Randy Feenstra is a Republican state senator running for the U.S. House of Representatives seat in Iowa’s 4th Congressional District. He works as an Iowa State Bank insurance manager and an adjunct professor at Dordt University Christian college. Feenstra was unavailable for comment, so all the answers to the Iowa State Daily’s questions come from his campaign manager, Matt Leopold. Additional information about Feenstra can be found on his State Senator Overview Page or the Feenstra for Congress Campaign Website.

Why should students care about this specific election?

• Feenstra is a professor at Dordt University and a father to four children who understands the importance of this election and the impact it will have on the next generation. This election is more important than ever, especially because of the growing national debt, which Feenstra plans to tackle at a national level and is one of his main campaign issues.

What are the three policies you plan on focusing on the most? 

1. Agriculture

1. This issue greatly impacts IA-04 and Feenstra is committed to joining the House Agriculture Committee should he be elected to Congress. 

2. Tackling national debt & deficits

1. As an Iowa senator, Feenstra has worked to lower taxes and control debt. He would like to move these plans to a national level and work to lower the national debt during his time in Congress. 

3. Pro-life

1. Feenstra is guided by his Christian faith in everything he does and has supported defunding Planned Parenthood and passing a Heartbeat Bill during his time in the Iowa Senate. He will continue to fight for this cause in Congress. 

According to: Feenstra for Congress Campaign Website

What sets you apart from your opposing candidate, J.D. Scholten?

“Senator Feenstra has delivered during his time in the Iowa Legislature, passing tax cuts for Iowans and balancing the budget. He has supported the needs of Iowan farmers by helping them retain their family farms and is dedicated to working for the Iowans, unlike his opponent J.D. Scholten, who supports policies like the Green New Deal and has garnered the support of House Democrats like Nancy Pelosi.”

For the first time in 20 years, Steve King was voted out of office. Does the future of Iowa now look different? If so, how? 

“Senator Feenstra, both in the state Senate and when he gets to Congress, he wants to be effective and listen to Iowans and take their concerns to Congress. That’s what he’s done in the Iowa Senate, that’s what he plans to do in Congress. So what people can expect from Senator Feenstra should he be elected to Congress is to take their concerns to Congress, take their ideas and their stories to Congress, to craft good policy that helps the future of agriculture, the future of business, our small mainstream. Senator Feenstra will be successful, responsive, he’ll listen to his constituents and he’ll get out there and really make sure that he’s representing their voices.” 

What are the candidate’s stances on current issues such as COVID-19, social justice and immigration?

COVID-19

“Throughout the campaign, ever since March, when the coronavirus hit, our campaign slogan has always been ‘Feenstra Delivers’ or ‘He delivers results by…,’ so at the beginning of the campaign, we really transitioned and said, ‘How can we deliver for our neighbors?’ How can we help those that are most in need? You know, whether that be a Main Street business survive or helping a mom that needs diapers, these are things that our campaign did from the beginning so that we can help people get through these challenging times.”

Immigration

“Senator Feenstra believes that we are a nation of laws, but we’re also a nation of opportunity. That we need to secure our border and know who’s coming in and out of our country and make sure that we have potentially some sponsorships — if businesses are looking for workers, they can find people that they can sponsor to come in and fill the jobs that are open for businesses that need workers.” 

Social Justice

“Couple of things on that… Senator Feenstra’s faith guides everything that he does and he believes that everyone is created for a reason and that’s how he sees people. People need to be treated fairly and they need to be given a shot at the American Dream. I think we were all saddened with the events surrounding George Floyd. That’s why Senator Feenstra got back to the Legislature on June 3 after winning the primary, he helped usher through a reform bill through the Iowa Legislature (House File 2647) that was actually passed unanimously to crack down on unnecessary chokeholds, to allow the attorney general to prosecute police officers, to ensure that people who have perpetrated these kinds of behaviors are not able to move and get rehired. So Senator Feenstra took these thoughts and took them back to the Legislature, worked with his colleagues and really, passed a bill that has sort of become a model for the nation. And they did this in a bipartisan way.”

Anything else you’d like to say?

“As I’m sure people see online, the motto of our campaign is ‘Feenstra Delivers,’ so we take that seriously. Randy’s delivered results in the Iowa Senate, where he wrote and passed the largest tax cut in Iowa history, he balanced the budget, he helped first-time farmers, he eliminated the grain bin tax and he protected life. These are the same things that he wants to do on the federal level. He delivered in the Senate, and that’s what he’ll do in Congress.”