Iowa's 4th Congressional District election, 2024

2026 → ← 2022
Iowa's 4th Congressional District
Democratic primary Republican primary General election
Election details
Filing deadline: March 15, 2024
Primary: June 4, 2024 General: November 5, 2024
How to vote
Poll times: 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Voting in Iowa
Race ratings
Cook Political Report: Solid Republican DDHQ and The Hill: Safe Republican Inside Elections: Solid Republican Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Republican
Ballotpedia analysis
U.S. Senate battlegrounds U.S. House battlegrounds Federal and state primary competitiveness Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2024
See also
Iowa's 4th Congressional District 1st • 2nd • 3rd • 4th Iowa elections, 2024 U.S. Congress elections, 2024 U.S. Senate elections, 2024 U.S. House elections, 2024 Alabama U.S. House racesAlaska U.S. House racesArizona U.S. House racesArkansas U.S. House racesCalifornia U.S. House racesColorado U.S. House racesConnecticut U.S. House racesDelaware U.S. House racesFlorida U.S. House racesGeorgia U.S. House racesHawaii U.S. House racesIdaho U.S. House racesIllinois U.S. House racesIndiana U.S. House racesIowa U.S. House racesKansas U.S. House racesKentucky U.S. House racesLouisiana U.S. House racesMaine U.S. House racesMaryland U.S. House racesMassachusetts U.S. House racesMichigan U.S. House racesMinnesota U.S. House racesMississippi U.S. House racesMissouri U.S. House racesMontana U.S. House racesNebraska U.S. House racesNevada U.S. House racesNew Hampshire U.S. House racesNew Jersey U.S. House racesNew Mexico U.S. House racesNew York U.S. House racesNorth Carolina U.S. House racesNorth Dakota U.S. House racesOhio U.S. House racesOklahoma U.S. House racesOregon U.S. House racesPennsylvania U.S. House racesRhode Island U.S. House racesSouth Carolina U.S. House racesSouth Dakota U.S. House racesTennessee U.S. House racesTexas U.S. House racesUtah U.S. House racesVermont U.S. House racesVirginia U.S. House racesWashington U.S. House racesWest Virginia U.S. House racesWisconsin U.S. House racesWyoming U.S. House racesSubmit

All U.S. House districts, including the 4th Congressional District of Iowa, held elections in 2024. The general election was November 5, 2024. The primary was June 4, 2024. The filing deadline was March 15, 2024.

This race was one of 75 races in 2024 that was a rematch of the 2022 election. In 2024, Democrats won 39 of these matches, while Republicans won 36 of them. Democrats won 38 of those districts in 2022, and Republicans won 37.

The outcome of this race affected the partisan balance of the U.S. House of Representatives in the 119th Congress. All 435 House districts were up for election.

At the time of the election, Republicans held a 220-212 majority with three vacancies. As a result of the election, Republicans retained control of the U.S. House, winning 220 seats to Democrats' 215. To read more about the 2024 U.S. House elections, click here.

In the 2022 election in this district, the Republican candidate won 67.3%-30.4%. Daily Kos calculated what the results of the 2020 presidential election in this district would have been following redistricting. Donald Trump (R) would have defeated Joe Biden (D) 62.2%-36.2%.

For more information about the primaries in this election, click on the links below:

• Iowa's 4th Congressional District election, 2024 (June 4 Democratic primary)
• Iowa's 4th Congressional District election, 2024 (June 4 Republican primary)

Candidates and election results

General election

General election for U.S. House Iowa District 4

Incumbent Randy Feenstra defeated Ryan Melton and Charles Aldrich in the general election for U.S. House Iowa District 4 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Randy Feenstra (R)	67.0	250,522
		Ryan Melton (D)	32.7	122,175
		Charles Aldrich (L) (Write-in)	0.0	0
		Other/Write-in votes	0.3	1,127

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 373,824
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Iowa District 4

Ryan Melton advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Iowa District 4 on June 4, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ryan Melton	99.2	6,482
		Other/Write-in votes	0.8	52

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 6,534
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Jay Brown (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Iowa District 4

Incumbent Randy Feenstra defeated Kevin Virgil in the Republican primary for U.S. House Iowa District 4 on June 4, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Randy Feenstra	60.1	26,781
		Kevin Virgil	39.6	17,661
		Other/Write-in votes	0.3	125

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 44,567
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Candidate profiles

This section includes candidate profiles that may be created in one of two ways: either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, or Ballotpedia staff may compile a profile based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements after identifying the candidate as noteworthy. For more on how we select candidates to include, click here.

