KDSN RADIO News
Fifth Republican joins race in Iowa’s 4th congressional district
As Congressman Randy Feenstra prepares his 2026 campaign for governor, a fifth Republican has announced he’s entering the race for Iowa’s fourth congressional district seat.
Douglas Jensen is a combat veteran who lives southeast of Council Bluffs in the small town of Silver City. Jensen said he gets emotional when he thinks about the state of the country. “I don’t see our nation heading in the right direction in terms of not being able to work past our differences,” Jensen said. “It takes a strong leader to bring opposing viewpoints together.”
Jensen said Congress needs to focus more on solving problems than grandstanding. “We have way more in common than we have different, and we’re too busy focused on the differences,” he said, “and not to say that those differences are trivial because they are real and substantive, but we need to be able to discuss them respectfully.”
According to a news release from Jensen’s campaign, Jensen is working on a dissertation for a doctorate degree that’s focused on leadership in Congress. Jensen, who is 40, has worked in the construction industry and describes himself as a military spouse caring for two young kids. His wife, a lieutenant colonel in the Air Force, is currently attending the Joint Advanced Warfighting School in Virginia.
The other Republicans currently in the fourth congressional district race are state Representative Matt Windschitl of Missouri Valley, Iowa Tea Party founder Ryan Rhodes of Ames, Lakota farmer Christian Schlaefer, and Chris McGowan, the president of the Siouxland Chamber of Commerce. Three Democrats have started campaigns in the fourth district.
(Reporting by Sheila Brummer, Iowa Public Radio)
