Welcome back to The Status Quo Squad — your weekly newsletter from the Iowa Democratic Party, bringing you the latest updates on the chaotic, messy, and wide-open Republican gubernatorial primary where all the candidates promise one thing: a continuation of the status quo that has failed Iowa for the last decade.
This week, the Iowa Caucuses put a spotlight on how the messy primary has no clear frontrunner after Randy Feenstra flopped and finished a distant third in straw polls, and Christian conservative leader Bob Vander Plaats snubbed Feenstra by endorsing Adam Steen. Iowans also flamed Feenstra after he failed to get Donald Trump’s endorsement, while Kim Reynolds earned the title of most unpopular governor in the country for two years in a row.
Let’s get into it.
Feenstra’s fails of the week: Flopped at causes and humiliated by Bob Vander Plaats
Randy Feenstra had another terrible week after he flopped and finished a distant third in straw polls at the Iowa Caucuses. He was also snubbed by Bob Vander Plaats, as new reporting reveals that GOP activists are planning for the “very, very real possibility” of the “chaotic and competitive” gubernatorial primary going to a “contested” convention.
Despite previously describing Feenstra as a “good friend” and endorsing his bid for Congress over Steve King in 2019, Vander Plaats humiliated Feenstra by endorsing Adam Steen. Steen is a Kim Reynolds insider who wants to go even further than Iowa’s extreme abortion ban, believes that life begins at conception, and would threaten IVF and make it harder for women to access birth control.
In his “noteworthy” snub, Vander Plaats made it clear that Steen — not Feenstra — is the candidate who can “excite the party’s base,” as Feenstra “has been unable to clear the primary field.” Vander Plaats also sharply criticized Feenstra’s pattern of bailing on events with the rest of the field, including last week’s Moms for Liberty debate, echoing attacks from Feenstra’s opponents and the conservative grassroots.
No surprise here: Kim Reynolds is still the most unpopular governor in America
A new poll from Morning Consult shows Kim Reynolds remains the nation’s most unpopular governor in the country, an honor she has held for a whole two years in a row and the longest stretch a governor has held the title consecutively.
Meanwhile, the Iowa GOP announced that Reynolds is going on a “legacy tour” to tout the many ways she’s failed Iowans over her tenure as governor. Reynolds and a decade of one-party rule have crushed Iowa’s economy and failed our public schools, but Randy Feenstra, Adam Steen, Zach Lahn, Brad Sherman, and Eddie Andrews are all running to continue the empty promises and failed policies that have left working families behind.
What Iowans are saying: Feenstra “snubbed in the endorsement department” by Trump
Donald Trump snubbing Randy Feenstra and refusing to give him an endorsement has officially become the story of his trip to Iowa, and it’s “bad news” for Feenstra’s flailing campaign. This snub comes at the same time as a petition circulating among the Republican grassroots begging the President to endorse anyone but “absent” and “invisible” Feenstra has garnered over 700 signatures.
What Iowans are saying about Randy “poster child of the swamp creatures” Feenstra:
- Gazette columnist Todd Dorman: “I mean, he rode here on Air Force One with the President, but it sounded like he was maybe snubbed in the endorsement department … when the news about your campaign is people don’t want him to endorse you, he’s snubbing you — that’s bad news for the candidate … I also think ‘dragged across the finish line’ is not the metaphor that you want your campaign to be known for.”
- State Senate candidate Stacy Besch: “Yes I did sign the petition. As an Iowan and a candidate for Iowa Senate, I felt I needed to do my part by using my voice (my signature) to state what the majority here at the grassroots is thinking and seeing. We never see Randy first of all and second, he has a voting record that does not align with the values of his constituents. I feel Trump needs to hear from us what he cannot see from DC. We have some great candidates running for Governor of Iowa and my full endorsement goes to Brad Sherman.”
- Conservative columnist and former Americans for Prosperity staffer Althea Cole: “The fact that he was not able or willing to be present for a debate of that caliber really did not sit well. This is a theme that we’ve been uh just absolutely beating to death. You could say that we’re ‘taking it to new heights,’ the criticism of Feenstra … From a Republican perspective, in terms of the non-endorsement, I definitely think it is very telling. I can’t say for certain that this petition from MAGA supporters asking Trump to not make an endorsement in the governor’s race, I can’t say definitively that that is the reason that the president did not make an endorsement, but there’s definitely plenty to read in there as to why he did not.”
- Gazette reporter Tom Barton: “As he’s running for governor, he keeps talking about being a major player having a hand in writing some of those tax policy provisions in the Big Beautiful Bill … this would be the opportunity then, for Trump to to mention that, right, and to bring Feenstra on stage.”
Tweet of the week: Steen campaign flames Feenstra’s embarrassing “Govorner” gaffe
Bottom line: No matter who emerges from this underwhelming and extreme crop of candidates, they are all running to continue Kim Reynolds’ failed policies that have put Iowa dead last in economic growth, set kids and public school teachers up for failure, and ripped away access to health care.
That’s a wrap for this edition of The Status Quo Squad. Thanks for reading, we’ll see you next week.