Ryan Melton

Party: Democratic Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Submitted Biography:  "I'm a 39 year old husband and father of 2 boys. I work as a people leader at a Fortune 100 Auto and Home insurance company. This is my second time running for this seat. I reject corporate PAC money, and consider myself to be a populist Democrat who sees much to improve upon when it comes to the status quo in our Congressional District, one that has long been hollowing out and seeing declines in vital quality of life indicators across the board."

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Key Messages

To read this candidate's full survey responses, click here.

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First, I was arguably the first candidate for office in Iowa to run against the carbon capture pipelines and the eminent domain abuse, public health threat, excessive water use, and waste of tax payer money they'd bring. My opponent, Randy Feenstra, on the other hands, is a public supporter of these pipelines and has taken a lot of money from the godfather of Summit's pipelines, Bruce Rastetter.

---

I'm looking to address the water quality and cancer crisis that are afflicting our district. We have the 2nd highest cancer incidence rate in the country, and we're the only state with a rising cancer incidence rate, and yet our electeds typically don't talk about it, afraid they'll upset special interests groups and corporate donors. Too many people are sick and dying here, we need to ask the tough questions and bring everyone to the table in a non-judgmental way to solution the problem together.

---

The vast majority of the 36 counties in our 4th Congressional District have seen decades of population decline. This hollowing out has been driven by an emphasis on driving away small and mid scale farmers, young people, and unionized labor to cement Republican Party political power in rural Iowa. As a result, we now are last as a state in mental health care bed availability rate, last in OB-GYN availability rate, our public ed rankings are plummeting, we have one of the worst cases of expert/college grad brain drain in the country, and our per capital household income is lower than most of our surrounding states. My opponent is amplifying these trends by rejecting any community improvement earmark money in Congress.

This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House Iowa District 4 in 2024.

Voting information

See also: Voting in Iowa

Election information in Iowa: Nov. 5, 2024, election.

What was the voter registration deadline?

• In-person: Nov. 5, 2024
• By mail: Postmarked by Oct. 21, 2024
• Online: Oct. 21, 2024

Was absentee/mail-in voting available to all voters?

Yes

What was the absentee/mail-in ballot request deadline?

• In-person: Oct. 21, 2024
• By mail: Received by Oct. 21, 2024
• Online: N/A

What was the absentee/mail-in ballot return deadline?

• In-person: Nov. 5, 2024
• By mail: Received by Nov. 5, 2024

Was early voting available to all voters?

Yes

What were the early voting start and end dates?

Oct. 16, 2024 to Nov. 4, 2024

Were all voters required to present ID at the polls? If so, was a photo or non-photo ID required?

N/A

When were polls open on Election Day?

7:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. (CST)

Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses

Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. The section below shows responses from candidates in this race who completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Survey responses from candidates in this race

Click on a candidate's name to visit their Ballotpedia page.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Expand all | Collapse all

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Ryan Melton (D)

First, I was arguably the first candidate for office in Iowa to run against the carbon capture pipelines and the eminent domain abuse, public health threat, excessive water use, and waste of tax payer money they'd bring. My opponent, Randy Feenstra, on the other hands, is a public supporter of these pipelines and has taken a lot of money from the godfather of Summit's pipelines, Bruce Rastetter.

I'm looking to address the water quality and cancer crisis that are afflicting our district. We have the 2nd highest cancer incidence rate in the country, and we're the only state with a rising cancer incidence rate, and yet our electeds typically don't talk about it, afraid they'll upset special interests groups and corporate donors. Too many people are sick and dying here, we need to ask the tough questions and bring everyone to the table in a non-judgmental way to solution the problem together.

