NEW: Randy Feenstra Caught Using Taxpayer Dollars to Fund Gubernatorial Campaign

DES MOINES – A new report from Bleeding Heartland reveals that Randy Feenstra spent $33,000 in taxpayer-funded federal government resources on statewide radio ads before the Iowa Caucuses in a failed attempt to “make a good impression on activists” and shore up support for his campaign. Despite that, he still flopped and finished a distant third in straw polls.

The campaign-style ads “primarily served a political purpose” and bragged about Feenstra’s role as a “key author” of his party’s deeply unpopular budget law, which threatens health care for 106,700 Iowans and puts 20 rural hospitals at serious risk of closure. As Bleeding Heartland reports, the ads were placed by Feenstra’s media consultant Brian Dumas and did “more to boost [Feenstra’s] political image than to provide ‘constituent services.’”

The House Ethics Committee is clear: “Official resources of the House must, as a general rule, be used for the performance of official business of the House, and hence those resources may not be used for campaign or political purposes.”

Feenstra is set to spend “at least $31,000 more on taxpayer-funded radio ads” ahead of the Iowa Republican Party’s county conventions on March 7. Feenstra’s concerning pattern of using taxpayer funds to promote his “milquetoast” campaign comes after he has faced problems with his own party and bailed on events with the rest of the primary field.

From Iowa Democratic Party spokesperson Terra Hernandez:

“Randy Feenstra was caught red-handed using $33,000 in taxpayer funds to rescue his flailing campaign. This is just the latest example of the lengths Randy will go to put politics and special interests ahead of Iowa taxpayers, and it’s exactly what you’d expect from someone who bragged about ripping health care away from thousands of Iowans and voted to protect cost-raising tariffs. Feenstra owes Iowa taxpayers answers for his shady and unethical behavior.”

Read more from Bleeding Heartland here, or key points below:

• As U.S. Representative Randy Feenstra sought to drive supporters of his campaign for governor to attend the off-year Republican caucuses on February 2, he had a big assist from American taxpayers.

• Feenstra spent nearly $33,000 from his Congressional office budget on radio advertising that aired from January 12 to February 6, my review of Federal Communications Commission documents shows. He will spend at least $31,000 more on taxpayer-funded radio ads scheduled to run from February 16 to mid-March.

• The U.S. House database of franked communications shows Feenstra also spent official funds on four direct mail pieces in January—three of them timed to reach households during the two weeks before the caucuses. Currently available documents do not show how much was spent on those mailings, but past budget reports suggest the cost ran well into five figures.

• Feenstra touted his cooperation with the president in the 60-second ad that aired on at least nine radio stations for three weeks before the caucuses.

• … This commercial clearly does more to boost the speaker’s political image than to provide “constituent services” (its stated purpose). Most of the script links Feenstra to Trump—a much more popular figure among Iowa Republicans.

• Another sign that these ads primarily served a political purpose: the orders were placed by Kinetic Solutions, a company led by Brian Dumas. He happens to be the chair of Feenstra’s campaign for governor. Dumas also chairs Victory Enterprises, a leading Iowa Republican consulting firm that handles media buys for Feenstra’s campaign. That work resulted in more than $700,000 in Feenstra campaign expenditures during 2025.

• That adds up to at least $32,932.32 in taxpayer-funded advertising in the run-up to the caucuses. My list may not be exhaustive, because there is no consistent format for the FCC political files, and no way to search for one politician’s name across all Iowa stations.

• WHO Radio reaches a huge statewide Republican audience in addition to many of the 36 counties Feenstra represents in Congress. Similarly, KMA’s audience covers a large area in southwest Iowa, including parts of the third Congressional district.

• Feenstra’s Congressional office has purchased more radio ads that will start running on February 16 and continue for about four weeks. The Iowa GOP’s county conventions are scheduled for March 7.

• The House Communication Standards Commission’s searchable database shows Feenstra used franked funds to send four two-sided mailings shortly before the Iowa caucuses.

• … These pieces strongly resembled the direct mail voters often receive from campaigns. So Feenstra has plenty of time to use Congressional funds for more direct mail or radio ads before April 3, the blackout date for this year’s Iowa primary.

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