Republicans Hammer Feenstra as He Refuses to Answer Questions, Debate His Opponents

DES MOINES – Randy Feenstra is having another horrible week on the campaign trail after facing a “skeptical” crowd at a town hall with members of his own party, refusing — once again — to debate his opponents, and taking heat from Iowa farmers for supporting costly tariffs.

First, Feenstra flopped at a MAGA Nation town hall on Tuesday and was called out by an Iowa taxpayer for misusing $33,000 in taxpayer dollars on radio ads to promote his gubernatorial campaign:

• Conservative leader Bob Vander Plaats: Wow! This is a stunning rebuke from key grassroots activist in Polk County. Transparently, I believe there is no avenue for @RandyFeenstra campaign to reconcile the hostile emotions of the base. I’ve seen a lot of things over my years….nothing like this. #Disaster”

• Iowa conservative activist Barb Heki: “The one Iowa gubernatorial candidate who has been notoriously elusive came out of his basement last night to speak to a group we’re in. … After last night, he’ll probably go back in his basement. It was a massacre for him. He took exactly six questions from the audience and dodged five of them. He also cut off the questioners multiple times, not letting them finish their questions. People were angry! … Feenstra is so disliked that a large number of Republicans will not vote for him in the general election if he is the nominee.”

• Des Moines Register: “A West Des Moines crowd peppered Republican gubernatorial candidate Randy Feenstra with tough questions about President Donald Trump, his commitment to talking with the party’s grassroots and more.”

• Radio Iowa: “Feenstra met with a crowd of avid Trump supporters last night, fielding questions about his campaign for governor and his neutrality during the early months of the 2024 presidential campaign … Gary Leffler, a 2022 Iowa congressional candidate who’s backing Zach Lahn in the race for governor, criticized Feenstra for not attending forums alongside the other candidates.”

• Inside Iowa Politics: Feenstra faces critics at MAGA Nation Iowa event

Feenstra had such a tough time taking questions from Republicans that he is now blocking Iowa voters from recording his campaign events and only brought one microphone so audience members couldn’t finish their questions. It’s a tactic that seems unlikely to resolve the major problems he faces from within his own party. 

Then, in another transparent effort to hide from voters, Feenstra also once again moved the goalpost on debating his opponents, this time stating he won’t debate until the filing deadline on March 13. Feenstra said “we don’t even know who’s going to be in the race. So once that’s settled, hey, that’s the time to debate.”

Feenstra has repeatedly refused to give a straight answer about whether he would participate in a primary debate:

• February 9, 2026: “There’s plenty of time for debates. I plan to do debates. We’ll get there but right now, I’m traveling all over the state.”

• November 26, 2025: “It’s just a matter of when they occur. But I look forward to that.”

• November 4, 2025: “We’ll debate. Sure.”

• October 30, 2025: “We’ll be working it out over the next several months and see how that all plays out.”

Feenstra was also called out by Iowa farmers for repeatedly voting to uphold the tariffs that are estimated to cost the average Iowa family $2,100 in 2026 and have pushed our agriculture industry to the brink of another farm crisis.

From Iowa Democratic Party spokesperson Terra Hernandez:

“No-show Randy Feenstra refuses to keep his word, show up for Iowans, or answer basic questions about what he stands for. Feenstra’s disappearing act might’ve worked for him in D.C., but he’s given Iowans little reason to believe he’s ready to lead as our state’s next governor. It’s exactly why Iowans will reject him in 2026.”

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