The vast majority of the 36 counties in our 4th Congressional District have seen decades of population decline. This hollowing out has been driven by an emphasis on driving away small and mid scale farmers, young people, and unionized labor to cement Republican Party political power in rural Iowa. As a result, we now are last as a state in mental health care bed availability rate, last in OB-GYN availability rate, our public ed rankings are plummeting, we have one of the worst cases of expert/college grad brain drain in the country, and our per capital household income is lower than most of our surrounding states. My opponent is amplifying these trends by rejecting any community improvement earmark money in Congress.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Ryan Melton (D)

The top 3 I just mentioned are areas of high passion for me.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

Ryan Melton (D)

No one really comes to mind. I don't try to model myself after anyone in particular. I just want to stack good decisions on top of each other throughout my life and hope those come to define me.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

Ryan Melton (D)

No, I just do what I think is right.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Ryan Melton (D)

Bravery, telling the truth regardless of who it bothers, remaining independent by rejecting corporate money, focusing not on distractions that most don't care about but instead prioritizing the actual major issues that affect most people.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

Ryan Melton (D)

I'm honest, I've proven with my M.A. in U.S. History that I can learn complex subject matter, synthesize it, and apply it, I care about people, I'm not wealthy and have spent many years living paycheck to paycheck, and I'd like to think I'm a brave fighter for the greater good.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Ryan Melton (D)

Listen to their constituents, reject corporate PAC money so I'm only beholden to my constituents, remain open minded so I can continue to grow, fight for those who need the most advocacy, eradicate poverty to the best of my ability, drive economic opportunity, prioritize public health and landowner rights, and many more.

What legacy would you like to leave?

Ryan Melton (D)

I want people to think of me as a good man. That'd be fine by me.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

Ryan Melton (D)

A blizzard in Omaha when I was roughly 3 or so that drove an interest in meteorology/climate.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

Ryan Melton (D)

Newspaper delivery when I was a kid in Omaha, NE and Laurens, IA. A few months or so each time. Those Sunday papers in Omaha were heavy. Definitely put some hair on my chest delivering those while being chased by angry dogs.

What is your favorite book? Why?

Ryan Melton (D)

Siddhartha, since it does such a good job showing the journey one goes on as they grow and learn. It has been a while since I've read it though. I also like Cry, The Beloved Country as it showed the impact of racism and apartheid on people in very practical, descriptive ways.

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

Ryan Melton (D)

None come to mind at the moment. I'm at peace with who I am for the most part but there's always work to do to become the best dad, husband, neighbor, family member, and friend I can and want to be.

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

Ryan Melton (D)

Tracy Chapman's "Fast Car"

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

Ryan Melton (D)

My weight. Definitely my biggest struggle. It's an everyday fight to be healthy.

What qualities does the U.S. House of Representatives possess that makes it unique as an institution?

Ryan Melton (D)

It's very responsive to local needs.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for representatives to have previous experience in government or politics?

Ryan Melton (D)

It depends. Often, that experience seems to corrupt people rather than help them grow positively.

What do you perceive to be the United States’ greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade?

Ryan Melton (D)

1. Financial stress. 60% of Americans live paycheck-to-paycheck, and our federal minimum wage remains immorally low.

2. Corporate money in politics for the reasons previously cited. 3. Health care: We need a single payer universal health care plan 4. Rural collapse: We're facing a massive aging out of our farmers and a ramp up in consolidation of landownership and power in ag, which harms everyone else in rural Iowa more and more.

5. Climate change caused by humans: I do believe it's an existential threat, but there's too much grift and false solutions being peddled in the name of raking in massive amounts of federal tax credits that are sullying the good name of climate change mitigation advocacy. We need to clean that up.

Do you believe that two years is the right term length for representatives?

Ryan Melton (D)

I'd make it 4 years personally. 2 year terms mean you are constantly in re-election mode, taking focus away from legislating true, long-lasting solutions.

What are your thoughts on term limits?

Ryan Melton (D)

I'm open to them but I don't think they get to the root of corruption. We need to ban stock trading if you're a sitting member of Congress, we need to ban the Congress to plush lobbyist job pipeline, we need to overturn Citizens United and get corporate money out of politics, etc.

Is there a particular representative, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

Ryan Melton (D)

No, I'm just trying to make the right decisions every time and stack them on top of each other.

