36 counties.

“Someone very wise once told me: ‘To win in politics, you have to have a message, motivation and lots of money,’” Virgil told the Iowa Capital Dispatch after the primary. “I have the first two — ample amounts of the first two. The only thing I will change (for the next primary) would be a couple extra zeroes in the bank account.”

Feenstra’s campaign spent about $2 million this year to promote his candidacy through the middle of May, according to Federal Election Commission reports.

Virgil spent about $83,000.

But he tapped into the unrest about a proposed carbon dioxide pipeline system that would reap billions of dollars of federal tax incentives and that would force unwilling landowners along more than 100 miles of the pipeline route to host it on their properties in perpetuity.

Virgil says the tax incentives — which were supported by Feenstra — and the use of eminent domain for the Summit Carbon Solutions project are wrong. The Iowa Utilities Board has yet to rule on whether the project merits a permit and qualifies for eminent domain. Feenstra has declined to say whether he supports the project but said it would benefit Iowa agriculture.

About 78% of Iowans oppose eminent domain for carbon dioxide pipelines, according to a Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll last year.

The issue is especially important to the 4th District because most of the more than 1,000 miles of Summit’s system in Iowa lies within it.

But there is another reason some of the district’s voters might have gripes about Feenstra: He can be difficult to find.

“For 3 1/2 years, we have tried aggressively to get Randy Feenstra to come into our county and talk to us,” said Alan Bush, a Greenville resident who helps promote Republican candidates and policy goals in Hancock County. “He has yet to come to our county.”

Bush clarified that Feenstra might visit an area business, but there are no advance notices of the visits and they are closed to the public.

Bush said he voted for Virgil and door-knocked to support him, but added he would vote for Feenstra in the general election.

Harlan Grau, of Newell, shared a similar concern in a letter published last month by the Storm Lake Times Pilot: “The incumbent Feenstra always tells us where he was, but his schedule to meet the public is usually unavailable. His 36 County Tour should have more serious discussion and less happy talk.”

Grau could not be reached to comment for this article.

A spokesperson for Feenstra’s campaign did not specifically address the allegations of absenteeism or the closer-than-expected primary results but provided this statement from Feenstra on Thursday: “Iowans sent a clear message that they want a conservative voice in Congress who delivers results for our families, farmers, businesses, and our rural communities. I’m humbled by the strong support for our campaign and will continue to deliver for Iowa and our communities.”

It is the same message Feenstra wrote on X after he won. The spokesperson did not respond to a follow-up request to specify what results Feenstra has delivered.

Bush said Feenstra has not been effective at protecting his constituents from warrantless searches, securing the country’s southern border and moderating funding for Ukraine, though he acknowledges “there’s only so much one person can do.” Bush still wants to talk about it.

Bush said Virgil won in Hancock County because of local Republicans’ fervent support, which included going door-to-door to promote him. Bush estimated at least half of the people he talked to had never heard of Virgil, and that Virgil will have a better chance to win in the next primary with a longer campaign.

Virgil also had the most votes in Audubon, Buena Vista, Monona, O’Brien, Osceola, Plymouth, Sac and Winnebago counties. Most of them had much fewer total votes than the larger counties that Feenstra carried.

Audubon had a total of about 270 votes, whereas Sioux — which is Feenstra’s home county and not the most-populous in the district — had the most with more than 4,000 votes.

Virgil also notched the endorsements of several state Republican legislators, former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and former Congressman Steve King, whom Feenstra defeated in a 2020 primary. King had the support of about 36% of the district in that loss.

Virgil said he plans to buy a house in the district, start a new business and lay the groundwork for another primary challenge in 2026. He is a military veteran and entrepreneur who moved back to Iowa from the East Coast to challenge Feenstra.

“As long as Feenstra continues to behave in the manner he’s behaving and refuses to be accountable to his constituents, there’s going to be significant opportunity,” Virgil said.

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