Both sitting representatives and candidates for office hear many personal stories from the residents of their district. Is there a story that you’ve heard that you found particularly touching, memorable, or impactful?

Ryan Melton (D)

Someone living in my district during my '22 run was married at the time, and her husband was dying of cancer from his exposure to toxic burn pits from his military service overseas. At the time, the Biden Administration was wanting to sign the PACT Act to expand VA health care access to those veterans suffering with the after effects of that exposure. My opponent had voted against the PACT Act the first time it was in front of him in the U.S. House, so I made it a priority to fight for those afflicted with these severe illnesses. I'm proud that my forced accountability on my opponent in part drove hi to vote for the PACT Act the 2nd time it came in front of him in the US House, and I'm grateful to the Biden Administration it is now law.

Tell us your favorite joke.

Ryan Melton (D)

Dad jokes are usually my fare but I can't think of a specific one right now and I'm very tired.

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

Ryan Melton (D)

Yes

The Constitution says that all bills for raising revenue must originate in the House. What role would this power play in your priorities if elected?

Ryan Melton (D)

We definitely need to invest in our district's communities but we need to do it wisely, with accountability and transparency mechanisms. We shouldn't be wasteful with taxpayer money.

How should the U.S. House use its investigative powers?

Ryan Melton (D)

If there is an act of wrongdoing that rises to the level of national threat that's within our purview as members of the U.S. House to investigate, we should, regardless of partisan influence.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

Ryan Melton (D)

UAW, NEA, AFL-CIO, The Committee to Protect Health Care, SEIU, Newtown Action Alliance.

What committees interest you?

Ryan Melton (D)

Labor, Public Health, Environment, Rural, Education

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

Ryan Melton (D)

There should be as much of it as possible. There's far too much corruption and disproportionate corporate power that affects our politics and governance.

Campaign finance

Name	Party	Receipts*	Disbursements**	Cash on hand	Date
Randy Feenstra	Republican Party	$4,301,278	$4,154,573	$1,170,394	As of December 31, 2024
Ryan Melton	Democratic Party	$153,144	$155,195	$2,897	As of December 31, 2024
Kevin Virgil	Republican Party	$108,167	$108,167	$0	As of December 31, 2024
Charles Aldrich	Libertarian Party	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2024. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC). * According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee." ** According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election. *** Candidate either did not report any receipts or disbursements to the FEC, or Ballotpedia did not find an FEC candidate ID.

General election race ratings

See also: Race rating definitions and methods

Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:

• Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
• Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
• Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.
• Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.

Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.

Race ratings: Iowa's 4th Congressional District election, 2024
Race tracker	Race ratings
	November 5, 2024	October 29, 2024	October 22, 2024	October 15, 2024
The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican
Decision Desk HQ and The Hill	Safe Republican	Safe Republican	Safe Republican	Safe Republican
Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball	Safe Republican	Safe Republican	Safe Republican	Safe Republican
Note: Ballotpedia reviews external race ratings every week throughout the election season and posts weekly updates even if the media outlets have not revised their ratings during that week.

Ballot access

The table below details filing requirements for U.S. House candidates in Iowa in the 2024 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Iowa, click here.

Filing requirements for U.S. House candidates, 2024
State	Office	Party	Signatures required	Filing fee	Filing deadline	Source
Iowa	U.S. House	Ballot-qualified party	1,726, including at least 47 signatures from ½ of the counties in the district	N/A	3/15/2024	Source
Iowa	U.S. House	Unaffiliated	1,726, including at least 47 signatures from ½ of the counties in the district	N/A	8/24/2024	Source

District analysis

Click the tabs below to view information about voter composition, past elections, and demographics in both the district and the state.

• District map - A map of the district in place for the election.
• Competitiveness - Information about the competitiveness of 2024 U.S. House elections in the state.
• Presidential elections - Information about presidential elections in the district and the state.
• State party control - The partisan makeup of the state's congressional delegation and state government.

• District map
• Competitiveness
• Presidential elections
• State party control

Below was the map in use at the time of the election. Click the map below to enlarge it.

See also: Primary election competitiveness in state and federal government, 2024

This section contains data on U.S. House primary election competitiveness in Iowa.

Iowa U.S. House competitiveness, 2014-2024
Office	Districts/ offices	Seats	Open seats	Candidates	Possible primaries	Contested Democratic primaries	Contested Republican primaries	% of contested primaries	Incumbents in contested primaries	% of incumbents in contested primaries
2024	4	4	0	11	8	1	2	37.5%	2	50.0%
2022	4	4	0	10	8	0	1	12.5%	0	0.0%
2020	4	4	1	18	8	0	4	50.0%	1	33.3%
2018	4	4	0	16	8	3	1	50.0%	1	25.0%
2016	4	4	0	13	8	2	2	50.0%	2	50.0%
2014	4	4	2	21	8	1	3	50.0%	0	0.0%

Post-filing deadline analysis

The following analysis covers all U.S. House districts up for election in Iowa in 2024. Information below was calculated on April 19, 2024, and may differ from information shown in the table above due to candidate replacements and withdrawals after that time.

Eleven candidates ran for Iowa’s four U.S. House districts, including five Democrats and six Republicans. That’s 2.75 candidates per district, higher than the 2.5 candidates per district in 2022 but lower than the 4.5 candidates per district in 2020.

No seats were open in 2024, meaning all incumbents ran for re-election. One House seat was open in 2020, and two were open in 2014, the only two years this decade in which House seats were open.

Three congressional districts—the 1st, the 3rd, and the 4th—were tied for the most candidates running for a seat in Iowa in 2024. Three candidates ran in each district.

Three primaries—one Democratic and two Republican—were contested in 2024. That’s more than the one primary that was contested in 2022 but less than the four primaries that were contested in 2020.

Two incumbents—Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-1) and Randy Feenstra (R-4)—were in contested primaries, tying with 2016 for the most this decade.

Candidates filed to run in the Republican and Democratic primaries in all districts, meaning no seats were guaranteed to either party.

Partisan Voter Index

See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index

Heading into the 2024 elections, based on results from the 2020 and 2016 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was R+16. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 16 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Iowa's 4th the 79th most Republican district nationally.

2020 presidential election results

The table below shows what the vote in the 2020 presidential election would have been in this district. The presidential election data was compiled by Daily Kos.

2020 presidential results in Iowa's 4th based on 2024 district lines
Joe Biden	Donald Trump
36.2%	62.2%

Inside Elections Baselines

See also: Inside Elections

Inside Elections' Baseline is a figure that analyzes all federal and statewide election results from the district over the past four election cycles. The results are combined in an index estimating the strength of a typical Democratic or Republican candidate in the congressional district. The table below displays the Baseline data for this district.

Inside Elections Baseline for 2024
Democratic Baseline	Republican Baseline	Difference
35.3	62.3	D+27.1

Presidential voting history

See also: Presidential election in Iowa, 2020

Iowa presidential election results (1900-2020)

• 11 Democratic wins
• 20 Republican wins

Year	1900	1904	1908	1912	1916	1920	1924	1928	1932	1936	1940	1944	1948	1952	1956	1960	1964	1968	1972	1976	1980	1984	1988	1992	1996	2000	2004	2008	2012	2016	2020
Winning Party	R	R	R	D	R	R	R	R	D	D	R	R	D	R	R	R	D	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	R	D	D	R	R

See also: Party control of Iowa state government

Congressional delegation

The table below displays the partisan composition of Iowa's congressional delegation as of May 2024.

Congressional Partisan Breakdown from Iowa
Party	U.S. Senate	U.S. House	Total
Democratic	0	0	0
Republican	2	4	6
Independent	0	0	0
Vacancies	0	0	0
Total	2	4	6

State executive

The table below displays the officeholders in Iowa's top four state executive offices as of May 2024.

State executive officials in Iowa, May 2024
Office	Officeholder
Governor	Kim Reynolds
Lieutenant Governor	Adam Gregg
Secretary of State	Paul Pate
Attorney General	Brenna Bird

State legislature

Iowa State Senate

Party		As of February 2024
	Democratic Party	16
	Republican Party	34
	Other	0
	Vacancies	0
Total		50

Iowa House of Representatives

Party		As of February 2024
	Democratic Party	36
	Republican Party	64
	Other	0
	Vacancies	0
Total		100

Trifecta control

The table below shows the state's trifecta status from 1992 until the 2024 election.

Iowa Party Control: 1992-2024
Four years of Democratic trifectas  •  Ten years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year	92	93	94	95	96	97	98	99	00	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24
Governor	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R
Senate	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	S	S	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R
House	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R

District history

The section below details election results for this office in elections dating back to 2018.

2022

See also: Iowa's 4th Congressional District election, 2022

General election

General election for U.S. House Iowa District 4

Incumbent Randy Feenstra defeated Ryan Melton and Bryan Holder in the general election for U.S. House Iowa District 4 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Randy Feenstra (R)	67.3	186,467
		Ryan Melton (D)	30.4	84,230
		Bryan Holder (Liberty Caucus)	2.2	6,035
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	276

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 277,008
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Ryan O'Leary (Independent)
• Kyle Grossman (L)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Iowa District 4

Ryan Melton advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Iowa District 4 on June 7, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ryan Melton	99.7	20,794
		Other/Write-in votes	0.3	69

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 20,863
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Iowa District 4

Incumbent Randy Feenstra advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Iowa District 4 on June 7, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Randy Feenstra	98.9	51,271
		Other/Write-in votes	1.1	596

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 51,867
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2020

See also: Iowa's 4th Congressional District election, 2020

General election

General election for U.S. House Iowa District 4

Randy Feenstra defeated J.D. Scholten in the general election for U.S. House Iowa District 4 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Randy Feenstra (R)	62.0	237,369
		J.D. Scholten (D)	37.8	144,761
		Other/Write-in votes	0.2	892

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 383,022
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Iowa District 4

J.D. Scholten advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Iowa District 4 on June 2, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		J.D. Scholten	99.6	46,370
		Other/Write-in votes	0.4	166

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 46,536
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Iowa District 4

Randy Feenstra defeated incumbent Steve King, Jeremy Taylor, Bret Richards, and Steve Reeder in the Republican primary for U.S. House Iowa District 4 on June 2, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Randy Feenstra	45.5	37,329
		Steve King	35.8	29,366
		Jeremy Taylor	7.8	6,418
		Bret Richards	7.5	6,140
		Steve Reeder	3.1	2,528
		Other/Write-in votes	0.2	176

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 81,957
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Aaron Thomas Krull (R)

2018

See also: Iowa's 4th Congressional District election, 2018

General election

General election for U.S. House Iowa District 4

Incumbent Steve King defeated J.D. Scholten, Charles Aldrich, and Edward Peterson in the general election for U.S. House Iowa District 4 on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Steve King (R)	50.3	157,676
		J.D. Scholten (D)	47.0	147,246
		Charles Aldrich (L)	2.0	6,161
		Edward Peterson (Independent)	0.6	1,962
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	206

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 313,251 (100.00% precincts reporting)
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Iowa District 4

J.D. Scholten defeated Leann Jacobsen and John Paschen in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Iowa District 4 on June 5, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		J.D. Scholten	51.3	14,733
	Submit photo	Leann Jacobsen	32.0	9,176
		John Paschen	16.7	4,806

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 28,715
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Paul Dahl (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Iowa District 4

Incumbent Steve King defeated Cyndi Hanson in the Republican primary for U.S. House Iowa District 4 on June 5, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Steve King	74.8	28,053
		Cyndi Hanson	25.2	9,437

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 37,490
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

See also

Iowa	2024 primaries	2024 U.S. Congress elections
Iowa congressional delegation Voting in Iowa Iowa elections: 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018	Democratic primary battlegrounds Republican primary battlegrounds U.S. Senate Democratic primaries U.S. Senate Republican primaries U.S. House Democratic primaries U.S. House Republican primaries	U.S. Congress elections U.S. Senate elections U.S. House elections Special elections Ballot access

External links

• Search Google News for this topic

Footnotes

[show]

Iowa's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Joni Ernst (R)

Chuck Grassley (R)

Representatives

District 1

Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R)

District 2

Ashley Hinson (R)

District 3

Zach Nunn (R)

District 4

Randy Feenstra (R)

Republican Party (6)

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